Rapenburg Canal, Leiden

The finest walk in Leiden may just be a stroll along the Rapenburg Canal. Johan Polyander van Kerckhoven, a 17th-century professor of Theology at Leiden University, claimed, "of all Leiden's streets and canals, Rapenburg is the most beautiful." He has never been proved wrong. Many others feel the same way.

The Rapenburg Canal was excavated in the 14th century to be part of the defenses of south Leiden. It begins at the Old Rhine. The canal then makes a crescent through the town back to the New Rhine. In a two-mile walk covering both sides of the canal, one may see 120 well-preserved 17th and 18th-century buildings.

The Siebold House (Siebolddhuis) was the home of Philip Franz von Siebold, a German physician, botanist, and traveler. It is now a museum of Japanese culture. The 17th-century Bibliotheca Thysiana houses the 2,500 books of scholar and respected teacher Johannes Thysius. The National Museum of Antiquities sits by the canal, founded by William I in 1818. The Academy Building of Leiden University dates from 1516.

Walking along the Rapenburg, one sees a strange gap in the row of buildings. The gap is Van der Werf Park. It was formed in 1807 by an explosion on a ship bound from Haarlem to Delft. The ship had a cargo of 37,000 pounds of gunpowder. Today, after all the mayhem, one may relax in the park and enjoy the most beautiful canal in Leiden.