AMSTERDAM, NL
Although the Dutch gov. is based in Den Haag Dam is the nominal capital recognised since 1981. First records of Dam date back to a small fishing village in the 12th Century on the Damrak and the Powerful Lords of Amstel, & is now the largest Dutch city retaining the old belief that one should not be harmed by another. Dam is the 3rd most popular tourist destination in Europe and home to at least 172 nationalities. In the C17th the first bulbs were imported from Asia. The city’s patron saint is St. Nicholas, Santa Claus and it is home to IBM’s headquarters. Throughout the centuries Amsterdam has managed to keep its horseshoe shape with its well planned canals.
Dam’s houses are prone to subsidence due to its shallow foundations and have various cornices, gables & wall plaques used before street numbering was introduced in the C19th usually depicting occupation. Canal houses were often built with a deliberate tilt allowing goods to be wrinched into the upper attic rooms without breaking the windows. A law in 1565 restricted this lean to 1:25 to limit risk of buildings collapsing into street. All registered Dam boats have their own postcode & connected to mains electricity.
Dam has the International; Headquarters for Greenpeace. Along the Singel Canal there is the floating market of Bloemarkt & The Torensluis, the prison Bridge, the widest in Dam.
Famous Dam residents include Rembrandt who lived here in 1631 where he worked & taught in Rembrandt Haus in Oude Zijde. (the Rijkmuseum displays othr works from other Dutch artists), Van Gogh, Abel Tasman who colonised Tasmania & New Zealand during Dutch Golden Age & Peter Minuit who bought Manhatten New York, 1626 & founded New Amsterdam, but it was later possessed by the British in 1664.
The main mode of transport is bicycles. Bicycle theft is common though. Amsterdam’s main religion is Calvinism with History embellishing the family of Orange including William, second is Islam although there are places of worship for all religions.
OUDE ZIJDE: Eastern Medieval Dam . Sites include Oude Kerk, built in C15th and is oldest church in the city, The Red Light District, University Area, Chinatown, Hash Marijuana Hemp Museum & The Red Light District.. East of Red Light District is the open paved square of Nieumarkt, where at the top end is Dams China Town & The Waag, Dams oldest surviving Gatehouse where public executions were held which dominates the area. The old jewish quarter leads of the square down St. Antoniebreestracht. The Waterlooplein in the hart of Area dates from 1882 when the place where 2 canals were filled in to create a monastery originally known as Vloonburg, an artificial island built to house all the Jewish Migrants in the C17th. The area also contains the Joods Historich Museum.
The Hash Hemp Marijuana Museum charts the history of hemp & also explains parafanallia to the drug & ways of smuggling with a small cultivation area where police sometimes raid so there may be occasional gaps in display.
The Area displays it’s medieval past with the Schreierstoren (Weepers Tower), which dates back to 1480 where local women waved farwell to their loved men, and is what remains from the ancient city walls, (In 1609 Henry Hudson sailed form here in pursuit of the East Indies but instead found himself sailing down a river he colonised N America), and the other ancient site Zeedijk (Sea Dyke) part of Dam’s original fortifications.
NIEUWE ZIJDE/ DEWALLEN (The Walls/ Western side of The Old Medieval Dam) Formed the warly maritmime settlement Nieuwendijk but when Dam expanded to the East the West was neglected & began to decline, especially with the old wooden houses prone to the many city fires, and after the majority burnt down in 1452 it was a rebuilt and has flourished since, and is an area where you can see some two the cities oldest wooden building remain as timber homes were banned in 1521. Situated in the heart of the city (CENTRUM) the southern part Waterlooplein is the old Jewish part. The area is home to the cannabis coffee shops. in certain places and where cannabis & mushroom selling is illegal you they tolerate up to 5g with a possession about an ounce. The main shopping street is Kalverstraat, and is home to Madame Tussauds, National Monument, The Koninlijk Paleis, built as a Town Hall & is still used today for some royal functions, as well as one of Dam’s oldest streets Nes. The closed Metro Station is Centraal Station and the dominanting Dam Squarewhere you can also get The Feerrry Accross IJ which goes to North Amsterdam/ JAVA EILAND
WESTERN CANAL RING/ JORDAN: Originally home to many immigrants fleeing religious persecution who called district Jardin (garden), known today for it’s Bohemian vibe. The area was developed in C17th with the Western Islands towards Central Canal Ring to meet the demand for warehouses, Bickerseiland, Realeneland & Prinseneiland. 3 famous canals begin here.
During C17 & C18th area was known for its Breweries, main canal used became Brouwersgracht. The districtmaintains its flea market tradition in Nooderkerk since 1627.The Area is also home to Pianda en Piano Museum, & Westerkerk, Dam’stallest tower
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