HISTORY

Had you visited Amsterdam in the 13th century, you would have found a village on the Amstel River trading mainly in fish and beer. But by the 17th century Amsterdam had grown from a village to a wealthy city. Trade had made it so prosperous that this period is known as Amsterdam’s Golden Age, and the city’s characteristic canal houses date from this period.

The Golden Age was in steep decline when the Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded in 1815. However, by the end of the 19th century, Amsterdam’s star was beginning to rise again. Canals carved out to connect the city to the North Sea and the Rhine re-established it as a trading center in Europe and beyond. This prosperity resulted in the building of some of the city’s best-known landmarks, including the Central Station and the Concertgebouw. More recently, Anne Frank became a symbol of Amsterdam’s occupation by the Nazis in the Second World War.

POLITICS

The Netherlands’ capital is governed by a mayor (currently Job Cohen), a municipal council and a council of aldermen. The city is further divided into boroughs, of which there are 14, each of which has its own elected council.

POPULATION

Amsterdam currently has about 740,000 inhabitants. In the Netherlands as a whole, 83% of the population is native Dutch, with the remaining 17% coming mainly from the Middle East and former colonies of the Netherlands. Amsterdam has a higher percentage of immigrants than the country as a whole.

RELIGION

The population is quite evenly divided with similar numbers of Roman Catholics (38 percent) and Protestants (30 percent). Amsterdam now feels like a very secular city, although visitors should have no trouble finding a house of worship if they require one.

ECONOMY

Like much of the rest of the world, the local economy is, shall we say, resting. After several years of this, a sort of equilibrium has been reached— unemployment exists but state benefits protect the out-of-work from poverty.