Amsterdam Hotel
Hotels in the city of Amsterdam are often required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some tourists may want to visit the city to see the culture, history, sports and tourist attractions of the city. Some tourists may want to see the architecture, sports, culture and history of the famous Dutch city. Some tourists may want to stay at a hotel in the city or near the city. Some may want to stay at a hotel that is old or new. Some may want to stay at a hotel that has good access to parking facilities.
Hotels in the city are often needed for tourists who require short term accommodation.
Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The city comprises the northern part of the Randstad.
Its name is derived from Amstel dam, indicative of the city's origin: a dam in the river Amstel where the Dam Square is today. Settled as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age, a result of its innovative developments in trade. During this time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded and many new neighbourhoods and suburbs were formed.
The city is the financial and cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and 7 of the world's top 500 companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, part of Euronext, is located in the city centre. Amsterdam's main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House.
Amsterdam has a long and eventful history. The origins of the city lie in the 13th century, when fisherman living along the banks of the River Amstel built a bridge across the waterway near the IJ, then a large saltwater inlet. Wooden doors on the bridge served as a dam; these protected the town from the IJ, which often flooded the early settlement. The mouth of the river Amstel, where the Damrak now is, formed a natural harbor, which became important for trade.
The oldest document that refers to the settlement of Aemstelledamme 'dam on the Amstel', as it was then known, is dated 1204 AD.
The 17th century was Amsterdam's Golden Age. Ships from the city sailed to North America, Indonesia, Brazil and Africa and formed the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants financed expeditions to the four corners of the world and they acquired the overseas possessions which formed the seeds of the later Dutch colonies. Rembrandt painted in this century, and the city expanded greatly around its canals during this time. Amsterdam was the most important point for the transshipment of goods in Europe and it was the leading financial centre of the world (a position later taken over by London).
During World War I, the Netherlands remained neutral, but Amsterdam suffered the effects of the war when food became scarce. When working class women started to plunder a ship with army supplies, the military was brought in. Workers joined their wives in the plundering and the soldiers opened fire on them. Six people were killed and almost 100 were wounded.
In 1932 a dike separating the Zuider Zee from the North Sea, the Afsluitdijk, was completed. The Zuider Zee was no more. The new lake behind the dyke was called IJsselmeer. For the first time in its history Amsterdam had no open communication with the sea.
The Amsterdam canal system is the result of conscious city planning. In the early 17th century—when immigration was at a height—a comprehensive plan was developed that was based on four concentric half-circles of canals with their ends resting on the IJ bay. Known as the Grachtengordel, three of the canals are mostly for residential development: Those are the Herengracht (Gentleman's Canal), Keizersgracht (Emperor's Canal), and Prinsengracht (Princes Canal’). The fourth and outermost canal, the Singelgracht (not to be confused with the older Singel), served purposes of defense and water management. The defensive purpose was established by moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points, but otherwise no masonry superstructures. Furthermore, the plan envisaged: (1) Interconnecting canals along radii; (2) creating a set of parallel canals in the Jordaan quarter, primarily for transportation purposes; (3) converting the defensive purpose of the Singel to a residential and commercial purpose; (4) constructing more than one hundred bridges.[citation needed]
Construction started in 1613 and proceeded from west to east, across the breadth of the lay–out, like a gigantic windshield wiper as the historian Geert Mak calls it—and not from the centre outwards as a popular myth has it. The canal constructions in the southern sector were accomplished by 1656. Subsequently, the construction of residential buildings commenced slowly. The eastern part of the concentric canal plan, covering the area between the Amstel river and the IJ bay, has never been implemented. In the following centuries, the land was used for parks, old people homes, theaters, other public facilities, and waterways without much planning.
Over the years, several canals have been filled in becoming streets or squares, such as the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and the Spui.
Amsterdam has a rich architectural history. The oldest building in Amsterdam is het Houten Huys at the Begijnhof in Amsterdam. This wooden building was built around 1425 and is one of the two still existing wooden buildings in Amsterdam. It is also one of the few rare examples of gothic architecture in Amsterdam.[citation needed] In the sixteenth century wooden buildings were broken down and replaced by brick ones. During this age many buildings were built according to the architecture of the Renaissance. Buildings built during this period are very recognizable, since they all have a façade which ends at the top in the shape of a stairway. This is however the common Dutch Renaissance style. Amsterdam quickly developed its own Renaissance architecture. These buildings were built according to the principles of the architect Hendrick de Keyser. One of the most striking buildings designed by Hendrick de Keyer is the Westerkerk. In the seventeenth century baroque architecture became very popular as it did elsewhere in Europe. This was roughly in the same period as was Amsterdam’s Golden Age. The leading architects of this style in Amsterdam were Jacob van Campen as well as Philip Vingboons and Daniel Stalpaert. Philip Vingboons designed splendid merchant’s houses throughout the city. A famous building in baroque style in Amsterdam is the Royal Palace on Dam Square. Throughout the eighteenth century Amsterdam was heavily influenced by French culture. This is reflected in the architecture from that period. At around 1815 architects broke with the baroque style and started building in different neo-styles. Most gothic style buildings date from that era and are therefore said to be built in a neo-gothic style. At the end of the nineteenth century the Jugendstil or Art Nouveau style became popular and a lot of new buildings were constructed in this architectural style. Since Amsterdam rapidly expanded during this period, new buildings adjacent to the city’s center were also built in this style. The houses in the vicinity of the Museum Square in Amsterdam Oud-Zuid are an example of Jugendstil. The last style that was popular in Amsterdam before the modern era was Art Deco. Amsterdam had its own version of the style, which was called the Amsterdamse School. Whole districts were built in Amsterdamse School, such as the Rivierenbuurt. A notable feature the facades of buildings build in Amsterdamse School, is that they are highly decorated with decorative ornaments and the windows and doors are oddly shaped.
The old city’s center is the epicenter of all the architectural styles before the end of the nineteenth century. Jugendstil and Art Deco are mostly found outside the city’s century in the neighborhoods built in the early twentieth century, although there are some striking examples of these styles present in the city’s center. Most historic buildings in the city’s center and near it are houses, such as the famous merchant’s houses lining the canals.[citation needed]
Amsterdam Hotel
Grand World Villas - Find a Villa from anywhere in the world
Grand Global Villas - Find Villas from Around the Globe
An Index with links to almost all our sites
Holiday
to - Great places to go on Holiday to
Holiday
to 2 - More Great places to go on Holiday to
Holiday to 3 - More places to go on Holiday to
Holiday to 4 - More places to go on Holiday to
Find a Cottage in Britain or Ireland
Find more Cottages in Britain, Ireland, North America or the world
Banks - A page on Financial Affairs
Large holiday houses in Scotland
Holiday cottages Karlstad Sweden
Cheap family holidays in Mallorca