Amsterdam is the nominal capital as well as the largest city of Netherlands. Its name has been derived from ‘Amstel Dam’, a dam built on river Amstel. The city is popularly known as the ‘Venice of the North’, owing to the popularity of its historic port, the Rijksmuseum, its red-light district (de Wallen), its laissez-faire coffee shops and the numerous canals. Amsterdam was merely a small fishing village founded in the 12th century. However, it gained importance by becoming one of the important ports during the Dutch Golden Age. In effect, it transformed into a leading center of finance and diamonds. Given below are some other interesting and fun facts about Amsterdam.
Interesting & Fun Facts about Amsterdam
- Amsterdam is the nominal capital of Netherlands.
- The city houses more than 1 million bikes.
- Amsterdam is home to more than 300 coffee shops, which are legally allowed to sell up to 5 gm of soft drugs per person.
- The city owns 70 glass topped canal boats.
- Amsterdam is known to house the maximum number of museums in the world, per square meter.
- If the sea level rises even slightly, Amsterdam would be one of the first cities in the world to drown, as its altitude is below sea level.
- The Van Gogh Museum and the Kröller-Müller Museum of Amsterdam contain the largest Van Gogh collections in the world.
- Though the city is the capital of the Netherlands, it does not have a parliament, as it is situated in Hague.
- The world famous ‘Kohinoor’ diamond of India was actually cut in Amsterdam.
- The city is entirely built on piles, by means of huge stakes driven into the ground.
- Amsterdam has more than 150 canals and 1,200 bridges within its bounds.
- The city also comprises of the northern part of the Randstad, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in Europe.
- Out of the top 500 companies in the world, as many as seven, including Philips and ING, are based in Amsterdam.
- Amsterdam Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in the world. It is located in the city centre.
- The city lies in the west of the Netherlands, next to the provinces of Utrecht and Flevoland.
- The oldest area in Amsterdam is known as de Wallen and it is home to the city’s famous red light district.
- Oude Kerk (Old Church) forms the oldest building in Amsterdam. Situated in the heart of the Wallen area, it was consecrated in 1306.
- While earlier, wooden building used to dominate the city, today only two of them remain standing, of which the oldest one is het Houten Huys.
- The administration of the municipality of Amsterdam has been divided into 15 boroughs or stadsdelen. The city is governed by a mayor, aldermen, and the municipal council.
- Amongst the numerous large Dutch corporations and banks headquartered in Amsterdam, one can include ABN AMRO, Akzo Nobel, Heineken International, ING Group, Ahold, TomTom, Delta Lloyd Group and Philips.
