Amsterdam

Amsterdam lies in the province of North Holland on the Amstel River and is connected to the North Sea by a canal. At the beginning of 2023, Amsterdam had a population of 921,468, making it the largest city in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is the capital, but the Dutch government is based in The Hague.

Amsterdam is divided into nine boroughs, each of which is further divided into several neighbourhoods. The city’s name comes from a dam built on the River Amstel in the 13th century. Amsterdam stands on around five million wooden piles, which are necessary because of the damp, sandy ground. The central railway station stands on around 8,600 piles, and the Royal Palace on 13,659.

Amsterdam is one of the best-known and most popular cities in Europe. Millions of tourists visit the city every year. They visit places such as the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. They go shopping or stroll through the lively Jordaan district.

One of Amsterdam’s special features is its canals. These are artificial waterways built in the 17th century. They served trade and the transport of goods. Today, they play an important role in tourism and leisure activities.

Amsterdam’s canals are arranged in a semicircular network and stretch for a total of about 100 kilometers. The best-known canals are the Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht. These three canals run parallel to each other and are lined with beautiful old buildings. There are also numerous bridges.

Houses in Amsterdam are often narrow. When they were built, taxes were based on their width. Some houses lean forward. In the past, goods were often hoisted up with block and tackle attached to a sturdy beam in the gable, then stored in lofts.

Many of these houses along the canals were built in the 17th century. At that time, Dutch merchants sent trading ships to India to buy spices and other goods that could then be sold at a high price in Europe.

In 1602, the VOC, the “United East India Company”, was founded. Many citizens of Amsterdam contributed money so that more and more ships could be built. A few years later, the “Dutch West India Company” (WIC) was founded. It traded with territories in Africa, the Caribbean and North America. In 1626, the company founded the city of Niew Amsterdam, which was renamed New York a few years later and is now one of the largest cities in the world.

The trade was very lucrative and was conducted as a “triangular trade.” The voyages began in Europe. Here, sailing ships loaded weapons, tools, cloth, glass beads and other goods. They first called at a port on the west coast of Africa. There, the cargo was sold and the proceeds were used to buy enslaved people, who were forced onto the ships and chained up. Conditions aboard the ships were cramped, and the people suffered from seasickness, poor air, inadequate hygiene and insufficient food.

Dutch merchants grew wealthy. While the Thirty Years’ War raged and devastated the land in what is now Germany, the “Golden Age” began in the Netherlands. Magnificent buildings were constructed, Amsterdam became Europe’s most important trading center, and the Netherlands soon came to be regarded as a major maritime and trading power. Amsterdam’s population grew from about 40,000 to 210,000 between 1600 and 1662, and the city expanded with the construction of new canals.

Amsterdam has metro trains, trams and buses. However, the bicycle is the most popular means of transport. In the Netherlands, it is called a “fiets”. People ride it to work or school, run errands, or visit friends and family.

The city is particularly well set up for cycling. There is an extensive network of cycle paths, bike lanes and bicycle parking spaces. There are also special bike bridges and tunnels that make cycling easier.

Traffic in Amsterdam is very busy because of all the bicycles. Unfortunately, bikes are often stolen, and several thousand of them end up in the canals every year.

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt in June 1929. Her family was Jewish. In January 1933, the National Socialists, led by Adolf Hitler, came to power in Germany. After that, Jews were allowed to work in only a few professions. The Nazis urged people to stop shopping in their stores, Jews were allowed to marry only Jewish partners, and their children had to attend separate schools. Later, Jews were arrested arbitrarily and imprisoned in concentration camps. In the end, about 6 million Jews from across Europe were murdered.

The Frank family emigrated in 1934 and settled in Amsterdam. In 1940, Hitler’s soldiers invaded the Netherlands. The persecution of Jews began there too. From July 1942, the family hid with several other people in a house behind the one at Prinsengracht. Several helpers brought them food and supplies.

Anne was now 13 years old. She began keeping a diary. Almost every day, she wrote down what was happening in their hiding place. She and the others lived there for more than two years. They were not allowed to leave and had to avoid making loud noises, for example. But their hiding place was betrayed, and they were all arrested in August 1944. Anne and her sister were first taken to the Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, then transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Lower Saxony in October 1944. Margot and Anne Frank died there, probably in March 1945.

Anne’s diary, which she kept while in hiding, was published after the end of Nazi rule. The house where she hid with her family is now part of a museum.

Visitors can tour the hiding place. There is also an exhibition of photographs, documents and personal belongings that illustrates the life of the Frank family.

Many boats travel along Amsterdam’s canals. Some, however, never leave their moorings. They are houseboats, where people live. They are often young people or artists who are drawn to the special appeal of life on the water in a big city. They live, cook, sleep and some even work here. Many let plants grow over the roofs of their boats. It is estimated that there are about 2,500 houseboats in Amsterdam.

A special boat is moored on the Singel canal: the “Poezenboot” (Cat Boat). It is a floating animal shelter. About 50 cats live there, born on the streets or abandoned. Mefrouw van Weelde came up with the idea back in 1966. You can only see the boat from the outside, but you can donate to help keep this unique shelter running.