Facts about Amsterdam
Amsterdam's characteristic tolerance was put to the test with the murder of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh on November 2, 2004, by a Mohamed Bouyeri, an Islamic fundamentalist.
The 1960s and 1970s saw a cultural revolution, with Amsterdam at the center.
Five are intercity stops: Sloterdijk, Zuid, Amstel, Bijlmer ArenA, and Amsterdam Centraal.
Many large Dutch corporations and banks have their headquarters in Amsterdam, including ABN Amro, Heineken, ING Group, Ahold, Delta Lloyd Group, and Philips.
Amsterdam has more then 7500 protected monuments, and has the largest historical city center in Europe.
Amsterdam was the most important point for the trans-shipment of goods in Europe, and it was the leading financial center of the world.
Amsterdam began as a fishing village in the late twelfth century.
Amsterdam has three metro lines, a fourth line, the North/South line, being under construction.
The main theater building is the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam at the Leidseplein, the home base of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam.
Amsterdam's International Institute of Social History is one of the world's largest documentary and research institutions.
The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, and his alderman for integration, Ahmed Aboutaleb, formulated a policy of "keeping things together" which involves social dialogue, tolerance, and harsh measures against those who break the law.
The fifteenth, Westpoort, covers the harbor of Amsterdam, has very few inhabitants, and is governed by the central municipal council.
The city of Amsterdam is located on the banks of the rivers Amstel and Schinkel, and the bay IJ.
Amsterdam has a moderate temperate climate, with the weather patterns strongly influenced by proximity to the North Sea and its prevailing northwestern winds and gales.
Amsterdam is also not the capital of the province in which it is located, North Holland, whose capital is located at Haarlem.
From the fourteenth century on, Amsterdam flourished on the basis of trade with the cities of the Hanseatic League.
The A10 Ringroad surrounding the city connects Amsterdam with the Dutch national network of freeways.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, which is less than 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam Central Station, is the biggest airport in the Netherlands, the fourth largest in Europe and the 10th largest in the world.
One of Amsterdam's busiest high streets is the narrow, medieval Kalverstraat in the heart of the city.
The Amsterdam-Rhine Canal was dug to give Amsterdam a direct connection to the Rhine, and the North Sea Canal to give the port a shorter connection to the North Sea.
Amsterdam is governed by a mayor, aldermen, and the municipal council, as are all Dutch municipalities.
Ships sailed from Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea, North America, Africa, and present-day Indonesia and Brazil, and formed the basis of a worldwide trading network.
The five largest law firms of the Netherlands and Dutch subsidiaries of large consulting firms like Boston Consulting Group and Accenture have their offices there, and the World Trade Center Amsterdam stands there.
Three smaller financial districts are the area surrounding [[Amsterdam Sloterdijk railway station, the area surrounding Amsterdam Arena, and the area surrounding Amsterdam Amstel railway station.
The 1960s and 1970s, cultural revolution made Amsterdam the magisch centrum (magical center) of Europe.
During the 1980s, large numbers of immigrants from Suriname, Turkey, and Morocco drove ethnic Dutch inhabitants to the "growth cities" of Purmerend, Almere, and other cities near Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is served by eight stations of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways).
The damming of the river Amstel gave it its name (in Dutch: Amstelredam "Dam in the Amstel," turned into Amsterdam in the course of time).
Amsterdam is a major hub of the highway system of the Netherlands.
Amsterdam has quality public and private primary schools, including Montessori schools, as well as Roman Catholic, Protestant denominations,and Muslim schools.
Amsterdam had a population of 743,027 inhabitants in 2006, and was by population size the largest city in the Netherlands.
Public transport in Amsterdam, operated by Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf, Connexxion, and Arriva consists of bus and tram lines.
The end of the nineteenth century is sometimes called Amsterdam's second Golden Age.
Amsterdam, located in the south of the province North Holland in the Netherlands, was founded in the late 12th century as a small fishing village at the mouth of the River Amstel.
On Koninginnedag (Queensday), hundreds of thousands of people travel to Amsterdam to join the celebrations.
The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), nowadays part of Euronext, is the world's oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe's largest bourses.
In 1992, an El Al cargo plane crashed in the Bijlmermeer in Amsterdam Zuidoost.
The southern border of the Museum Square is the Van Baerlestraat, which is a major thoroughfare in this part of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam's largest religious group are the Christians—Roman Catholic 31 percent, Dutch Reformed 13 percent, Calvinist 7 percent—followed by Islam 5.5 percent (mainly Sunni Islam), other 2.5 percent.
Amsterdam is known as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world.
The most important museums of Amsterdam are located on het Museumplein (Museum Square), the largest square of Amsterdam, which lies adjacent to the southern side of the city's center.
The metropolitan area consists of the urban area, its satellite cities, and the intervening rural land that is socio-economically connected to Amsterdam.
Amsterdam averages less than 760 mm of precipitation annually, most of which falls as protracted drizzle or light rain.
In 1345, a Eucharistic miracle occurred near the Kalverstraat and Amsterdam would remain an important pilgrimage city until the Protestant Reformation; today the Stille Omgang—a silent procession in civil dress—remains of the rich pilgrimage history.
Most of the trees in Amsterdam were cut down for fuel, and all the wood was taken from the apartments of the Jewish people who were deported.
Amsterdam is the fifth busiest tourist destination in Europe with more than 4.2 million international visitors.
Amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands, and, in 2007, was one of the best cities in Europe to locate an international business in.
The urban area includes the municipalities: Aalsmeer, Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Diemen, Haarlemmermeer, Ouder-Amstel, Uithoorn, and Waterland.
Amsterdam continues to be tested by religious and ethnic pressure brought by waves of immigration in the late-twentieth century.
The highest building in Amsterdam (Rembrandttoren) is situated there and it is the location of the headquarters of Philips.
Amsterdam has a vibrant and diverse nightlife scene, which it is famous for.
The seventeenth century is considered the Golden Age of Jewish Prague.
Amsterdam's merchants had the biggest share in the Dutch East India Company and Dutch West India Company.
During Gay Pride, there is a very long parade of boats with extravagant people floating on Amsterdam's canals.
Jews have always identified with the struggle of King David to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the Jewish temple there as described in the Book of Samuel.
Anne Frank, the young Jewish refugee who died in Bergen-Belsen, though German-born, spent two years in hiding in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation.
Another shopping area are the Negen Straatjes: Nine narrow streets within the Grachtengordel, the concentric canal system of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam has two universities: The University of Amsterdam (Universiteit van Amsterdam), and the Free University (Vrije Universiteit).
Amsterdam's high-end shops are found in the streets Pieter Cornelisz Hooftstraat and Cornelis Schuytstraat.