The objective of the foundation
The main objective is to preserve the ‘keurtuinen’, the green lungs of the city centre of Amsterdam. (‘Keur’ is an old Dutch word for law), the gardens, hereafter ‘keurtuinen’, are protected by a law from 1615.
The foundation also wants to contribute to a healthy and liveable city centre of Amsterdam by means of protecting the monumental, centuries- old- trees from being unnecessarily cut down, to make sure that the birds, bees, insects and other animals keep their space in the gardens.
All interested parties, including owners and users of the houses in the 27 ‘keurblokken’ (blocks of buildings with secluded protected gardens) as well as the Dutch government, the City of Amsterdam and organisations working for the environment and monument preservation should feel responsible to exert themselves and strive to preserve and manage the cultural-historic green character of these gardens as well as their unique characteristics such as the garden houses and the monumental trees. In 1615 the first tree was planted. Our generation and the next generations must continue to plant for a healthier and liveable city.