AMSTERDAM
The Charming Capital of the Netherlands
Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands, is a captivating and vibrant destination that effortlessly combines historical charm with a modern and progressive atmosphere. Renowned for its picturesque canals, world-class museums, and open-minded culture, Amsterdam attracts millions of visitors from around the globe each year.
The city’s iconic canal belt, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a testament to its rich history. Meandering waterways are lined with charming 17th-century buildings, creating a postcard-perfect backdrop for leisurely strolls and bike rides. Speaking of bikes, Amsterdam is a cyclist’s paradise, boasting an extensive network of bike lanes, making it an eco-friendly and convenient mode of transportation.
Cultural enthusiasts are spoiled for choice with an array of world-class museums, including the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Anne Frank House, where visitors can delve into the city’s artistic, historical, and humanistic heritage.
But Amsterdam is not just about history; it embraces diversity and tolerance. The open-minded atmosphere is evident in its lively neighborhoods, diverse culinary scene, and flourishing creative community.
From the iconic Red Light District to the serene Vondelpark, Amsterdam offers something for everyone. Whether you seek the bustling nightlife or peaceful canal-side cafes, this city never fails to enchant its guests.
In conclusion, Amsterdam’s allure lies in its perfect blend of history, culture, and modernity. Its captivating beauty and progressive spirit make it an enchanting destination that leaves a lasting impression on anyone lucky enough to experience its charms.
Amstel and Dam
After several storm floods in the 12th century, of which the All Saints Flood in 1170 and the Sint-Nicolaas Flood in 1196 had a major impact, the Amstel came into open connection with the North Sea via the IJ and the Zuiderzee, causing flooding along the banks. increased. Dikes were subsequently built along the banks of the IJ and the Zuiderzee, as well as dams in the rivers that flowed into them. In the third quarter of the 13th century a dam was also built (under the current Dam) near the confluence of the Amstel and the IJ. The village grew into the town of Amsterdam, which became increasingly important from the 14th century due to its location on the Zuiderzee with connection by sea. Originally the river flowed into the IJ via the current Rokin and Damrak, now the Amstel ends in the center of Amsterdam at Muntplein. Via culverts under the filled-in part of the Rokin and the Dam, the water still flows via the Damrak into the IJ, although most of it is diverted via the Amsterdam canals. The Dam still attracts many tourists every day, who in turn attract pigeons.
The origin of the coat of arms was unknown for a long time, but recent research has shown a possibility that the three crosses are derived from a historical North Holland legal ritual in which three crosses were drawn with chalk on the court table at the beginning of a court meeting and these were then the court meeting were again blotted out. Thus, the three crosses would represent legal certainty, and the black bar probably represents a court table.
FIRST HOUSES
The Romans were active here around our era. They never came further north than the river Rhine, in the north there were only peat swamps and reed beds, inaccessible to their legions. The river Amstel already flowed here and a few fishermen and itinerant hunters had settled on the banks of this river. They built tree houses, for example.
THE DAM
After the residents built a dam in the river, it was better to keep the river in check. Amsterdam takes its name from this dam in the Amstel. Slowly but surely daily life developed around the Dam.
CITY HALL
The Amsterdammers prospered and at the height of the Golden Age the city hall was built on Dam Square. In addition to the administration for the civil service, the court and the prison were located in the town hall. Public festivities took place in front of the town hall, such as the executions and burnings at the stake.
WITCH BURNING
In Amsterdam in 1542 a woman named Engel Dirks was sentenced to death because she had forsaken God, made a covenant with an evil spirit and had performed magic. Meyns Cornelis van Purmerend, who was burned to death on Dam Square in 1555, had confessed that she had been plagued by witch cats for twenty years. Later, these cats in female guises had come to her, bewitched her and brought her to the devil, a beautiful young man named Roel. Roeltje had mistreated her at first, but after she had completely submitted to him, he had given her the power to enchant people, sheep and cows, which she had done.
KING LODEWIJK
The 29-year-old Lodewijk Napoleon (1778-1846) younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte then, as the first king of our country, took up residence in the building after a thorough renovation, for example he had the offices of the town hall replaced by rooms and the cells of replace the prison with wine cellars
river amstel
stopera
The Stopera is the Amsterdam building complex of city hall and opera (the National Opera and Ballet formerly Muziektheater). The name Stopera was launched at the time of the building plans by action groups against the construction of the complex: it contains the word “stop”.
The beloved Waterloopleinmarkt, the national flea market, had to make way for the construction of the Stopera. In the meantime, the sellers of curiosities and antiques have found a place around the Stopera, but the original atmosphere has never returned.
BRIDGES & SLUICES
The people of Amsterdam are happy with the river, say in all bridges that cross the Amstel.
The most famous is the skinny bridge.
The amstel hotel
The Amstel remains an important lifeline in the Amsterdam cityscape. The Amstel Hotel is located right on the water and is one of the most luxurious hotels in the Netherlands. The hotel, which has hosted such guests as Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Henry Kissinger, Audrey Hepburn and Steven Spielberg. The pop stars The Rolling Stones and Rihanna regularly stay there when they are in the Netherlands.
Drug lord Klaas Bruinsma lived for a while in a suite of the hotel, together with his bodyguard Charlie da Silva.During the wedding of Prince Willem-Alexander to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002, the Amstel Hotel was the residence of many royal guests. The Royal Suite was reserved for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. During the enthronement in 2013, many royal guests also found shelter in the hotel.
WITCH BURNING
In Amsterdam in 1542 a woman named Engel Dirks was sentenced to death because she had forsaken God, made a covenant with an evil spirit and had performed magic. Meyns Cornelis van Purmerend, who was burned to death on Dam Square in 1555, had confessed that she had been plagued by witch cats for twenty years. Later, these cats in female guises had come to her, bewitched her and brought her to the devil, a beautiful young man named Roel. Roeltje had mistreated her at first, but after she had completely submitted to him, he had given her the power to enchant people, sheep and cows, which she had done.
ROYAL theater carre
Circus director and entrepreneur Oscar Carré opened the doors of his majestic theater on the Amstel in 1887. Before that he had a traveling circus, known for its famous horse numbers. Oscar Carré knew the glitter and glamour, the applause, but also the business side of theater life. After he had triumphed throughout Europe, he settled in Amsterdam. The Carré family lived in the company house that now houses the stately Loge Foyer.
In addition to the famous World Christmas Circus, Carré has much more to offer. From cabaret to concerts and from theater to musicals, Royal Theater Carré has something for everyone. National and international celebrities from the world of circus, variety shows and music have celebrated their greatest triumphs in Carré. Carré is therefore in the top three of well-known cultural brands. In addition, the theater is an important player in the business market and the setting for small and large events, such as conferences, product presentations and premieres.
RIJKSMUSEUM
There are many – almost a hundred – museums in Amsterdam. The largest museums are located on Museumplein, these are the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum. In addition, there are, for example, the Maritime Museum, the Tropenmuseum, the Amsterdam Museum, the Jewish Historical Museum and the palace on Dam Square. Other small, famous museums are the Anne Frank House and the Rembrandt House.
On our website we choose to cover the most important ones.
tHE DAMRAK
Via the Rokin and Damrak, the Amstel flows to the IJ, which then flows into the North Sea. The vast majority of train passengers travel into the city via the Damrak.
The Damrak is part of the route that should give the traveler a first impression of the city after leaving the station. There are many shops, hotels and (fast food) restaurants on the Damrak. Several alleys connect the Damrak with the parallel busy shopping street the Nieuwendijk. The Beurs van Berlage, the Stock Exchange and De Bijenkorf are located on the filled-in part of the Damrak, on the Beursplein.
REMBRANDTSQUARE
In 1852, King Willem III unveiled a cast iron Rembrandt monument designed by Louis Royer on the square. It is the oldest surviving statue in Amsterdam and was cast in one piece. Rembrandtplein is a square in the center of Amsterdam, between Reguliersbreestraat and Amstelstraat. Due to the many restaurants and terraces, it is one of the best-known entertainment areas in Amsterdam.
THE IJ
There are several theories about the origin of the IJ. The IJ may have started as a creek, as a result of a dune breach at Castricum. More likely, the IJ is a remnant of a northern arm of the Rhine delta. Finally, the IJ could also have arisen from neighboring Almere. Anyway, at the time of the Romans, the Oer-IJ formed the connection between the Almere and the Utrechtse Vecht on the one hand, and the North Sea on the other. The connection with the North Sea later disappeared, while the IJ became wider and wider in the Middle Ages. This was related to the creation of the Zuiderzee, itself the result of a number of storm floods (such as the All Saints Flood). The Amsterdam ferry provides services across the IJ. Since 1897, the service between Central Station and the Tolhuis in Amsterdam-North
TROPENMUSEUM IMPRESSION
The museum was founded in order to show Dutch overseas possessions, and the inhabitants of these foreign countries, such as Indonesia.
In 1871 the institute began research to increase profits made off the colonies. This included attempting to develop improved means of producing coffee beans, rotan and paraffin. The museum came under the influence of ethnologists, who added information on the economy, manners, and customs of the inhabitants.
In 1926, they inaugurated the current building in East Amsterdam. At the time, they had 30,000 objects, and a sizable collection of photographs.
The Tropenmuseum (English: Museum of the Tropics) is an ethnographic museum located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1864.One of the largest museums in Amsterdam, the museum accommodates eight permanent exhibitions and an ongoing series of temporary exhibitions, including modern and traditional visual arts and photographic works.
rIJKSMUSEUM IMPRESSION
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is one of sixteen national museums in the Netherlands. The collection offers an overview of Dutch art and history, including works by 17th-century Dutch masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals. The museum has been housed in the Rijksmuseum building since 1885, which was designed by the Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers.
On the eve of the Second World War, part of the collection was taken to safety elsewhere. Exhibitions with contemporary art were held in the vacant space, such as the exhibition Our art of today in 1939-1940. In April 1942, a large part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection was stored in a purpose-built vault in the underground passages of Sint-Pietersberg near Maastricht.
TRAVEL BOATS
Amsterdam has more than 110 tour and regular service boats. In addition, there are also more than 130 manned and unmanned rental boats such as sloops, saloon boats, gondolas and water taxis.
Famous guests such as Winston Churchill, The Beatles and Nelson Mandela took a tour of Amsterdam on a canal boat. The Dutch football team was honored in 2010 with a tour by canal boat. Welcoming famous visitors on a cruise through Amsterdam’s canals is a tradition that continues to this day. Depending on the boarding point and shipping company, a standard cruise (with a duration of one hour) will usually go via the Amstel, Prinsengracht, Leidsegracht and Herengracht. Most shipping companies sail clockwise. The tour boats must adhere to the maximum sailing speed in the Amsterdam canals, which has been reduced from 7.5 to 6.0 km/h as of 1 January 2017. The smaller tour boats often also take smaller canals and alternative routes. ad-in.
TROPENMUSEUM
VAN GOGH MUSEUM
ANNE FRANK MUSEUM
Annelies Marie (Anne) Frank (Frankfurt am Main on June 12, 1929 – Bergen-Belsen, in February 1945[1]) was a German, and later, stateless Jewish girl who become famous because of the diary she wrote during the Second world War, when they had been in hiding in the secret annex on the Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam, the netherlands. She probably died in February 1945 from spotted typhoid] in the concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen (concentration camp). Her official date of death is, however, the Dutch authorities laid down on 31 march 1945. Her diary was published posthumously, and is one of the most widely read books in the world. Through her diary, Anne Frank’s international has become a symbol of the Holocaust and the murder of six million Jews during the Second world War, Anne Frank, it has been included in the Canon of the Netherlands, as one of the fifty topics of the history of the Netherlands.
CENTRAL STATION
Every day, Amsterdam Central has approximately 160,000 boarding and alighting passengers.
Travelers can use trains, metros, trams, buses and ferries. The station is located on Stationseiland, which has been built into the IJ. It was built between 1881 and 1889 to a design by PJH Cuypers, AL van Gendt (station building) and LJ Eijmer (station hood).
The station is the first station in the Netherlands designed by a well-known architect. Before that, they were often engineers and less famous architects, but the environment and appearance of the building to be built required an architect.
