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The real core of the city is Dam square with its beautiful Royal Palace. Most visitors arrive by train and the route they follow from Centraal Station takes them along the Damrak and Dam square. This area is really focused on tourists. All kinds of souvenir shops, street performers and restaurants can be found here. The square is used for events and concerts and is famous because of the many pigeons. The two main shopping streets in Amsterdam, Kalverstraat and Nieuwendijk, come both out on Dam square.

Amsterdam Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein

The Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein are very crowded both by day and by night. When the sun is shining the terraces are quickly filled. Street performers entertain the public, mainly consisting of tourists, with acrobatic acts and music. At night the public changes: Amsterdammers go out here to celebrate their weekend, to visit the theatres, cinemas and clubs. The bars and clubs, such as Paradiso and Escape, close here after 5am. And next morning, only a few hours later, it starts all over again: the first tourists settle down on the terraces.

Amsterdam Jordaan
Built in 1612 during the expansion of the city, the Jordaan neighbourhood is well known all over the country for its specific street life, corny songs, sarcastic humour and working-class mentality. But this is mere nostalgia. Most of the Jordanezen (the native inhabitants) left some years ago for improved housing in neighbouring cities like Almere and Purmerend. Nowadays, it is a district with a lot of students and young urban professionals. The Jordaan accommodates many bars and cosy restaurants and is like a village in the big city. It is located between Brouwersgracht, Prinsengracht, Raamstraat and Marnixstraat.

Amsterdam The Red-Light District (De Wallen)

The red-light district is the area left of the Damrak, the streets and canals in between Warmoesstraat and a square called Nieuwmarkt. The end of the two canals, Oudezijds Voorburgwal and Oudezijds Achterburgwal, marks the area's borders. Medieval Amsterdam was built here. De Wallen is best known for its window prostitution, sex shops and live shows, concentrated around the Oude Kerk, in alleys and around the canals. The atmosphere is somewhat chaotic most of the time, but also cosy; consider the fact that loads of tourists, pimps, drug dealers, addicts and locals come together in this district to do their own thing. You'll find numerous places to eat and drink and have a good time, day and night.

Amsterdam Canals
On February 1st 1999, the Dutch government decided to qualify the inner city of Amsterdam as a monument, a protected inner city view. The girdle of canals (ranging from Singel Canal up to Prinsengracht Canal) is an historically important part of this region, and it is one of the city's most attractive sights. The girdle of canals starts at River Amstel and ends at Brouwersgracht. One third of the houses along the canals (grachtenhuizen) were built before 1850. In the seventeenth century the city extended its boundaries and canals were formed in a girdle around the oldest part of Amsterdam to accommodate wealthy tradesmen and burghers. First Singel Canal was dug out, then Herengracht, Keizersgracht and, last of all, Prinsengracht. The architecture is mostly in the form of classicism.

Amsterdam Pijp
Pijp was the first modern city development in Amsterdam at the end of the 19th century. Many houses were built here very quickly for the growing amount of labourers. Nowadays Pijp is known as the perfect example of multicultural society. People from all over the world live here: young and old, students and artists. The main streets in Pijp are Albert Cuypstraat, famous for its market, and Ferdinand Bolstraat. Around these roads you'll find many exotic restaurants and a typical Amsterdam pub is located on almost every corner.

Amsterdam Museum Quarter

Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Vermeer and Frans Hals are the Old and Great Masters of Holland. As a result, Amsterdam has some of the finest art museums in Europe. As Amsterdam is the most liberal of cities, the museums are not purely of the conventional kind, but whatever your interest, you will be able to find it at one of the city's museums. The majority of museums are placed within a short range of one another, so you can easily walk from one to the next.
The Museum Quarter is the area around Museumplein, just a ten minutes' walk from Leidseplein. The main museums are situated here: The Museum of the State, Van Gogh Museum and The Municipal Museum. The Concert Building can be found in this neighbourhood too. The Museum Quarter is also known for its exclusive shops. Many international clothing brands have their shops in P.C. Hooftstraat and Van Baerlestraat. And of course Museumplein is a great place to sit in the sun, enjoy your lunch or just relax. This cultural area is very crowded during the day, but deserted at night.

Amsterdam Banks of the River Ij
The newest city developments have taken place on the southern banks of the River Ij, on both the west and east sides of Central Station. This used to be a desolate area, with dilapidated warehouses. Now this part of town, with its great view of the river, is being completely redeveloped. Oostelijke Handelskade is the place where new theatres are appearing; a new district for Amsterdam nightlife. A new cruise terminal has also been built here: Passenger Terminal Amsterdam. The buildings have aroused much interest because of their innovative architecture. Over the next years, this area's skyline will be constantly changing.

Amsterdam Historical Background
Amsterdam has always been a well-known name in world history. In the 17th century Amsterdam was the centre of world economics, but nowadays the city is known for its tolerant character.

Early Amsterdam
Holland in the 12th century was barely habitable. The land was very humid and consisted mainly of peat. Various rivers intersected the landscape. One of those was the River Amstel, which flowed into the River Ij. By the end of the twelfth century a small settlement arose near a dam in this river. Thanks to this dam the city is called Amsterdam; this dam is still the most important place in the city, but is now used as a square. Amsterdam became a town at the beginning of the 13th century, after the then sovereign lord declared it juridical as a town.

Meanwhile the town extended slowly from the centre around the Dam. Various ramparts were thrown up and canals were dug. Around 1420 the town was bursting at the seams once again. On the eastern part a new wall was built along the present Geldersekade and Kloveniersburgwal. On the west side a moat canal was dug. The economy at that time was not really developed, being based largely on beer and herrings. It was only after Amsterdam became a part of the Burgundian Empire during the 15th century that things began to go faster. Amsterdam's harbour had a stable function: fish from the south and grain from the Baltic countries were traded in the city's markets. Because of its economic prosperity, Amsterdam developed into Holland's largest city, with a population of about 30,000.

During the second half of the 16th century, Europe had to deal with reformation. The Low Countries seceded from Spain after the Eighty Years' War, renouncing Catholicism. For a long period Amsterdam was allied with the Spaniards, but in 1578 Amsterdam was finally united with the rest of the Netherlands as one of the newest cities. Holland was one of the most tolerant regions in Europe during this period. For that reason, many Protestants and Portuguese Jews who were persecuted elsewhere in Europe moved to cities in Holland. A large number of merchants from Antwerp resumed their business in Amsterdam, which meant a big boost for the local economy.

Amsterdam Golden Age
The Dutch were forced to find their own route to the Indies because of the annexation of Portugal by Spain in 1580. The first voyages to the Indies started in Amsterdam and were a major success. Stimulated by these results, plans were made everywhere in the country to send more ships to the Indies. Out of all these initiatives the United East Indian Company came into existence, the VOC. Over fifty percent of the capital from the new company was in the hands of Amsterdam. When the VOC was founded not only merchants were involved, but citizens invested in the project as well.

The 17th century was a period of glory for Amsterdam. Wealth, power, culture and forbearance flourished in the city. The population increased rapidly during this period and because of this, the city extended greatly. Amsterdam built its famous ring of canals, and tall houses were built on the canals, taller than in other old city centres in Holland. The Government strongly encouraged this development, because it added to Amsterdam's prestige. During the first half of this century two churches were built: Zuiderkerk and Westerkerk. The old gothic town hall was burnt down in 1652 and a new town hall, the present-day Palace on Dam Square was built. The Plaetse or Dam Square was enlarged by a huge degree, just like the rest of the city. After the Jordaan was completed, around 1700, approximately 200,000 people were living in Amsterdam.

Culturally these days were roaring as well. Due to Amsterdam's economic prosperity, its citizens could afford to surround themselves with objets d'art. Bredero, Vondel and P.C. Hooft wrote their famous poetry, while painter Rembrandt and his students had their atelier in Amsterdam. Philosophers like Spinoza and Descartes formulated their ideas on paper.

But in locations where things are going well, mischief lies in wait. In 1672 the powerful Netherlands got involved in a war with France and England. Amsterdam's harbour was inaccessible to the fleets sailing in from the Dutch Indies, and because of this the boisterous prosperity came to a halt by the end of the 17th century. The structure of Amsterdam's economy changed: the city lost its position as stable market for world trade. However, money transfers became more and more important and Amsterdam became the financial heart of the world, the banker for European Monarchs who financed their expensive wars with borrowed money.

© 2003 by wcities.com Limited

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