Amsterdam
Fact file:
Country: Netherlands
Area: 219 km2
Population: 243,027
Province: Northern Holland
Amsterdam is the capital of Netherlands. It is located to the south of North Holland. When the village was first discovered, in late 12th century it was thought of as just a fishing village. The two founders were Frisian fishers who sailed on the Amstel with a small boat and a dog. In Dutch Amstelredam means ‘dam of Amstel’ and this later on changed into Amsterdam. It has many large canals in the region. It is now the largest city in Netherlands.
Flag of Amsterdam Coat of Arms of Amsterdam
The main attractions of tourists in Amsterdam are the museums. There are many types of museums like the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk museum and many others. The Van Gogh’s museum has the largest collection of his paintings in the whole world. The Van Gogh museum features many of his contemporary paintings. The building was designed in 1973, and it finally finished in 1999. Two of Van Gogh's paintings were stolen from the museum and have not yet been recovered.
The ever famous Anne Frank House resides in Amsterdam. Anne Frank was a young teenage girl who was forced to go into hiding because of Nazis. Her hiding spot was named the Secret Annex. While she lived in the crammed place, she kept a heart touching diary which till still astounds many.
Amsterdam is famous for its red light district which are regions known for window prostitution. Most places ban prostitution but there are some places located on maps.
Amsterdam encourages sports as it is the hometown of the team Ajax, a Dutch football league. They have a modern stadium called the Amsterdam Arena which is located to the south-east of the city. This stadium is shared with the American football team. Amsterdam also has a basketball team.
