is the
capital, and largest city of the
Netherlands, located in the south of the province
North Holland. The name ''Amsterdam'' literally means
Amstel dam.
[4] The city was founded in the late
12th century as a small fishing village. The historical centre is renowned for its
concentric canals, largely built during the
Dutch Golden Age in the
17th century.
[5][6][7][8] The city has been compared with
Venice. Beyond the canals, the similarities have a basis in the cities' long histories of overseas trading, translating in openess and tolerance.
As of
January 1,
2006, the city of Amsterdam has a
population of 743,027 inhabitants and is by population size the
largest city in the Netherlands. The
urban area has a population of 1,021,870 inhabitants and is part of the conglomerate
metropolitan area Randstad, with a population of 6,659,300 inhabitants.
Name
The first occurrence of Amsterdam is
Latin The certificate of count
Floris V in
1275: ''homines manentes apud Amestelledamme'' (
English: people living near ''Amestelledamme'').
[9] The meaning of ''Amestelledamme'' is
dam or
dyke of the
Amstel, where the name of the river Amstel can be dissected into ''
ame'' meaning 'water' and ''stelle'' meaning 'dry ground'. The ''r'' from the current name was first used in
1282: ''Amestelredamme''. In
1327, count
William III used the form ''Aemsterdam'', which best resembles the modern form ''Amsterdam''.
History
Amsterdam began as a fishing village in the late 12th century. According to legend, Amsterdam was founded by two
Frisian fishermen, who landed on the shores of the Amstel in a small boat with their dog.
The
damming of the river Amstel gave it its name (in
Dutch: Amstelredam "Dam in the Amstel", turned into Amsterdam in the course of time). The traditional founding of the city of Amsterdam is
27 October 1275, when the inhabitants living around the Amstel dam were granted freedom from paying the
tolls associated with the
locks and bridges of Holland. It was given
city rights in
1300 or
1301. From the
14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely on the basis of trade with the cities of the
Hanseatic League. In
1345 a
Eucharistic miracle occurred near the
Kalverstraat and Amsterdam would remain an important pilgrimage city until the
Alteration to the protestant faith; today the
Stille Omgang - a silent
procession in civil dress - remains of the rich pilgrimage history.
Historical centre
In the
16th century, the Dutch rebelled against
Philip II of Spain and his successors. The revolt escalated into the
Eighty Years' War which ultimately led to Dutch independence and the imposition of
Protestant Calvinism as
de facto state religion. In
1578 the previously Catholic city of Amsterdam joined the revolt and all churches were confiscated for the reformed Protestant worship. After the break with Spain, the
Dutch Republic became known for its relative
religious tolerance, except towards
Catholics who had to worship secretly.
Jews from
Spain and
Portugal, prosperous merchants from
Antwerp (economic and religious refugees from the part of the
Low Countries still controlled by Spain), and
Huguenots from
France (persecuted for their religion) sought safety in Amsterdam.
The
17th century is considered Amsterdam's "Golden Age". In the early 17th century, Amsterdam became one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Ships sailed from Amsterdam to the
Baltic Sea,
North America,
Africa and present-day
Indonesia and
Brazil, and formed the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants had the biggest share in the
VOC and
WIC. These companies acquired the overseas possessions which formed the seeds of the later
Dutch colonies. Amsterdam was the most important point for the trans-shipment of goods in Europe, and it was the leading financial centre of the world. Amsterdam's
stock exchange was the first to trade continuously.
Painting of Amsterdam in 1538
The 18th and early 19th centuries saw a decline in Amsterdam's prosperity. The wars of the Dutch Republic with
England (see
Anglo-Dutch Wars) and
France took their toll on Amsterdam. During the
Napoleonic Wars, Amsterdam's fortunes reached their lowest point. However, with the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in
1815, things slowly began to improve. In Amsterdam new developments were started by people like city planner
Samuel Sarphati, who found their inspiration in Paris.
The end of the 19th century is sometimes called Amsterdam's second Golden Age. New museums, a train station, and the
Concertgebouw were built. At this time the
Industrial Revolution reached Amsterdam. The ''
Amsterdam-Rhine Canal'' was dug to give Amsterdam a direct connection to the
Rhine, and the ''
North Sea Canal'' to give the port a shorter connection to the
North Sea. Both projects improved communication with the rest of Europe and the world dramatically.
Joseph Conrad gives a brief description of Amsterdam, seen from the sea at this period, in (1906). In
1924 the
Roman Catholic Church of the Netherlands hosted the
International Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam, and numerous Catholic
prelates visited the city, where numerous festivities were held in churches and
stadiums; Catholic processions on the public streets however were still forbidden under law at the time.
In 2005, 965,000 people visited the museum adjoining #263 Prinsengracht, better known as the Anne Frank House.[10]
Shortly before the
World War I the city began expanding and new suburbs were built. During the war, the Netherlands remained neutral. Amsterdam suffered a food shortage, and heating fuel became scarce. The shortages sparked riots in which several people were killed.
Germany invaded the Netherlands on
10 May 1940, taking control of the country after five days of fighting. The Germans installed a Nazi civilian government in Amsterdam that cooperated in the persecution of Jews. However, a minority of people in Amsterdam helped the Jews in hiding and suffered persecution themselves in doing so. More than 103,000 to 105,000 Jews were deported from the Netherlands to
concentration camps, of whom perhaps the most famous was a young German girl,
Anne Frank. Only 5,000 Dutch Jews survived the war. In the last months of the war, communication with the rest of the country broke down, and food and fuel became scarce. Many inhabitants of the city had to travel to the countryside to collect food. Dogs, cats and raw sugar beets were consumed to stay alive. Most of the trees in Amsterdam were cut down for fuel, and all the wood was taken from the apartments of the Jewish people who were deported.
Government
City government
Main articles: Government of Amsterdam
The 15 boroughs of Amsterdam
As all Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is governed by a
mayor,
aldermen, and the
municipal council. However, unlike most other Dutch municipalities, Amsterdam is subdivided into fifteen ''
stadsdelen'' (boroughs), a system that was implemented in the
1980s to improve local governance. The ''stadsdelen'' are responsible for many activities that previously had been run by the central city. Fourteen of these have their own council, chosen by a popular election. The fifteenth, Westpoort, covers the harbour of Amsterdam, has very few inhabitants, and is governed by the central municipal council. Local decisions are made at borough level, and only affairs pertaining to the whole city, such as major infrastructure projects, are handled by the central city council.
National government
The present version of the
Dutch constitution mentions "Amsterdam" and "capital" only in one place, chapter 2, article 32: The king's confirmation by oath and his coronation take place in "the capital Amsterdam" ("''de hoofdstad Amsterdam''").
Previous versions of the constitution spoke of "the city of Amsterdam" ("''de stad Amsterdam''"), without mention of capital. In any case, the seat of the
government,
parliament and
supreme court of the Netherlands is (and always has been, with the exception of a brief period between
1808 and
1810) located at
The Hague. Foreign embassies too are in The Hague. Although capital of the country, Amsterdam is ''not'' the capital of the province in which it is located,
North Holland, whose capital is located at
Haarlem.
Coat of arms
Main articles: Coat of arms of Amsterdam
The coat of arms of Amsterdam is composed of several historical elements. First and centre are three
St Andrew's crosses, aligned in a vertical band on the city's shield. Historians believe they represent the three dangers which have traditionally plagued the city:
flood,
fire, and
pestilence. Second is the
Imperial Crown of Austria, awarded to the city in
1489 by
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, out of gratitude for services and loans. His crown was a sign of imperial protection and it acted as a seal of approval for Amsterdam's merchants abroad. The Westertoren (tower of the
Westerkerk) is topped by the selfsame imperial crown. The lions date from the 16th century, when the city was part of one of the first republics in the world, the Republic Of The Seven Provinces. Last came the city's official motto: ''Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig'' ("Valiant, Determined, Compassionate"), bestowed on the city by Wilhelmina van Oranje Nassau,
Queen Wilhelmina of The Royal Kingdom of The Netherlands in 1947, in recognition of the city's bravery during
World War II. The current design of the
flag of Amsterdam is based on the coat of arms.
Geography
17th century planning and construction of the canals
Much of the Amsterdam canal system is the successful outcome of
city planning. In the early part of the 17th century, with
immigration at a height, a comprehensive plan was put together, calling for four main, concentric half-circles of canals with their ends resting on de
IJ bay: three canals mostly for residential development (
Herengracht or ‘’Lords Canal’’;
Keizersgracht or ‘’Emperors Canal’’; and
Prinsengracht or ‘’Princes Canal’’), and a fourth, outer canal, the present Nassau/Stadhouderskade, for purposes of defense and water management. The plan also envisaged interconnecting canals along radii; a set of parallel canals in the
Jordaan quarter (primarily for the transportation of goods, for example, beer); the conversion of an existing, inner perimeter canal (Singel) from a defensive purpose to residential and commercial development; and more than one hundred bridges. The defensive purpose of the Nassau/Stadhouderskade was served by moat and
earthen dikes, with gates at transit points but otherwise no masonry
superstructures.
[11]
Construction proceeded from west to east, across the breadth of the lay-out, like a gigantic windshield wiper as the historian
Geert Mak calls it – ''not'' from the center outwards as a popular myth has it. Construction of the north-western sector was started in
1613. After
1656, with the canals in the southern sector also already finished for some time, building in that sector too was started, although slowly. The eastern part of the concentric canal plan, covering the area between the
Amstel river and the IJ bay, was never implemented. In the following centuries, the land went mostly for parks, old age homes, theaters and other public facilities – and for waterways without much plan.
[12]
City proper
Satellite image of the central part of the urban area of Amsterdam
The city of Amsterdam is located on the banks of the rivers
Amstel and
Schinkel, and the bay
IJ.
Urban area
Several parts of the city and of the
urban area are
polders, recognisable by their
postfix ''-meer'' meaning 'lake', such as
Aalsmeer,
Bijlmermeer,
Haarlemmermeer, and
Watergraafsmeer. The urban area includes the municipalities: Aalsmeer, Amsterdam,
Amstelveen,
Diemen, Haarlemmermeer,
Ouder-Amstel,
Uithoorn, and
Waterland. The size of the entire urban area is 896.96
km², whereof 718.03 km² is land.
As of
January 1,
2006 the urban area has a population of 1,354,000 inhabitants.
Greater Amsterdam area
The Greater Amsterdam area (Dutch: ''Stadsgewest Amsterdam'') consists of the urban area, its satellite cities, and the intervening rural land that is socio-economically connected to Amsterdam. This includes the municipalities Amsterdam,
Aalsmeer,
Abcoude,
Almere,
Amstelveen,
Diemen,
Graft-De Rijp,
Haarlemmermeer,
Landsmeer,
Oostzaan,
Purmerend,
Wormerveer,
Beemster,
Edam-Volendam,
Waterland,
Zaanstad and
Zeevang. The total size of the greater area is 1,896.97 km², whereof 1,447.36 km² is land.
As of
January 1,
2006 the metropolitan area has a population of 2,191,259 inhabitants.
Amsterdam is part of the conglomerate metropolitan area
Randstad, with a total population of 6,659,300 inhabitants.
Climate
Amsterdam enjoys a moderate temperate climate, with the weather patterns being strongly influenced by Amsterdam's proximity to the North Sea to the west and its prevailing north-western winds and gales. Winter temperatures are mild: on average above freezing, although
frosts are not uncommon during spells of easternly or northeasternly winds blowing in from the inner European continent, i. e. from Scandinavia, Russia and even Siberia. Summers are warm but rarely hot. Days with measurable
precipitation are common, but still Amsterdam averages less than 760 mm of precipitation annually. Most of it falls as protracted drizzle or light rain. But the occasional Western storm may bring a lot of water at once, and all of it has to be pumped out to higher ground and to the seas around the city. These bodies of water make cloudy and damp days common, particularly in cooler months, October through March.
| Month | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | Year |
|---|
| Avg high °C (°F) | 5.4 (41.7) | 6.0 (42.8) | 9.2 (48.6) | 12.4 (54.3) | 17.1 (62.8) | 19.2 (66.6) | 21.4 (70.5) | 21.8 (71.2) | 18.4 (65.1) | 14.1 (57.4) | 9.2 (48.6) | 6.5 (43.7) | 13.4 (56.1) |
|---|
| Avg low °C (°F) | 0.5 (32.9) | 0.2 (32.4) | 2.4 (36.3) | 4.0 (39.2) | 7.8 (46.0) | 10.4 (50.7) | 12.5 (54.5) | 12.3 (54.1) | 10.2 (50.4) | 7.0 (44.6) | 3.9 (39.0) | 1.9 (35.4) | 6.1 (43.0) |
|---|
| ''Source: [1]'' |
Economy
New development on the southern IJ-embankment
Amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands and one of the most important cities in Europe in which to do business. Many large Dutch corporations and banks have their headquarters in Amsterdam, including
ABN Amro,
Akzo Nobel,
Heineken,
ING Group,
Ahold,
Delta Lloyd Group and
Philips.
KPMG International's global headquarters is located in nearby Amstelveen, as is the European headquarters of
Cisco Systems.
Though many subsidiaries are located along the old canals, more and more companies decide to move to a newly built office tower outside the city centre. The South Axis (Dutch:
Zuidas) is increasingly a banking area, and is intended to become the new business-face of the Netherlands. There the recently expanded
World trade centre also has its location.
The
Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX) is part of
Euronext, and is the world's oldest stock exchange. It still is one of the most important in Europe.
Demography
In the 16th and 17th century non-Dutch immigrants to Amsterdam were mostly
Huguenots,
Flemings,
Sephardi Jews and
Westphalians. Hugenots came after 1685's
Edict of Fontainebleau, while the Flemish Protestants came during the
Eighty Years' War. The Westphalians came to Amsterdam mostly for economic reasons.
The first mass immigrants were people from
Indonesia, who came to Amsterdam after the independence of the
Dutch East Indies in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s guest workers from
Turkey,
Morocco,
Italy and
Spain migrated to Amsterdam. After the independence of
Suriname in 1975 a large wave of
Surinamese settled in Amsterdam, mostly in the
Bijlmer area. Other immigrants come from
Europe and
North America. In the seventies and eighties many 'old' Amsterdammers moved to 'new' cities like
Almere and
Purmerend, prompted by third
planological bill. Young professionals and artists moved into the 19th century neighbourhoods the
Pijp and the
Jordaan abandoned by these Amsterdammers. The non-Western immigrants settled mostly in the social housing projects in Amsterdam-West and the Bijlmer.
Education
Amsterdam has two universities: the
University of Amsterdam (Universiteit van Amsterdam), and the
VU University (Vrije Universiteit). Other institutions for higher education include an art school, De Rietveldacademie, the Hogeschool van Amsterdam and the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten. Amsterdam's
International Institute of Social History is one of the world's largest documentary and research institutions concerning social history, and especially the history of the labour movement. Amsterdam's
Hortus Botanicus, founded in the early 1600s, is one of the oldest
botanical gardens in the world, with many old and rare specimens, amongst them the
coffee plant that served as the parent for the entire coffee culture in Central and South America.
Amsterdam is thought to have excellent primary schools. Some of these schools base their teachings on particular pedagogic theories like the various
Montessori schools. Many however are based on religion. This used to be primarily Roman Catholicism and various Protestant denominations, but with the influx of Muslim immigrants there is a rise in the number of Muslim schools. In addition to these schools based on distinct beliefs there are public schools.
The same goes for secondary education. Amsterdam is noted for having 3 independent grammar schools (Dutch: gymnasia), the
Vossius Gymnasium,
Barlaeus Gymnasium and St.
Ignatius Gymnasium, where a classical curriculum including Latin and classical Greek is taught. Though believed until recently by many to be an anachronistic and elitist concept that would soon die out, the gymnasia have recently experienced a revival.
Transportation
Main articles: Transportation in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a major hub of the
highway system of the Netherlands by design.
[13] Dutch
freeways (comparable to US
interstate and UK
motorway roads) numbered one through eight were originally planned to originate from Amsterdam in 1932.
Complications, like the outbreak of the
Second World War and shifting priorities led to the current situation, where roads
A1,
A2, and
A4 originate from Amsterdam according to the original plan. These connect the capital with
Germany (via
Apeldoorn),
Utrecht and
Leiden respectively. Cancelled road A3 would connect Amsterdam with
Rotterdam via
Gouda, but conservation of the
Groene Hart was deemed more important in 1970. Road A8, leading north to
Zaandam and
Ringroad A10 were opened between
1968 and
1974.
[14] Besides the A1, A2, A4 and A8, several freeways, such as the A7 and A6, mainly carry traffic bound for Amsterdam, but terminate at one of the former.
The A10
Ringroad surrounding the city connects Amsterdam with the Dutch national network of freeways.
Interchanges on the A10 allow cars to enter the city by transferring to one of the eighteen ''city roads'', numbered s101 through s118. These city roads are regional roads without
grade separation, and sometimes without a
central reservation. Most are accessible by
cyclists. The s100 is called the centrumring, a smaller ringroad circumnavigating the city centre.
In the city centre, driving a car is discouraged.
Parking fees are steep and a great number of streets are closed to cars or are one-way.
[15] The local government sponsors
carsharing and
carpooling initiatives such as ''Autodelen'' and ''Meerijden.nu''.
[16]
Public transport in Amsterdam, operated by
Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf,
Connexxion and
Arriva consists of bus and tram lines. Amsterdam has four
metro lines; a fifth line, the
North/South line, is under construction. Several
ferries exist, operating for pedestrians and cyclists across the
IJ free of charge.
Amsterdam is known as one of the most
bicycle-friendly cities in the world and is a centre of
bicycle culture. Most main streets have bike paths.
Bike racks are ubiquitous throughout the city. There are about 700,000 bicycles in the city. Each year, about 80,000 of them are stolen and 25,000 end up in the canals.
Amsterdam is served by eight
stations of the
Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways).
[17]. Five are intercity stops:
Sloterdijk,
Zuid,
Amstel,
Bijlmer ArenA and
Amsterdam Centraal. Many other stations exist in the Amsterdam urban area.
Eurolines has
coaches from Amsterdam to destinations all over
Europe.
Amsterdam Centraal is an international train station. From the station there are regular sevices with destinations in
Belgium,
France,
Germany, and
Switzerland. Among these trains are international trains of the
Nederlandse Spoorwegen and the
Thalys,
CityNightLine, and
InterCityExpress.
[18]
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is less than 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam Central Station. It is the biggest airport in the Netherlands, the fourth largest in Europe and the tenth largest in the world. It handles about 42 million passengers a year and is home base to
KLM, since 2004 part of
Air France-KLM. Schiphol is the third
busiest airport in the world measured by international passengers.
Culture
Tourist attractions
Leaning buildings are common in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is noted for many outstanding museums, including the
Rijksmuseum, the
Stedelijk Museum, the
Rembrandt House Museum, and its world-class symphony orchestra, the
Concertgebouworkest, the home base of which is the
Concertgebouw. The
Van Gogh Museum houses the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world.
Anne Frank House is also a popular tourist attraction.
Amsterdam is also famous for its
red-light district, ''
de Wallen''. Window
prostitution is legal in the Netherlands at specific places. The red-light district is located in the centre of the city along major canals and is clearly marked on maps.
Centered around the Wallen, but also elsewhere in the city,
coffee shops sell
cannabis. This is not completely legal but is tolerated when small quantities of cannabis (up to 5 grams) are involved.
Sports
Amsterdam is the hometown of ''
Eredivisie'' football club
Ajax. Its home base is the modern stadium
Amsterdam ArenA, located in the south-east of the city.
In 1928, Amsterdam hosted the
Games of the IXth Olympiad. The
Olympic Stadium built for the occasion has been completely restored and is now used for cultural and sporting events.
Amsterdam also is home to a famous
ice rink, the
Jaap Eden baan. The
Amstel Tijgers play in this arena in the Dutch
ice hockey premier league. In
speed skating many international championships have been fought in the 400-meter lane of this ice rink.
The city also has a
baseball team, the
Amsterdam Pirates, who play in the
Dutch Major League. There are three
field hockey teams, Amsterdam, Pinoké and Hurley, who play their matches around the
Wagener Stadium. These teams are often referred to as playing in Amsterdam; however, all of them (even Amsterdam) play their matches in the neighbouring city of
Amstelveen. There is also a
basketball team, the
Amsterdam Astronauts, who compete in the Dutch premier division and play their games in the Sporthallen Zuid, near the Olympic Stadium.
Since 1999 the city of Amsterdam has honoured its best sportsmen and -women at the
Amsterdam Sports Awards. Boxer
Raymond Joval and field hockey midfielder
Carole Thate were the first to receive the awards in 1999.
References
1. Kerncijfers voor Amsterdam en de stadsdelen, 1 januari 2006
2. Area, population density, dwelling density and average dwelling occupation, 1 January 2006
3. Randstadmonitor 2006
4. Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, Vol 1, p896-898.
5. Amsterdamhotspots.nl
6. Amsterdam Tourist Information - Seven Bridges Festival
7. World Executive City Guides - Amsterdam
8. WorldMayor.com - Job Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam 2006
9. Hij zeit wat. De Amsterdamse volkstaal, , Jan, Berns, BZZTôH, ,
10. Source: 2005 a record year for the Anne Frank House
11. In ‘t land van belofte, in de nieue stadt: ideaal en werkelijkheid van de stadsuitleg in de Republiek, 1580-1680 (In the land of promise, in the new city: ideal and reality of the city lay-out in the [Dutch] Republic, 1580-1680), , E. R. M., Taverne, Schwartz, ,
12. Een kleine geschiedenis van Amsterdam, , G., Mak, Uitgeverij Atlas, ,
13. Autosnelweg.nl - Geschiedenis Autosnelwegen in Nederland
14. Autosnelweg.nl - Geschiedenis Autosnelwegen in Nederland
15. Amsterdam Fietst
16. Amsterdam.nl - Auto
17. Stationsweb-Noord Holland
18. Bestemmingen
External links
★
Amsterdam.nl
★
I amsterdam
★
★
Amsterdam City guide for Google Earth
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