Trippenhuis

In the 17th century, when taxes were levied on houses according to their width, the Trippenhuis on Kloveniersburgwal in Amsterdam was the widest house in the city. It was owned by the wealthy Trip brothers, who had amassed their fortune through an inheritance from their father, who made money in the iron and arms trade. The story goes that the Trip brothers' coachman once said he would be the happiest man on earth if he had a house only as wide as the front door of the Trippenhuis. The brothers, who were known as fine employers, then decided to build a house opposite their own house for their coachman. Thus, he finally got his own "narrow" house and could call himself the luckiest man on earth.