Amsterdam is the Capitale Netherlands (although the seat of the government is with $the Hague) and more the big city of the province of septentrional Holland and of the Netherlands. The agglomeration counts approximately 2  300  000 inhabitants (called From Amsterdam or Amstellodamiens), itself started from a Conurbation called Randstad Holland and which counts 7  100  000 inhabitants. The oldest part of the city is built around a semicircular canal system.

It is in Amsterdam that the house of Anne Frank is. In the center of the city, one finds on the Prejudice (the dam) the old town hall (17th century), which is since the reign of the king Louis Bonaparte (1806-1810) until our days the royal palace. Part of the east city re-elected for its `hot district' - of Wallen - and its many coffee shops which markets the Cannabis with special license. Out of the center one finds in the district of the museums the Rijksmuseum, the Communal Museum and the Van Gogh Museum. The scientific Musée NEMO is other with dimensions of the city, on the edges of the IJ.

History

Founded at the 13th century, Amsterdam was in the beginning a village of fishing. It holds its name of a stopping ( Dam in Dutch), which had been built on the river Amstel. As of the 14th century, Amsterdam became an important commercial place, treating mainly with the Hanseatic cities.

At the 16th century the war against the Spain burst which was to lead to the independence of the Netherlands. Initially favorable to the Spaniards, Amsterdam changed camp into 1578. It resulted from it the return from the religious liberty, a very skilful operation for the time. The wars of religion devastated the Europe then, and many were those which sought a refuge where they would not be condemned for their beliefs. This situation attracted in the rich person Netherlands Portuguese Jewish families and Spanish, of the traders of Antwerp who fled the destruction and the racket of the Spanish army, as of the Huguenot S of France which came to the Netherlands in the hope from being able there to practice their religion. Among the refugees there were scientific men like Comenius and the philosophers Descartes and Spinoza. Amsterdam did not attach importance to the religion of its inhabitants, as long as those agreed to pay their taxes and to take part in the economic life. The income per capita of the city in 1685 was four times superior with that of Paris and the gap widens with the arrival of Huguenots.

The 17th century was the golden age of Amsterdam. It is at that time that she saw flowering the maritime trade with the Indonesia, the Brésil and the Africa; it is also at that time that Rembrandt lived and that one built the famous channels of the city. Amsterdam became most important then port of the world and an international money market.

The XVIII {{E}} and the 19th century transfer the decline of the prosperity of the city. The wars against the France and the England weakened it and destroyed the trade with the Great Britain. But at the end of the XIXe century, the Industrial revolution gave a new breath to Amsterdam, following the creation of new bonds between the channels and the sea and with the boring of a new channel until the the Rhine, which made it possible to facilitate the communications within Europe, but also towards the whole world. Nevertheless, Amsterdam never managed to recover its supremacy of formerly. The First World War had only little influence on Amsterdam, being given the neutrality of the Netherlands in this conflict; the trade and industry suffered from it nevertheless. At the time of the Second world war, on the other hand, approximately 100.000 Jews of Amsterdam were off-set, almost reducing to nothing the Jewish community of the city.

The Years 1960 and 1970 brought back Amsterdam to the foreground of the topicality, not for commercial economic reasons or, but following the tolerance of the city towards the use of the soft drugs, which made of it a town of predilection for the generation Hippie. But the riots and the confrontations with the police force multiplied, and of many squatters illegal last being expelled by the force… In 1980, whereas the queen Beatrix lent oath, at the time of its accession to the throne, the protesters faced the police force outside the church…

Currently (2002), Amsterdam found peace.

Demography

The inhabitants of Amsterdam are called from Amsterdam ones.

Cultural life

On this photography one can see under the roofs a gantry to fix the cords allowing to assemble the pieces of furniture of music. Amsterdam is the cradle many groups of music and theatrical troops, such as the Theater Group Amsterdam (Theatergroep Amsterdam), the National Dance Theater and celebrates it royal Orchestre of Concertgebouw (which holds its name of the centenary concert hall Concertgebouw , re-elected for its acoustic quality). One can also quote the new theater Muziektheater , more known under the name of Stopera , a word game based on the Dutch terms indicating the town hall ( stadhuis ) and operated it, this theater and the town hall belonging to the same architectural unit. A little more in the south of Will stop, along the Amstel river, is another theater, older but also celebrates: the Square .

The zoo of Amsterdam, called Artis , holds its name of the royal Company of zoology " Natura Artis Magistra" (" Nature is main of Art"). It is one of oldest world (the principal building goes back to 1838), with that of London (1828). Located in full downtown area, it offers a contrast seizing with surrounding urban agitation. It comprises an aquarium (built in 1882), museums zoological and geological, a planetarium as well as a library.

As almost all the city, channels included/understood, is under the sea level, the buildings old or modern are posed on piles which are pressed on more or less deep layers of sand.

The city of XVIIe and the XVIIIe century, almost entirely preserved, composes the most beautiful model of old town planning which one knows in the north of Europe.

The city was based in the vases of a marsh. The greatest part was built at the Century of gold, along new concentric channels. Until the XIXe century, the city opened on its port and the Zuiderzee, of which it was separated by construction from the large central station, posed on 26  000 piles. The pinions of different forms sign architectures of each time.

How to read the age of the pinions?

  • 1200 - 1550: House of wood with pinion at a peak: there remain only two about it. The others burned.
  • 1570 - 1600: Pinion with grotesque indented. They are the oldest brick frontages.
  • 1620 - 1720: Pinion at a peak flattened employed in particular for the warehouses.
  • 1600 - 1665: Pinion with steps. Until 1665, the city full, was mixed by it with the houses out of wooden.
  • 1660 - 1790: Pinion with curves. Pediment in the form of segment. Sides festooned of sandstone garlands.
  • 1640 - 1670: Pinion with raised volutes. Mix simple volutes and steps.
  • XVIIIe century: Pinion with decorated cornice. A small door can give access to the roofs.
  • XIXesiècle : Pinion with simple cornice. After 1790, one did not build a pinion with steps any more.

Education

Amsterdam has two large universities: the University of Amsterdam ( Universiteit van Amsterdam , UvA), a founded laic institution in 1632, and the Free University ( Vrije Universiteit ) which is of Protestant origin (founded in 1880). Among the many institutions of higher education one finds an academy of music and the national academy of Article the Academy Gerrit Rietveld (GRA) is a school of art to international repute which attracts hundreds of students from abroad.

Sport

The Ajax Amsterdam is the principal club of Football of the city. It is a team of the league Dutchwoman of football, several times winner of the Ligue of the champions of football, and twice victorious of the intercontinental Coupe. In the middle of the years 1990, they gave up old Ajax Stadium to move in the news Arena, in the south-east of the city.

The Amsterdam Admirals, as for them, are the team of American football capital and the only American football club in the Netherlands.

One can also announce the very good team of hockey, the Amstel Tijgers Amsterdam and the Demon Astronauts, the team of Basket-ball of the city.

Night life

Night life of Amsterdam east one of most attractive of Europe. Tens of nightclubs (“clubs”) are connected and attract many young people of all the Netherlands as well as foreign tourists. Melkweg, Paradiso, the Hotel Arena, Jimmy Woo, the More Club, Club 11, Powerzone and Escape are among most famous. One can find these clubs everywhere, but the two places of concentration are Rembrandtplein and Leidseplein and its neighborhoods. Amsterdam is also especially known for its barded hot district of many places of pleasures (cf red district ) and the " Bars" haschich; or Coffee Shop sown a little everywhere downtown attracting from many abroad in search of drug " douce" within an entirely legalized framework.

Economy

Amsterdam is the fifth town of business of Europe after London, Frankfurt, Paris and Brussels. Many large companies and banks Dutchwomen have their head office there. The new district of business Zuidas (Axis of the South) which is still in construction forms the urban development project most ambitious.

Formerly large seaport to leave towards the Eastern or Western Indies, today capital of romantic tourism, Amsterdam saw its warehouses gorged with colonial goods to transform itself into historic buildings. The tables hung in the commercial rich person residences joined the museums. Threatened by the vicinity of the giant port of Rotterdam, Amsterdam reacted by modernizing its decayed installations of old colonial port. Connected to the North Sea by a cut channel of locks, it is on a level lower by two meters than the spring tides.

The commune of Amsterdam

The common of Amsterdam is consisted of the following centers: Amsterdam (city), Amsterdam Zuidoost, Buiksloot, Driemond, Durgerdam, Holysloot, Nieuwendam, 'T Nopeind, Oud Osdorp, Ransdorp, Ruigoord, Schellingwoude, Het Schouw, Sloten, Sloterdijk, Zunderdorp.

The commune is member of the community of communes Stadsregio Amsterdam gathering the communes around Amsterdam.

It is bordering on the communes of Diemen, Weesp, Abcoude, Ouder-Amstel and Amstelveen in the south, Haarlemmermeer and Haarlemmerliede in Spaarnwoude in the west, Zaanstad, Oostzaan, Landsmeer and Waterland in north.

See too

  • Amsterdam is the title of a famous song made up and interpreted by Jacques Brel. This title was often taken again, in particular in English by Scott Walker, David Bowie and John Cale.
  • Of other French-speaking artists sang Venice of North: Guy Béart ( has Amsterdam ), Maxime the Forester ( Petit Cloud on Amsterdam ), Innocent the ( Between Amos and Amsterdam ), Graziella of Michele ( Vision of Amsterdam ) or Eva ( Berlin, Amsterdam or elsewhere ). Source: *Les groups Parabellum, Coldplay and Peter Bjorn And John also composed each one and interpreted a song of the name of Amsterdam .

Internal bonds

Sources

Random links:Receipts of desserts | Louis Bréhier | Horus (Warhammer 40,000) | Locro | Sárbogárd