[imagesource: Ilvy Njiokiktjien / The New York Times]

Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations.

The (in)famous Red-Light District will never look the same post-COVID-19, but that won’t stop revellers from around the world descending on the Dutch city, once global travel opens up.

For those who call Amsterdam home, the quieter streets can’t only be attributed to a decline in the number of visitors.

Certain streets and areas are off-limits, and according to The Telegraph a huge amount of work lies ahead:

…the charming canalside pavements and beautiful bridges that provide perfect backdrops for selfies are, in fact, falling down.

Sinkholes have opened up, vulnerable bridges are closed to traffic, 125 miles of canal wall are badly damaged and at risk of collapse, while 20 metres have crumbled.

Image: Ilvy Njiokiktjien / The New York Times

Even Amsterdam’s ever-present cyclists have been told not to bike in certain areas.

The city is facing a bill of at least £1.7bn bill and two to three decades of rebuilding to save its 17th and 18th century from the water.

The city lies below sea level and was actually built on a swamp, with foundations of millions of wood pilings, before rapidly expanding in size through the 17th century.

Those wood pilings have now collapsed, due in part to the huge amount of tourist foot traffic, as well as actual traffic.

As the city preps for huge repair efforts, vehicles weighing more than 30 tonnes will be banned from the city centre.

The New York Times goes as far as to say that “for the next two decades, the scenic city and tourist magnet is going to look more like one gigantic construction site.”

Amsterdam local Marlies Pinksterboer recounted a story that other residents can relate to:

[She] was startled by a loud, rumbling sound.

“It was as if a part of a building had come crashing down,” she said. “It was crazy.”

Image: Gemeente Amsterdam

It was too dark to see what had happened, but when she opened the curtains in the morning she saw that the street on the other side of the canal had been cordoned off. A large sinkhole had appeared, and an antique lamp post next to it had fallen down. A shopping cart, devoured by the gaping pit, glittered in the hole.

The sinkholes can’t rival the damage caused by recent incidents in Mexico and Israel, but they’re enough to leave people like Pinksterboer wondering if her house, built in the 17th century alongside the canal, could also collapse.

Efforts to restore canal walls without damaging a tangled web of electricity and internet cables, phone lines, and other services is no mean feat, which is why the costs are so high, and the timeframe so broad.

A famous Dutch children’s song, translated to English, goes like this:

Amsterdam, big city, It is built on piles

If the city would collapse, Who would pay for that?

Looks like those who call the city home will be footing the bill.

[sources:telegraph&nytimes]