Amstelveen

Amstelveen
Amstelveen
Municipality
	Stadshart (Center of Amstelveen).
	Flag Coat of arms
Country	Netherlands
Province	North Holland
Government
Area (2009)
• Total	44.05 km2 (17.01 sq mi)
• Land	41.56 km2 (16.05 sq mi)
• Water	2.49 km2 (0.96 sq mi)
Population (26 January, 2009)
• Total	78,980
• Density	1,903/km2 (4,930/sq mi)
	Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Website	http://www.amstelveen.nl

Amstelveen^ⓘ is an urban village municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam. The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the following villages and/or districts: Amstelveen, Bovenkerk, Westwijk, Nes aan de Amstel, Ouderkerk aan de Amstel (partly). The name Amstelveen comes from 'Amstel', a local river, and 'veen', meaning peat or moor.

KLM has its headquarters in Amstelveen^[1]52°18′22″N 4°50′35″E / 52.306117°N 4.842954°E / 52.306117; 4.842954, as are international headquarters of the Big Four auditors, KPMG.

History

During the French occupation between 1810 and 1814, it was the capital of a canton in the French department Zuiderzee and until 1964, the municipality of Amstelveen was called Nieuwer-Amstel. It is 'technically a large dorp (village), due to the fact that it is not and was not walled. The symbol adopted for Amselveen was based on the Amsterdam symbol of three crosses, with one additional cross for distinction. The Thijssepark (in full the Dr Jac. P. Thijssepark), was the first heempark in the Netherlands and is one of sixteen heemparks or heemgroen in Amstelveen. Designed by landscape architect C.P.Broerse; following the ideas of the great Dutch naturalist and conservationist Dr.Jac. P. Thijsse, it was developed between 1940 and 1972 and covers an area of 5 hectares, and is situated just south of the Amsterdamse Bos. Amstelveen was chosen as an unlikely host of a match in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, for which the Netherlands had not qualified. South Africa played Kenya in the match. Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende started his political career as member of the council for Amstelveen. The Nihon Ki-in established its European Go and Cultural Centre in Amstelveen. As a result of the vicinity of Schiphol (Amsterdam Airport), and it's links to Amsterdam, Amstelveen has grown and become a cosmopolitan mix of Japanese, Korean, Chinese, English, American as well as many other cultures dwelling in Amstelveen.

Local government

The municipal council of Amstelveen consists of 35 seats, which are divided as follows:

VVD - 9 seats
PvdA - 8 seats
GroenLinks - 5 seats
Burger Belangen - 5 seats
CDA - 4 seats
D66 - 2 seats
Christen Unie - 1 seat
OCA/VSP - 1 seat

Twined with

Transportation

Amstelveen has a metro and tram connection with Amsterdam. The Metro is a larger version of the tram in which some bicycles may be taken. It has a good 'point to point' bus connection to other villages, Schipol, Amsterdam as well as a local network.

Tourism and attractions

Cobra Museum is located in the center (Stadshart) of Amstelveen.
Museum Jan van der Togt, housing a glass collection
Birthplace of the artist Jan Cornelis Hofman.
A statue of Rembrandt is situated by the side of the river Amstel, south east from the Amstelpark, where a windmill open to visitors is also situated
An Electrische Museumtramlijn still connects to Amsterdam in the summer, passing by the Amsterdamse Bos and Olympic rowing lake
Futher places of interest: Amsterdam,

Secondary Education

The Hermann Wesselink College: offers Bilingual education, VWO (Gymnasium and Atheneum), HAVO and VMBO-T.
The Keizer Karel College: offers VWO (Gymnasium and Atheneum) and HAVO.
The Amstelveen College: offers VWO (Gymnasium and Atheneum), HAVO and VMBO-T.
The Panta Rhei: offers VMBO and LWOO.

Other Education

The International School Amsterdam is located in Amstelveen.
The International School

References

^ "Fact Sheet." SkyTeam. Retrieved on 27 December 2008.

Statistics are taken from the SDU Staatscourant.

External links

[1] "Fact Sheet." SkyTeam. Retrieved on 27 December 2008.

[1]