Travel Guide:

Amsterdam had its beginnings at a dam on the Amstel River sometime near the end of the 12th century.  The people who lived here and later became known as the Dutch were descended from two early medieval tribes, the Franks and the Saxons.  The first mention of the name “Amstelledamme” (which, as you may have guessed, simply means ‘Dam on the Amstel’) occurs in a toll concession penned by Count Floris V of Holland on October 27, 1275.  It was not until the later 14th and 15th centuries that the city began to take on the magnificent appearance it has today.  Between the years 1585 and 1672, during what is sometimes referred to as Amsterdam’s Golden Age, commercial success in trade allowed the city’s leading entrepreneurs to build stunning private homes along its canals.  But this prosperity came screeching to a halt in 1672, when the Dutch Republic was simultaneously attacked by both France and England.  Amsterdam’s prosperity helped its inhabitants weather this storm, and economic expansion continued at a more modest clip until 1795, when the city’s government of patriarchal oligarchy was overthrown and the French managed to occupy the city.  By 1813, Amsterdam was experiencing a full economic recession, and many of its centrally located mansions were abandoned, some of them even collapsing entirely.  The Industrial Revolution righted the city, however, in the later part of the 19th century, and by 1870 Amsterdam had begun to grow again, as working-class neighborhoods sprung up around its outskirts.  During this period and the period of the two World Wars, city-planners experimented with filling in some of the canals, in hopes that this would improve traffic-flow in the center of the city.  Fortunately, in the 1950’s, these efficiency-friendly plans were abandoned in favor of preservation efforts, rendering Amsterdam the rich monument to its own history we see today.

Amsterdam’s location near the North Sea gives it a moderate climate, with mild winters and cooler summers.  Expect plenty of wind and a certain amount of rain, no matter what season you travel here.  Spring brings April daffodils and May tulips; summer has temperate highs of 68-75ºF; winter freezes canals for skating and crowds the city’s museums.

Amsterdam is centrally located in the nation of the Netherlands, which is bordered by the North Sea to its north and Belgium and Germany, to its south and east, respectively.  The Netherlands’ 41,526 km² area is very flat, with 27% of it below sea level and 60% of the country’s population living in this low terrain.  Netherlanders have been attempting to reclaim their land from the sea for more than 2000 years, using a variety of dykes, canals, and water-pumping windmills.  The collective North Sea Protection Works, a system which keeps Amsterdam above water, is cited as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

Since January 1, 2002 the Netherlands has used the EURO as its primary currency.  The country’s major industries are trade, tourism, and financial services.  Per capita income in the Netherlands was the 15th highest in the world in 2002.

The Netherlands is an executive-branch monarchy, based on ministerial response and parliamentary government.  The monarch (currently Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgord) has a largely ceremonial role, but has the power to appoint a single cabinet-member.  The council of ministers, headed by a prime minister (currently Jan Peter Balkenende), is the primary executive body and works in concert with the legislative branch, a bicameral parliament.  Local government is based in 12 provinces, and there are a plethora of political parties with diverse bases here: Balkenende’s CDA, the Christian Democrats; the PvdA, the Social Democrats; the VVD, the Liberal Conservatives; the SP, the Socialist Party; GroenLinks, the Green Party; the LPF, a party following in the footsteps of assassinated social conservative Pim Fortuyn; and the DGG, the Progressive Liberal party.     

The Netherlands boasts a population of 16,318,199 people (as of July 2004).  Of these, 91% are Dutch and 9% are Moroccan, Turkish, or of another nationality.  The country is one of the most densely populated in the world, surpassed only by Bangladesh and South Korea.  Allied with Germanic people, the Dutch are traditionally a nation of shipbuilders and traders, and have been some of the most innovative capitalists known to Europe.  Today the nation struggles to accept a growing immigrant population in sometimes cramped quarters where conservative tendencies still hold sway.    

Freedom of religion and the separation of church and state are fundamental rights guaranteed by the Netherlands’ constitution.  31% of the population are Roman Catholic; 21% are Protestant; 4.4% are Muslim; 1.5% practice a form of Hinduism; 3.6% profess another religion; 40% are not religious at all.

Dutch is the Netherlands’ national tongue, but English is spoken everywhere.  You may also find that a significant portion of the population speaks German and/or French.  The nation’s Friesland province is home to the Fries dialect, a language unrelated to Dutch and understood by 90% of Frieslanders. 

Much of the best art in Amsterdam is free: it is the city’s architecture and is on view 24-7, 365 days-a-year.  Half of the buildings at the center of the city are national monuments dating from the prosperous 18th century.  For those looking to travel even farther back in time, a few medieval wooden buildings remain, the Old and New Churches and the graceful Houten Huis (the Wooden House) at the Beginjnhof.  The Netherlands’ three great native sons are also in evidence in Amsterdam.  Johannes Rembrandt (1606-1669) was one of the finest painters, draughts men, and etchers of the 17th century.  His dark, luxuriant canvasses make the most of chiaroscuro and pre-figure French Impressionism in their portrayal of light.  Jan Vermeer (1632-1675) took great pains chronicling the lifestyle of the Flemish merchant classes with hyper-realistic portraits in rich yellows and pale grays.  Tragic post-Impressionist Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was also born in the Netherlands.  His revolutionary use of color and light in painting and his turbulent life have made him one of the most famous painters of all time and one of the highest banking, with paintings selling for over $80,000,000.