Westelijke Eilanden (, Western Islands) are three islands in the Centrum district of Amsterdam: Bickerseiland, Prinseneiland and Realeneiland. They are located to the south of the IJ and the Zeeheldenbuurt, to the north of the railway line between Central Station and Amsterdam-Sloterdijk, to the west of the Westerdok and to the east of the Planciusbuurt on the Westerkanaal. The Westelijke Eilanden form the core of the Golden Reael area, which also includes the adjacent Westerdok island, the Haarlemmerbuurt and the Planciusbuurt. The Westelijke Eilanden form a small world apart from the city. They are suitable for walks, which Joannes Antonides van der Goes recommended in a poem, Ystroom, as early as 1671. They are often used for filming. There have always been warehouses and shipyards on the Westelijke Eilanden. They formed an important part of the atmosphere on the islands, a combination of working and living. The islands are sometimes called the "Mokum Archipelago". History The Nieuwe Waal was deepened in the IJ in 1610 and demarcated with rows of poles as an extension of the Port of Amsterdam. This left an area of almost floating or loose peat in the corner of the IJ, which needed to be stabilized. Between 1611 and 1615 three large artificial islands were created there, protected by a large bulwark that extended as far as the IJ. This was part of the Third Expansion - Derde Uitleg (nl) - of Amsterdam, for which the first plans date from 1610. Land speculation by a number of council members, including Frans Hendricksz. Oetgens, led to a riot in the council in 1614. If the speculators had got their way it would have led to the need for extensive buy-out of land by the city, or a reduction in income to the city. Names of the islands Initially, the three largest islands were called Vooreiland, Middeneiland and Achtereiland. They were connected by eight bridges. The Vooreiland was renamed Bickerseiland after Jan Bicker, a descendant of the Bicker merchant family who had managed the construction in the city administration. Achtereiland was for the same reason named Realeneiland after Jacob Reael. Middeneiland was named Prinseneiland after the first three Princes of Orange. In contrast to the Eastern Islands, shipyards and warehouses on the Westelijke Eilanden were not involved with the Dutch East India Company or the Admiralty of Amsterdam, but with the Dutch West India Company and the trade