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Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Amsterdam is not an old city by any European standard. A catastrophic flood of the Zuiderzee in 1170 reshaped land and water at this peat-bog meeting of river and sea in a way that made the area more conducive to settlement. The first known official recognition of a municipality at the mouth of the Amstel comes from 1275 CE, when Count Floris V granted its residents free travel in Holland County. A sea-going merchant people, Amsterdammers proceeded to build one of the great trading cities — and, for a while, Europe's richest. The thousands of 17th-century canal houses are testament to the wealth of the nation's Golden Age — and to the moderate, modest character of the Dutch people. Amsterdam in the 21st century remains a city of understated beauty. |
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BicyclesPas op...
SloterplasA man-made lake where once there was a lake...
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AfgeslotenRoad closed....
Dutch cafésNobody's going to worry about how long you stay....
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Stelling van AmsterdamHistoric military floodplain system...
The Dutch coffeeshopCannabis products....
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