The Amsterdam canal district has been added to the list of Unesco Heritage Sites, the ninth such site in the Netherlands.
According to a spokesperson for Unesco, "The historical and urban ensemble of the Amsterdam canal district was a project for a new 'port city' built at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries... As a model of large-scale town planning, it served as a reference throughout the world until the 19th century."
For a list of the other Unesco heritage sites in the Netherlands, go to www.amsterdam.nl/worldheritage.