Amsterdam
Amsterdam (/ˈæmstərdæm/ AM-stər-dam, UK also /ˌæmstərˈdæm/ AM-stər-DAM,[10][11] Dutch: [ˌɑmstərˈdɑm] ⓘ; literally, "The Dam on the River Amstel") is the capital[a] and most populated city of the Netherlands. It has a population of 921,402[12] within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the urban area[7] and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area.[13] Located in the Dutch province of North Holland,[14][15] Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North", for its large number of canals, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[16]
For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation).
Amsterdam
c. 1275
219.32 km2 (84.68 sq mi)
165.76 km2 (64.00 sq mi)
53.56 km2 (20.68 sq mi)
3,043 km2 (1,175 sq mi)
−2 m (−7 ft)
921,402
5,277/km2 (13,670/sq mi)
1,459,402
2,480,394
8,116,000
Amsterdammer
€201.100 billion (2022)
020
Amsterdam was founded at the mouth of the Amstel River, which was dammed to control flooding.[17] Originally a small fishing village in the 12th century, Amsterdam became a major world port during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, when the Netherlands was an economic powerhouse. Amsterdam was the leading centre for finance and trade, as well as a hub of secular art production.[18] In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded and new neighborhoods and suburbs were built. The city has a long tradition of openness, liberalism, and tolerance.[19] Cycling is key to the city's modern character, and there are numerous biking paths and lanes spread throughout.[20][21]
Amsterdam's main attractions include its historic canals; the Rijksmuseum, the state museum with Dutch Golden Age art; the Van Gogh Museum; the Dam Square, where the Royal Palace of Amsterdam and former city hall are located; the Amsterdam Museum; Stedelijk Museum, with modern art; the Concertgebouw concert hall; the Anne Frank House; the Scheepvaartmuseum, the Natura Artis Magistra; Hortus Botanicus, NEMO, the red-light district and cannabis coffee shops. The city is known for its nightlife and festival activity, with several nightclubs among the world's most famous. Its artistic heritage, canals and narrow canal houses with gabled façades, well-preserved legacies of the city's 17th-century Golden Age, have attracted millions of visitors annually.
The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, founded in 1602, is considered the oldest "modern" securities market stock exchange in the world. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city. The city is the cultural capital of the Netherlands.[22] Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters in the city.[23] Many of the world's largest companies are based here or have established their European headquarters in the city, such as technology companies Uber, Netflix and Tesla.[24] In 2022, Amsterdam was ranked the ninth-best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit[25] and 12th on quality of living for environment and infrastructure by Mercer.[26] The city was ranked 4th place globally as top tech hub in 2019.[27] The Port of Amsterdam is the fifth largest in Europe.[28] The KLM hub and Amsterdam's main airport, Schiphol, is the busiest airport in the Netherlands, third in Europe, and 11th in the world.[29] The Dutch capital is one of the most multicultural cities in the world, with about 180 nationalities represented.[30] Immigration and ethnic segregation in Amsterdam is a current issue.[31]
Amsterdam's notable residents throughout its history include painters Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh, 17th-century philosophers Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, René Descartes, and the Holocaust victim and diarist Anne Frank.
Topographic map of Amsterdam
Large-scale map of the city centre of Amsterdam, including sightseeing markers, as of April 2017.
![Large-scale map of the city centre of Amsterdam, including sightseeing markers, as of April 2017[update].](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Amsterdam-centrum-OpenTopo.jpg/228px-Amsterdam-centrum-OpenTopo.jpg)
Media[edit]
Amsterdam is a prominent centre for national and international media. Some locally based newspapers include Het Parool, a national daily paper; De Telegraaf, the largest Dutch daily newspaper; the daily newspapers Trouw, de Volkskrant and NRC; De Groene Amsterdammer, a weekly newspaper; the free newspapers Metro and The Holland Times (printed in English).
Amsterdam is home to the second-largest Dutch commercial TV group SBS Broadcasting Group, consisting of TV-stations SBS 6, Net 5 and Veronica. However, Amsterdam is not considered 'the media city of the Netherlands'. The town of Hilversum, 30 km (19 mi) south-east of Amsterdam, has been crowned with this unofficial title. Hilversum is the principal centre for radio and television broadcasting in the Netherlands. Radio Netherlands, heard worldwide via shortwave radio since the 1920s, is also based there. Hilversum is home to an extensive complex of audio and television studios belonging to the national broadcast production company NOS, as well as to the studios and offices of all the Dutch public broadcasting organisations and many commercial TV production companies.
In 2012, the music video of Far East Movement, 'Live My Life', was filmed in various parts of Amsterdam.
Also, several movies were filmed in Amsterdam, such as James Bond's Diamonds Are Forever, Ocean's Twelve, Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Hitman's Bodyguard. Amsterdam is also featured in John Green's book The Fault in Our Stars, which has been made into a film as well that partly takes place in Amsterdam.