Amsterdam is the capital 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 coffeeshops, 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, with innovative developments in trade, and 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 743,104 inhabitants, containing at least 172 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.

Amsterdam fans out south from 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, and Vondelpark, the 19th century park named after the Dutch writer Joost van den Vondel.

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 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. 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Culture

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 centered 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

The artist most associated with Amsterdam is Rembrandt, whose work, and the work of his pupils, is displayed in the Rijksmuseum. Van Gogh lived in Amsterdam for a short while, so there is a museum dedicated to his early work.

Amsterdam has a world-class symphony orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the home base of which is the Concertgebouw.

Fashion

Amsterdam has developed itself into a European fashion capital. Big 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 headquartered in Amsterdam. Also model agencies like Elite Models, Touche models and Tony Jones have opened departments in Amsterdam. Supermodels like Yfke Sturm, Doutzen Kroes and Kim Noorda started their career in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is also known for its World Fashion Centre.

Tourist attractions

Nearly a million people a year visit the Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht.

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.

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.

Red light district

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.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 9:29 pm and is filed under Visita Virtual Amsterdam. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.