Southern IJ-shore, Amsterdam

The IJ River served as Amsterdam's harbor in the Golden Age. Eventually, the harbor fell into decline, and the buildings, warehouses, and shipyards all fell into disuse. In the 1980s, however, Amsterdam had a housing shortage, and the city regained interest in the river's potential. A variety of restructuring programs followed, whereby the designers tried to fuse the remaining structure and character of the harbor with new architecture. The Java and the KNSM island is well worth a visit. It offers a fantastic view over the IJ River and the city.