Amsterdam

For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation).

Amsterdam
The Keizersgracht
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  Mokum, Venice of The North, Damsko
Motto(s):  Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig (Heroic, Determined, Mercifull)
Location of Amsterdam
Country	Netherlands
Province	North Holland
Government
• Mayor	Job Cohen (PvdA)
• Aldermen	Lodewijk Asscher Carolien Gehrels Tjeerd Herrema Maarten van Poelgeest Marijke Vos
• Secretary	Erik Gerritsen
Area
• Total	219 km2 (85 sq mi)
• Land	166 km2 (64 sq mi)
• Water	53 km2 (20 sq mi)
• Urban region	1,896 km2 (732 sq mi)
Population  (January 1, 2006)
• Total	742,884
• Density	4,459/km2 (11,550/sq mi)
• Urban region	1,468,122
• Randstad	6,659,300
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Website	www.amsterdam.nl

(IPA: [ɑmstərˈdɑm]) is the capital and the largest city of The Netherlands. Its name is derived from "Amstel dam", pointing to the city's origin: a dam on the river Amstel. The city is known for its historic port, the Rijksmuseum, its red-light district (de Wallen), its liberal coffee shops, and its many canals which have led to Amsterdam being called the "Venice of the North". During the Dutch Golden Age, Amsterdam was one of the most important ports in the world, because of its innovative developments in trade. Amsterdam became the leading centre for finance and diamonds.

The city, founded in the late 12th century as a small fishing village, has grown to become the largest city in the Netherlands with a population of 751,251 inhabitants, containing at least 175 nationalities.

Amsterdam and its surrounding metropolitan area have a population of 1 million to about 1.5 million people, depending on definition, and is part of the Randstad conurbation, which has a population of 6,659,300. Also, Amsterdam is a six-point Gamma Global City.

History

Main article: History of Amsterdam

The first known record of Amsterdam is 27 October 1275, when the inhabitants of a late 12th century fishing village who had built a bridge with a dam across the Amstel were granted freedom by count Floris V from paying a bridge toll . The certificate's wording (homines manentes apud Amestelledamme - people living near Amestelledamme) gives the first known use of the name Amsterdam, which by 1327 had developed into Aemsterdam. A local tradition has the city being founded by two fishermen, who landed on the shores of the Amstel in a small boat with their dog. In any case, Amsterdam's origin is relatively recent in comparison with other Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam and Utrecht.

Painting of Amsterdam in 1538.

Amsterdam 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.

In the 16th century, the Dutch rebelled against Philip II of Spain and his successors. Both for his imposition of new taxes, the tenth penny, and his religious persecution of Protestantism with the Spanish Inquisition. The revolt escalated into the Eighty Years' War which ultimately led to Dutch independence. Strongly pushed by Dutch Revolt leader William the Silent, the Dutch Republic became known for its relative religious tolerance. Jews from Spain and Portugal, prosperous merchants and printers from Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges (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 influx of Flemish printers and the city's intellectual tolerance made Amsterdam a hotbed of the European free press.

Dam Square in the late 17th century: painting by Gerrit Adriaenszoon Berckheyde (Gemäldegalerie, Dresden).

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, India, Sri Lanka and Brazil, and formed the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants had the biggest share in the VOC (Dutch East India Company) and WIC (Dutch West India Company). 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.

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.

View on the Munttoren in 1900.

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 The Mirror of the Sea (1906). 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. Many Amsterdammers sheltered Jews at a high risk to themselves and their families and those that were discovered were also sent to the concentration camps. After the war approximately 120,000 Dutch were prosecuted as collaborators. 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. Tulip bulbs - cooked to a pulp - were a common food as well. Most of the trees in Amsterdam were cut down for fuel, and all the wood was taken from the apartments of deported Jews.

The subway station Nieuwmarkt with historic images of the Nieuwmarktrellen.

A lot of new suburbs were built in the years following the World War II, such as Osdorp, Slotervaart, Slotermeer and Geuzenveld in Amsterdam-West and the Bijlmer. These new suburbs provided people with new improved housing conditions, since they provided large rooms filled with light, gardens and balconies. The suburbs contained a lot of public parks and wide open spaces. This was a radical change for most people, who before lived in little apartments in the overcrowded older neighborhoods of Amsterdam. After the war almost the whole city's center had fallen into disrepair by the war and other happenings of the 20th century. As society was changing, politicians and other prominent figures made plans to demolish large parts of the city's center. There was a larger demand for office buildings and an automobile was now available for most Dutchmen, so new roads were necessary due to congestions.
These large scale demolitions began in the formerly Jewish neighborhood of Amsterdam. The new suburb the Bijlmer was just finished building and a new subway was being built to connect this suburb of Amsterdam. The plan was to built a new highway atop of the subway to connect the central station and city's center with other parts of the city. Smaller streets like the Jodenbreestraat were almost completely demolished and widened. When demolitions reached the Nieuwmarkt riots (Nieuwmarktrellen) broke out. People rebelled against the city's government, because they had become furious of the demolitions they saw. Eventually, the subway was finished, but all demolitions were ceased. The highway was never finished. Every destroyed building was replaced with a new one corresponding with the medieval street plan of the neighborhood. Only a few streets remained widened. The new city hall was built on the almost completely demolished Waterloopplein. In the meanwhile, large private funded organizations, such as Stadsherstel Amsterdam, were founded to restore the entire city's center. They succeeded in this and are still active to this day. Today, the entire city center had been restored to its former splendor. Many buildings in the historic city's center are now monuments, the city's center as a whole is a protected area and there are plans to make the Grachtengordel (Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht) a new Unesco World Heritage site.

Geography

The city centre of Amsterdam as seen from above.

Amsterdam fans out south from the Amsterdam Centraal railway station. The main street is Damrak which leads into Rokin. The area to the east of Damrak is the oldest area and is known as de Wallen ("the walls") after the medieval walls of the city - this area contains the city's red light area. To the south of de Wallen is the old Jewish quarter of Waterlooplein. The 17th century girdle of concentric canals, known as the "grachtengordel", embraces the heart of the city. Beyond the grachtengordel are the formerly working class areas of Jordaan and de Pijp, Museumplein, containing the city's major museums, Vondelpark, the 19th century park named after the Dutch writer Joost van den Vondel and Plantage, the neighborhood in which the zoo Artis is located.

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.

Canals

Main article: Canals of Amsterdam

A boat on the Prinsengracht in 2006.

A woodcut (1885) of the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, a canal that is now a filled up.

A typical view of a canal (Keizersgracht) in Amsterdam (February 2008).

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. Known as the "grachtengordel", three of the canals are mostly for residential development (Herengracht or ‘’Gentleman's Canal’’; Keizersgracht or ‘’Emperor's Canal’’; and Prinsengracht or ‘’Prince's Canal’’), and a fourth, outer canal, the Singelgracht (not to be confused with the Singel), 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 Singelgracht was served by moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points but otherwise no masonry superstructures.

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 centre 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.

Over the years, several canals have been filled up and are now streets or squares, such as Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and Spui.

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 easterly or northeasterly 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	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC	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: [2]

Economy

File:World trade center amsterda.jpg

The World Trade Center Amsterdam is located in the financial district Zuidas.

Skyscrapers in the Zuidas district.

Amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch corporations and banks have their headquarters in Amsterdam, including ABN Amro, Akzo Nobel, Heineken International, ING Group, Ahold, TomTom, Delta Lloyd Group and Philips. KPMG International's global headquarters is located in nearby Amstelveen.

Though many small offices are still located on the old canals, companies are increasingly relocating outside the city centre. The Zuidas (English: South Axis) is the new financial and legal hub. The five largest law firms of the Netherlands and Dutch subsidiaries of large consulting firms like Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Co and Accenture have their offices here. The World Trade Center Amsterdam stands here.

There are also three other smaller financial districts in Amsterdam. The first one is the area surrounding Amsterdam Sloterdijk railway station. A lot of newspapers like De Telegraaf have their offices here. Also Gemeente Vervoersbedrijf and the Dutch tax offices are located there. The second other financial district is the area surrounding Amsterdam Arena. Last the area surrounding Amsterdam Amstel railway station. The highest building in Amsterdam (Rembrandttoren) is situated there and it is the location of the headquarters of Philips.

The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), nowadays part of Euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe'ss largest bourses. It is situated near Dam Square in the city's center.

Tourism

Amsterdam is the 5th busiest tourist destination in Europe with more than 4.2 million international visitors. The room occupation rate is the 2nd highest in Europe in 2007. Tourists can choose from 350 Hotels, 17 of which are fivestar hotels. 18,000 rooms and almost 45,000 beds are provided.

Retail

Amsterdam shops range from large department stores such as Metz & Co, founded in 1740, De Bijenkorf founded in 1870, and Maison de Bonneterie a Parisian style store founded in 1889, to small specialty shops. Amsterdam's high-end shops are found in the streets Pieter Cornelisz Hooftstraat and Cornelis Schuytstraat, which are located in the neighborhood of the Vondelpark. One of Amsterdam's busiest high streets is the narrow, medieval Kalverstraat in the heart of the city. Another shopping area are the Negen Straatjes: nine narrow streets within the Grachtengordel, the concentric canal system of Amsterdam. The Negen Straatjes differ from other shopping districts by displaying a large diversity of privately owned shops. The city features also a large number of open-air markets such as the Albert Cuypmarkt, Westermarkt, Ten Katemarkt, and Dappermarkt.

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 – their influx continued through the 18th and 19th centuries.

The first mass immigrants in the 20th century 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, among which asylants and illegals, come from Europe, America, Asia and Africa. In the seventies and eighties many 'old' Amsterdammers moved to 'new' cities like Almere and Purmerend, prompted by the third planological bill of the Dutch government. This bill promoted suburbanization and arranged for new developments in so called "groeikernen", lit. "cores of growth". Young professionals and artists moved into neighbourhoods de 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. Non-Western immigrants make up approximately one in three residents of Amsterdam and more than 50% of the children in Amsterdam have a non-western background. Template:Demography 12col

Religion

The Church of St. Nicholas (Sint Nicolaaskerk)

The Amsterdam Esnoga

Amsterdam's largest religious group are the Calvinists followed by Islam, mainly Sunni Islam.

In 1578 the previously Roman Catholic city of Amsterdam joined the revolt against Spanish rule, late in comparison to other major northern Dutch cities. In line with Protestant procedure of that time, all churches were "reformed" to the Protestant worship. Calvinism became the dominant religion and although Catholicism was not forbidden and priests allowed to serve, the Catholic hierarchy was prohibited. This led to the establishment of schuilkerken, covert churches, behind seemingly ordinary canal side house fronts, one of them the current debate center de Rode Hoed.

A large influx of foreigners of many religions into 17th-century Amsterdam, in particular Sefardic Jews from Spain and Portugal, Huguenots from France, and Protestants from the Southern Netherlands, led to the establishment of many non-Dutch-speaking religious churches. In 1603 the first notification is made of Jewish religious service. In 1639 the first Jewish synagogue was consecrated.

As they became established in the city, other Christian denominations used converted Catholic chapels to conduct their own services. The oldest Church of England building outside the United Kingdom is found at the Begijnhof. Regular services there are still offered in English. The Huguenots accounted for nearly 20% of Amsterdam's inhabitants in 1700; being Calvinists, they soon integrated into the Dutch Reformed Church, though often retaining their own congregations. Some, commonly referred by the moniker 'Walloon', and are recognizable today as they offer occasional services in French.

In the second half of the 17th century, Amsterdam experienced an influx of Ashkenazim, Jews from Central and Eastern Europe, which continued into the 19th century. Jews often fled the pogroms in those areas. They not only founded their own synagogues, but had a strong influence on the 'Amsterdam dialect' adding a large Yiddish local vocabulary. Amsterdam's nickname of Mokum, the Yiddish word for the Hebrew makom ("town"), stems from this immigration.

Despite an absence of an official Jewish ghetto, most Jews preferred to live in the eastern part of the old medieval heart of the city. The main street of this Jewish neighborhood was the Jodenbreestraat. The neighborhood comprised the Waterloopplein and the Nieuwmarkt. Buildings in in this neighborhood fell into disrepair after World War II and a large section of the neighbourhood was demolished during the construction of the new subway. This led to riots and as a result a small part of the old neighborhood was saved.

Catholic churches in Amsterdam have been constructed since the restoration of the bishopric hierarchy in 1853. One of the principal architects behind the city's Catholic churches, Cuypers, was also responsible for the Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum, which led to a refusal of Protestant King William III to open 'that monastery'. 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. Only in the twentieth century was Amsterdam's relation to Catholicism normalized, but despite its far larger population size, the Catholic clergy chose to place its bishopric seat of the city in the nearby provincial town of Haarlem.

The most recent religious changes in Amsterdam are due to large-scale immigration from former colonies. Immigrants from Suriname have introduced Evangelical Protestantism and Lutheranism, from the Hernhutter variety, Hinduism, from South East Asia and a liberal branch of Islam from various parts of the world. Turks, Kurds and Moroccans have introduced other Islamic sects. Islam has now become the largest non-Christian religion in Amsterdam. The large community of Ghanaian and Nigerian immigrants have established African churches, often in parking garages in the Bijlmer area, where many have settled. In addition, a broad array of other religious movements have been established congregations, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and Scientology.

Culture

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

During the later part of the 16th century Amsterdams Rederijkerskamer (Chamber of Rhetoric) organized contests between different Chambers in the reading of poetry and drama. In 1638 Amsterdam got its first theatre. Ballet performances were given in this theatre as early as 1642. In the 18th century French theatre became popular. Opera could be seen in Amsterdam from 1677, first only Italian and French operas, but in the 18th century German operas. In the 19th century popular culture was centred around the Nes area in Amsterdam (mainly vaudeville and music-hall). The metronome, one of the most important advances in European classical music was invented here in 1812 by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel. At the end of this century the Rijksmuseum and Gemeentelijk Museum were built. In 1888 the Concertgebouworkest was established. With the 20th century came cinema, radio and television. Though the studios are in Hilversum and Aalsmeer, Amsterdam's influence on programming is very strong.

Art

Museum Square

The most important museums of Amsterdam are located on het Museumplein (Museum Square). This square is the largest square of Amsterdam and lies adjacent to the southern side of the city's center. It was created in the last quarter of the 19th century on the grounds of the former World Exposition. The northern part of the square is bordered by the very large Rijksmuseum. In front of the Rijksmuseum on the square itself you can find a man-made pond. This is transformed in winter time into a ice rink. The western part of the square is bordered by the Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, House of Bols Cocktail & Genever Experience and Coster Diamonds. The southern border of the Museum Square is the Van Baerlestraat, which is a major thoroughfare in this part of Amsterdam. The Concertgebouw is situated across this street from the square. To the east of the square are situated a couple of villas, one of which houses the American consulate. A parking garage can be found underneath the square, as well as a supermarket. Het Museumplein is covered almost entirely with a lawn, except for the northern part of the square which is covered with gravel. The current appearance of the square was realized in 1999, when the square was remodeled. The square itself is the most prominent site in Amsterdam for festivals and outdoor concert, especially in the summer. Plans have been made this year (2008) to remodel the square again, because many inhabitants of Amsterdam are not happy with it's current appearance.

File:RembrandtNightwatch.jpg

The Nachtwacht

The Rijksmuseum possesses the largest and most important collection of classical Dutch art. It opened it's doors to the public in 1885. It collection consists of one million pieces of art. The artist most associated with Amsterdam is Rembrandt, whose work, and the work of his pupils, is displayed in the Rijksmuseum. Rembrandt's masterpiece the Nightwatch is one of top pieces of art of the museum. It also houses paintings from artists like Van der Helst, Vermeer, Frans Hals, Ferdinand Bol, Albert Cuijp, Van Ruysdael and Paulus Potter. Besides paintings the collection consists of a large variety of decorative art. This ranges from Delftware to giant dollhouses from the 17th century. The architect of the gothic revival building was P.J.H. Cuypers. Only one wing of the Rijksmuseum is currently open to the public, where the 200 most important pieces of art are on display. The museum will open again after the year 2010. The Rijksmuseum is being expanded, renovated and a new main entrance for the museum is being created.

Van Gogh lived in Amsterdam for a short while, so there is a museum dedicated to his early work. The museum is housed in one of the few modern buildings in this area of Amsterdam. The building was designed by Gerrit Rietveld. This building is where the permanent collection is shown to the public. A new building was added to the museum in 1999. This building, known as the performance wing, was designed by a Japanese architect. It's purpose is to house temporary exhibitions of the museum. Some of Van Gogh's most famous paintings like the Aardappeleters and Zonnenbloemen are present in the collection of the museum. The Van Gogh museum is the most visited museum in Amsterdam.

Next to the Van Gogh museum stands the Stedelijk Museum. This is Amsterdam's most important museum concerning modern art. The museum opened it's doors at around the same time the Museum Square was created. The permanent collection consists of works of art from artists like Piet Mondriaan, Karel Appel and Kasimir Malewitsj. This museum is also currently being renovated and expanded. The main entrance will be relocated from the Paulus Potterstraat to the Museum Square itself. It will be open again to public in 2009.The current exhibition of this museum is housed in a former post office near the central station.

Other

Amsterdam contains a lot more museums then just those on the Museum Square. These museums range from little ones, such as the Verzetsmuseum and the Rembrandthuis, to very large ones like the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdams Historisch Museum and Joods Historisch Museum. These museums are all located in the city's center or nearby it.

Performing Arts

The Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw (photograph: bmz.amsterdam.nl).

Amsterdam has a world-class symphony orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the home base of which is the Concertgebouw across the Van Baerlestraat from the Museum Square. It is considered by critics to be a concert hall with one of the best acoustics in the world. The building contains three halls: Grote Zaal, Kleine Zaal and Spiegelzaal. 800 concerts a year are performed here for a audience of approximately 850.000 people.

The main theatre building of Amsterdam is the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam at the Leidseplein. It is the home base of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam. The current building dates from 1894. Most plays are performed in the Grote Zaal (Great Hall). The normal programm of events encompasses all sorts of theatrical forms, mostly by Dutch writers. The Stadsschouwburg is currently being renovated and expanded.

The opera house of Amsterdam is situated adjacent to the city hall. Therefore, the two buildings combined are often called the Stopera. This word is derived from the Dutch words stadhuis (=city hall) and opera. The building was officially opened in 1986. This huge modern complex lies in the former Jewish neighborhood at Waterloopplein next to the river Amstel. The Stopera is the homebase of De Nederlandse Opera, Het Nationale Ballet and the Holland Symfonia.

Het Muziekgebouw aan 't Ij is a new concert hall, which is situated in the Ij near the central station. It's concerts are mostly modern interpretations of classical music. Adjacent to Het Muziekgebouw aan 't Ij the Bimhuis is located. The Bimhuis is a concert hall for Jazz music.

The Heineken Music Hall is a concert hall located near the Amsterdam ArenA. It main purpose is to serve as a podium for pop concerts. Many famous international artists like Armin van Buuren, James Blunt and Rihanna have performed there.

Nightlife, festivals

Amsterdam has a vibrant and diverse nightlife scene and is famous for it. The two main epicenters for nightlife are the Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein. The Rembrantplein is more visited by Dutchmen from outside Amsterdam and the Leidseplein tends to be more for the locals and tourist from outside the country.

Amsterdam contains a lot of cafes. They range from large cafes, like the ones on the Leidseplein itself to smaller cafes sought after by locals in the smaller streets of this city. You can sit down in a old fashion cafe, which are called a bruin kroeg by Dutchmen. These bruine kroegen contain a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere and the interior is lit with dim lights. You could also choose to sit down in one of the many trendy, stylish new cafes Amsterdam has to offer. These cafes are more sought after by a younger crowd, who drink cocktails or mixed drinks. Most cafes have terraces in summertime. A common sight on the Leidseplein during summer is a square full of terraces packed with people drinking beer or wine.

Many restaurants can be found in Amsterdam. Since Amsterdam is a multicultural city a lot of different ethnic restaurants can be found here. Restaurants range from being rather luxurious and expensive to being normal and affordable. Some of the best restaurants in the Netherlands are located in Amsterdam. Many hotels have a adjacent restaurant.

Amsterdam also possesses many discothèques. Most of the discothèques are situated near or on the Leidseplein or Rembrandtplein. A example of a discothèque near the Leidseplein is the Jimmy Woo. This is a trendy club were you have to be on the guest list to get in. The Paradiso and Melkweg are cultural centers, which turn into discothèques one some nights. Those nights in the Paradiso are popular with students. Large discothèques near the Rembrandtplein are the Escape, Club Home and Cineac (currently closed). There are in addition to these also a lot of cafes with a dance floor throughout the city. Various other large discothèques in Amsterdam are located outside these two epicenters. Panama is located near the Ij, which also is a restaurant. The Powerzone is a discothèque, which used to be an office building. House music is a popular category of music in the Powerzone. Club Arena is situated near the Oosterpark and used to be a chapel. Now it is place where people dance and drink all night long. You mostly have to be 21 years or older to get in, but they are not always that strict and for some parties you have to be 18 years or older. The Reguliersdwarsstraat is the main street for gay bars and clubs. It can get very crowded in this small street on weekend nights.

Koninginnedag in Amsterdam 2007.

The cinemas of Amsterdam which feature Hollywood productions are all part of a larger chain of cinemas in the Netherlands owned by Pathe. They have two cinemas in the city's center, one of which (Tuschinski) is a beautiful old art deco style building in the Reguliersbreestraat. Scattered throughout the city's center are a lot of smaller cinemas, which show a various selection of movies from documentaries to movies for children.

Amsterdam is a city of festivals. In the last year alone there were 140 festivals in Amsterdam. Famous festivals in Amsterdam are the events taking place during Koninginnedag, Amsterdam Gay Pride and the Uitmarkt. On Koninginnedag, hundreds of thousands of people travel to Amsterdam to join the inhabitant to celebrate and party. The entire city will be overcrowded with people who are buying products from the freemarket or visit one of the many music concerts. It is held on the 30th of April. During Gay Pride, there is a very long parade of boats with extravagant people floating on Amsterdam's canals and there are various events taking place in the city elsewhere. It is held in August. Finally the Uitmarkt is a cultural event which lasts three days. It consists of many podia with a lot of different artist on them, like musicians and poets. It is held in late August.

Fashion

Fashion brands like G-star, Gsus, BlueBlood, 10 feet and Warmenhoven & Venderbos and fashion designers like Mart Visser, Viktor & Rolf, Marlies Dekkers and Frans Molenaar are based in Amsterdam. Model agencies Elite Models, Touche models and Tony Jones have opened branches in Amsterdam. Supermodels Yfke Sturm, Doutzen Kroes and Kim Noorda started their career in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has its garment centre in the World Fashion Center. Buildings formerly housing brothels in the red light district have have been converted to ateliers for young upcoming fashion designers.

Tourist attractions

Main article: List of tourist attractions in Amsterdam

Anne Frank House in Amsterdam

Visitors are attracted to Amsterdam for its reputation as a liberal city; its relaxed charm emphasised by elegant, narrow fronted merchant's houses and enchanting canals; and the reputation of its museums.

Being the symbols of Amsterdam, the canals are the main tourist attraction of this beautiful city. Especially the three largest canals, namely the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht are famous and well visited by tourists. In summertime a lot of people will sit down on the many terraces which line the canals to drinks something, especially in the vicinity of the Leidseplein. Other canals like the Reguliersgracht and Brouwersgracht are equal in beauty to the major canals, but less visited.

The major museums are the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Museum, the Rembrandt House Museum, and the Van Gogh Museum, which houses the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world. The Anne Frank House, a museum dedicated to the story of Anne Frank, is also a popular tourist attraction.

The liberal nature of Amsterdam is not only physically embodied in the layout of the city, such as the de Wallen area which contains the red-light district and many cannabis-selling coffeeshops, but it is also embodied in the well-rounded, prevailing attitudes of its residents, government and businesses. Amsterdam's red-light district is located in the centre of the city and is clearly marked on maps. Window prostitution in the Netherlands is legal at specific places. Cannabis selling, however, is not - but it is tolerated when small quantities of cannabis (up to 5 grams) are involved. Previously in Amsterdam a handful of smart shops sold psilocybin mushrooms and drug paraphernalia. However psilocybin mushrooms have recently been made illegal. Though illegal to consume in public, these mushrooms are still sold by several smart shops.

Amsterdam also possesses a large collection of inner courts. The most famous of these courts is the Begijnhof. This is the largest of the inner courts, but there are also a lot of smaller inner courts scattered throughout the city's center. Most of them are located in the Jordaan, such as the Suykerhofje on the Lindengracht. Not all of them are open to public, but most are. Another beautiful inner court is the Van Deutzenhofje on the Prinsengracht near the Vijzelgracht. When visiting the inner courts always pay your respects towards the wishes of the inhabitants.

Red light district

Main article: De Wallen

Red Light District of Amsterdam

De Wallen, also known as Walletjes or Rosse Buurt, is the largest and best-known red-light district in Amsterdam, a major tourist attraction. It is a network of alleys containing several hundred tiny one-room apartments rented by female prostitutes (and some ladyboys) who offer their services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights. The area also has a number of sex shops, sex theatres, peep shows, a sex museum, a cannabis museum, and a number of coffee shops offering various cannabis products. The city administration is actively pursuing a policy of reducing the number of venues.

Sports

Amsterdam is the hometown of the Eredivisie football club Ajax. Its home base is the stadium Amsterdam ArenA, located in the south-east of the city. Before it moved to the Arena in 1996 Ajax played their regular matches in De Meer Stadion.

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, such as the Amsterdam Marathon.

The ice hockey team Amstel Tijgers play in the Jaap Eden ice rink. The team competes in the Dutch ice hockey premier league. Speed skating championships have been held on the 400-meter (1,310 ft) lane of this ice rink. Amsterdam is also a place where many skateboard competitions are held.

The baseball team the Amsterdam Pirates competes in the Dutch Major League. There are three field hockey teams, Amsterdam, Pinoké and Hurley, who play their matches around the Wagener Stadium in the nearby city of Amstelveen. These teams are often referred to as playing in Amsterdam. The basketball team the Amsterdam Astronauts competes in the Dutch premier division and play their games in the Sporthallen Zuid, near the Olympic Stadium.

Since 1999 the city of Amsterdam honours the 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.

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Amsterdam

An Amsterdam bike

Amsterdam is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world and is a centre of bicycle culture with good provision for cyclists such as bike paths and bike racks, which are ubiquitous throughout the city. There are an estimated one million bicycles in the city. However, bike theft is common, so cyclists use large secure locks. Approximately 100.000 bicycles get stolen a year in Amsterdam. People use their bicycles for a lot of different purposes, which range from going to work to picking up the children from school and doing groceries with. A wide variety of bicycles can be found throughout the city. Most people use a common bicycle, but some use mountain bikes, racing bikes or even recumbent bikes.

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. The local government sponsors carsharing and carpooling initiatives such as Autodelen and Meerijden.nu.

Public transport in Amsterdam mainly consists of bus and tram lines, operated by Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf, Connexxion and Arriva. Currently, there are 16 different tramlines; however, there are four metro lines; with a fifth line, the North/South line, under construction. Three free ferries carry pedestrians and cyclists across the IJ to Amsterdam-Noord, and two fare charging ferries go east and west along the harbour. There are also water taxis and a water bus, in addition to the canal cruises, that transport people along Amsterdam's waterways. Some 35% of all people travelling in Amsterdam uses public transport.

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's centre.

Amsterdam was intended in 1932 to be a major hub of the highway system of the Netherlands, with freeways numbered one through eight planned to originate from the city. However, the outbreak of the Second World War and shifting priorities led to the current situation, where only roads A1, A2, and A4 originate from Amsterdam according to the original plan. The A3 road to Rotterdam was cancelled in 1970 in order to conserve the Groene Hart. Road A8, leading north to Zaandam and the A10 Ringroad were opened between 1968 and 1974. Besides the A1, A2, A4 and A8, several freeways, such as the A7 and A6, carry traffic mainly bound for Amsterdam.

A tram crossing a bridge over the river Amstel.

Amsterdam is served by eight stations of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways).. 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 services with destinations in Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Among these trains are international trains of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen and the Thalys, CityNightLine, and InterCityExpress.

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 44 million passengers a year and is home base to KLM. Schiphol is the third busiest airport in the world measured by international passengers.

Education

Amsterdam has two universities: the University of Amsterdam (Universiteit van Amsterdam), and the VU University Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit or "VU"). 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, among 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 elementary 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 Islamic schools. You can also find Jewish schools in the southern suburbs of Amsterdam. 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 leading to the formation of a fourth grammar school in which the three aforementioned schools participate. Most secondary schools in Amsterdam offer a variety of different levels of education on the same school.

Government

The administration of the municipality of Amsterdam is divided into 15 boroughs or stadsdelen; the central one, Centrum, being circled by Westerpark, Bos en Lommer, De Baarsjes, Oud-West, Oud-Zuid, Oost/Watergraafsmeer, Zeeburg and Amsterdam-Noord, with the six outer boroughs creating a further encirclement.

Definitions

The 15 boroughs of Amsterdam and the ringroad A10

Amsterdam is usually understood to be the municipality of Amsterdam. Colloquially, some areas within the municipality, such as the village of Durgerdam, may not be considered part of Amsterdam. Statistics Netherlands uses three other definitions of Amsterdam: metropolitan agglomeration Amsterdam (Grootstedelijke Agglomeratie Amsterdam, not to be confused with Grootstedelijk Gebied Amsterdam, a synonym of Groot Amsterdam), Greater Amsterdam (Groot Amsterdam, a COROP region) and the urban region Amsterdam (Stadsgewest Amsterdam). These definitions are not synonymous with the terms urban area and metropolitan area, which are commonly used in English speaking countries for the purpose of defining large conurbations. The Amsterdam Department for Research and Statistics uses a fourth conurbation, namely the City region Amsterdam. This region is similar to Greater Amsterdam, but includes the municipalities Zaanstad and Wormerland. It excludes Graft-De Rijp.

The smallest of these areas is the municipality, with a population of 742,981 in 2006. The metropolitan agglomeration had a population of 1,021,870 in 2006. It includes the municipalities of Zaanstad, Wormerland, Oostzaan, Diemen and Amstelveen only, as well as the municipality of Amsterdam. Greater Amsterdam includes 15 municipalities, and had a population of 1,211,503 in 2006. Though much larger in area, the population of this area is only slightly larger, because the definition excludes the relatively populous municipality of Zaanstad. The largest area by population, the urban region Amsterdam, has a population of 1,468,122. It includes Zaanstad, Wormerveer, Muiden and Abcoude, but excludes Graft De Rijp, Uithoorn and Aalsmeer. Amsterdam is also part of the conglomerate metropolitan area Randstad, with a total population of 6,659,300 inhabitants.

City government

Main article: Government 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.

Symbols

Main article: Coat of arms of Amsterdam

Main article: Flag of Amsterdam

The 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. These St Andrew's crosses can also be found on the cityshields of neighbours Amstelveen and Ouder-Amstel. This part of the coat of arms is the basis of the flag of Amsterdam, flown by the city government, but also as civil ensign for ships registered in Amsterdam. Second is the Imperial Crown of Austria — in 1489, out of gratitude for services and loans, Maximilian I awarded Amsterdam the right to adorn its coat of arms with the king's crown, in 1508 replaced with Maximilian's imperial crown when he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In the early years of the 17th century, Maximilian's crown in Amsterdam's coat of arms was replaced with the crown of Emperor Rudolph II, a crown that also would become the Imperial Crown of Austria. The lions date from the late 16th century, when city and province became part of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. Last came the city's official motto: Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig ("Valiant, Determined, Compassionate"), bestowed on the city in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina, in recognition of the city's bravery during World War II.

External links

• Template:Nl icon Amsterdam.nl - city government website
• I amsterdam - international Amsterdam portal
• Illustrated Google map of Amsterdam
• Template:Wikitravel

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)