The city is administrated not only by the mayor and central city council
(Centraal [Stads]Bestuur) but also is divided in several city parts/neighbourhoods
(Stadsdelen), which have their own councils (Stadsdeelraad). Any local
decisions are made there and only major infastructural decisions are
delegated to the main city. Apart from the city center, the municipality
comprises the following parts: Amsterdam Noord, Amsterdam Oud Zuid, Bos en
Lommer, De Baarsjes, Driemond, Durgerdam, Geuzenveld-Slotermeer, Holysloot,
IJburg (under development), Jordaan, Oost/Watergraafsmeer, Osdorp, Oud-West,
Ransdorp, Ruigoord, Sloten, Slotervaart/Overtoomse Veld, Westerpark, Zeeburg,
Zuider Amstel, Zuidoost (including Bijlmer; see also Bijlmerramp),
Zunderdorp. (See also one of the external links.)
Amsterdam Noord is separated from the rest of Amsterdam by the IJ waterway,
for connections see there.
Amsterdam has one of the largest renaissance city centers in Europe.
Countless buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries, also known as the
Golden Age, now considered historical monuments, are to be found around a
series of semicircular canals. These face the old harbor which once opened
onto the Zuiderzee (now cut off from the sea and known as the IJsselmeer or
Lake IJssel). The city is well known for the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum,
the Concertgebouw, Rembrandt House Museum, the Anne Frank house, the
Homomonument and huge numbers of bicycles.
Amsterdam is also famous for its lively red-light district de Wallen and its
numerous coffee shops selling cannabis. Prostitution is legal in the
Netherlands. Prostitutes are considered bona fide entrepreneurs; they pay
taxes and are otherwise treated like any other self-employed tradesperson.
Cannabis, on the other hand, is not, strictly speaking, legal; rather it is
tolerated, meaning the sale (6 grams maximum per client) and possession of
small quantities (30 grams) is not prosecuted.
History
Amsterdam was founded as a fishing village around the thirteenth century. A
dam was built on the river Amstel, hence its original name Amstelredam, dam
on the river Amstel. The early "Amsterdammers" acquired a talent for trade
and from the fourteenth century onwards trade with the Hanseatic cities
flourished. Amsterdam gained city rights in 1300 or 1301, granted by Guy van
Henegouwen, the Bishop of Utrecht, but this was only a confirmation of the
earlier rights given to the city by one of the Lords of Aemstel. Already on
27 October 1275 Amestelledamme [sic]] had been given freedom of tolls.
Then in the 16th century, the Dutch war of independence began against the
Spanish. Although originally on the Spanish side, Amsterdam switched sides
in 1578. As a result, freedom of religion was reinstated, a very positive
move at the time. Amsterdam had remained a Roman Catholic city, and Roman
Catholicism remains the major religion in the city to this day. Amsterdam is
still home to several old Catholic churches (which have in some cases been
converted to Protestant churches), and each year the Stille Omgang is still
walked in march, a procession commemorating the "Miracle of the Host" of
1345. Religious wars were raging throughout Europe and many people were
looking for a place of refuge where they would not be condemned for their
religion. Wealthy Jewish families from Spain and Portugal, prosperous
merchants from Antwerp fleeing the destruction and ransacking of their city
by the Spanish, and the Huguenots from France all sought refuge in Amsterdam.
The Seventeenth century was Amsterdam's Golden Age. Amsterdam's ships sailed
to North America, Indonesia, Brazil and Africa, building an impressive
empire in the process. Rembrandt also worked in this century, and the city
expanded around its canals during this time. Amsterdam became the most
important port of the world and an international center for banking.
The 18th and 19th century saw a decline in the prosperity of Amsterdam. Wars
against the United Kingdom and France took their toll on the city and trade
was lost to London. At the end of the 19th century, the Industrial
Revolution reached Amsterdam. Waterways to the sea and to the river Rhine
improved communication with the rest of Europe and the world. Amsterdam got
a new lease on life, but never reached the same supremacy as before. At this
time the Netherlands felt it had to defend its main city, to do this the
Stelling van Amsterdam was constructed, a unique ring of 42 forts and land
that could be flooded.
World War I did not affect Amsterdam as the Netherlands remained neutral,
although trade and industry suffered.
Between the wars, the Dutch built a dike separating the Zuider Zee from the
North Sea, thus creating the IJsselmeer. Thus, the great waters to the east
of Amsterdam were no longer salt water, but fresh water, and thus could be
used for drinking, as rivers flow into the IJsselmeer.
Statue of Anne FrankDuring World War II German troops occupied the city
starting on May 15, 1940 and about 100,000 Jewish people were deported from
Amsterdam, almost completely wiping out the Jewish community in Amsterdam.
Anne Frank was one of those people. Before the war, Amsterdam was the
world's center for the diamond trade. Since this trade was mostly in the
hands of Jewish businessmen and craftsmen, the diamond trade almost
disappeared. Amsterdam is still important, but the city of Antwerp in
Belgium is the main center for diamonds today.
The sixties and seventies put Amsterdam back on the map, for reasons other
than trade. The tolerance of soft drugs made the city a popular destination
for hippies, and squatting in unoccupied buildings became widespread. Riots
and clashes with the police were frequent. In 1980, while Queen Beatrix was
inaugurated as the new Queen of The Netherlands in the New Church on Dam
square, a group of protesters outside fought against a police force.
The Eighties, Nineties, and Noughties saw administrative changes, as the
city was divided in several semi-autonomous city parts. In 1995 the national
government proposed creating a city province consisting of Amsterdam and
neighbouring towns, but this was rejected by the city population in a
referendum with a percentage of over 90% against. The primary opposition was
not against creating the city province, but the splitting up of the city:
the city parts would have become towns in their own right with their own
mayors. Opposers feared that this would destroy the city's cohesion. The
city province proposal was shelved and forgotten. Nevertheless, since 1995
the city parts have gradually become more autonomous, and neighbouring towns
have been drawn into the city more politically and economically, so in a
sense the city province has arrived in the form of 'Greater Amsterdam'.
The eighties and onward also saw a small exodus of people leaving Amsterdam
for the 'growth cities' of Purmerend, Almere and other cities near
Amsterdam.
Cultural life
Amsterdam is the cultural center of the Netherlands, with much activity in
the arts, dance, theater, and music.
The world-famous concert hall, the Concertgebouw, is the home of the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra. The Muziektheater, a new (1986) opera house, in one
building called Stopera with the city hall, facing the Amstel river, is the
home of De Nederlandse Opera and the Dutch National Ballet. Another famous
theatre is the Carré, also on the Amstel.
In addition to the previously mentioned museums, Amsterdam is also the home
of the Stedelijk Museum (20th century art), the Amsterdam Historical Museum,
the Jewish Museum, the Nautical Museum, Madame Tussaud's, and others. Also
located here is the Sweelinck Conservatory of Music, the Theatre Group
Amsterdam, and the National Dance Theatre.
Founded in the early 1600s, Amsterdam's Hortus Botanicus is one of the
oldest botanical gardens in the world, with many old and rare specimens.
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 labor movement.
There are numerous private art galleries in the center of the city.
Amsterdam's zoo is called Artis, a contraction of the Latin motto of the
Zoo, "Natura Artis Magistra", meaning "Nature is the mother (or teacher) of
art".
The RAI conference center center hosts many large commercial exhibitions and
congresses each year.
Located near the Leidseplein is the nightclub Paradiso (previously a church)
and the Melkweg, which both offer pop music and dancing almost every night
of the week.
Sports
Amsterdam is the home town of Ajax, a team in the Dutch Football League
(soccer). It has won the European Cup several times, and the World Club
Championship twice. In the mid 1990s they abandoned their old Ajax Stadium
De Meer for the new Amsterdam ArenA, located in the south-east of the city.
In 1928, Amsterdam played host to the Games of the IX Olympiad. The Olympic
stadium still stands to this day, and is now used for cultural and sports
events.
The city has an NFL Europe team, the Amsterdam Admirals, who are notable for
being the only team in the league not to have won a World Bowl championship.
It also has a top field hockey team, Hockey Club Amsterdam.
Education
Amsterdam has two major universities, the University of Amsterdam
(Universiteit van Amsterdam, the UvA), and the Vrije Universiteit (the
originally Protestant Free University or VU). Its academy of modern art, De
Rietveldacademie, named after the famous Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld,
has a good international reputation.
Public transport
Amsterdam's public transportation system includes:
good national and international train connections, including a frequent
service to Schiphol Airport; at night, once an hour there is a train to
Schiphol Airport, Leiden, The Hague, Delft, Rotterdam and Utrecht.
3 metro lines, partly elevated, with no level crossings.
a light rail line (sneltram = fast tram) to the neighboring town Amstelveen,
partly using metro tracks, partly on the street with its own lanes, but with
level crossings.
16 tram lines, on the street, partly mixed with all other traffic, partly on
lanes shared with buses and taxis, and partly on separate lanes.
many bus lines (urban and regional); bus traffic is often mixed with other
traffic, but sometimes on lanes shared with trams and taxis or lanes for
buses only.
many taxis operate in Amsterdam.
Several ferries across the IJ; at least one is frequent, operating 24 hours
a day, free of charge.
Apart from using public transport, riding a bicycle is popular. In the
center, driving a car gives the common city center problems of traffic jams
and limited or expensive parking space.
A new metro line, North/South Line, and a new tramline [1]
(http://www.verkeer-en-vervoer.amsterdam.nl/ijtram/afb/ijtram/tracvoor/011.gif)
are under construction.
Nightlife
Amsterdam has a very active nightlife with a lot of official clubs, but
there are a lot of squat parties always going on as well. Some say it has
been surpassed as the 'hippest' city by Rotterdam but it still has its own
unique charm. There is a party about every day of the week. There are also a
lot of bars and coffeeshops which all have their own unique charm. Some cool
place to go clubbing are: Chemistry: Escape, iT, Mazzo, Jimmy Woo, Club 11
