Amsterdam — By Marianne Crone on April 12, 2010 at 10:52 am
Filed under: Amsterdam photo, amsterdam souvenir, Photos

XXX from Amsterdam with Love

Ubiquitous triple X is not a reference to Amsterdam’s Red Light District or the porn industry, but an emblem granted to the city by Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian. He borrowed large amounts of money from Amsterdam to finance military campaigns. In return, the Emperor granted Amsterdam the right to use his personal imperial crown in the city’s coat of arms. This sparkling red blue and gold XXX crown is still atop The Westerkerk spire. Local traders started using XXX as a sign to denote quality. Today the tourist trade has taken over the emblem as their trade mark.

Photo credit: personal collection