Amstelhof

The Magere Brug (English: Skinny Bridge) is a bridge over the river Amstel in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It connects the banks of the river at Kerkstraat, between the Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht.The central section of the Magere Brug is a bascule bridge made of white-painted wood. The present bridge was built in 1934. The first bridge at this site was built in 1691 as Kerkstraatbrug and had 13 arches. Because this bridge was very narrow, the locals called it magere brug, which literally means "skinny bridge". In 1871 the state of the bridge had deteriorated so much, it was demolished and replaced by a nine-arched wooden bridge. Half a century later, this bridge also needed to be replaced. Architect Piet Kramer made several designs for a steel and stone bridge, but the city decided to replace it with a new bridge that looked the same as the previous, only slightly bigger. In 1934, that bridge was demolished, and replaced by a redesign made by Piet Kramer. The last major renovation was in 1969. Until 1994, the bridge was opened by hand, but is now operated automatically. Use of the bridge has been limited to pedestrians and cyclists since 2003. The centre-part is opened many times, daily, in order to let river traffic pass. The sightseeing tour boats are low enough to pass underneath the bridge when closed. The bridge is decorated with 1,200 light bulbs which are turned on in the evening. A story told to tourists about the origins of the 1691 version of the bridge is that it was built by two sisters who lived on opposite sides of the Amstel river and wanted to be able to visit one another, every day. In one variant of the story, the sisters were not able to afford a bridge of adequate width or height for general use, so a very narrow bridge was built, hence its name. In another variant, the sisters' last name was Mager (skinny), which gave name to the bridge (rather than its narrowness). Recent research of city archives revealed the name has its origin in the fact that originally a broad and monumental stone bridge was planned during Amsterdam's prosperous Golden Age, but the 1672 economic setback forced the city council to drastically scale back the plans, and build a basic and simple structure instead. Locals regard the bridge as the most romantic of all in Amsterdam. It is a common site for proposals and lovers' strolls. Additionally, legend says that a kiss between lovers while on this bridge (or passing beneath by boat) ensures that they will be in love forever. The bridge can be seen in a number of films, including the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, in which the legend of the bridge's being built is told by a boat tour guide.

The Blauwbrug (English: Blue bridge) is a historic bridge in Amsterdam, Netherlands over the river Amstel. It connects the Rembrandtplein area with the Waterlooplein area, and lies south to the Stopera. The bridge owes its name to a wooden "blue bridge" that was there from around 1600 but no longer exists and which was painted the characteristic blue of the Dutch flag. It kept the name after 1883 when it was replaced by the spans of a new bridge which is inspired by the architecture of several of the bridges over the Seine in Paris such as Pont Alexandre III. The stone bridge has three openings for ships and is richly decorated. The bases are formed like ships' bows and on top columns with leaf-motifs, masks and finally the Imperial Crown of Austria, as also present in the city's coat of arms. Also the lantern poles have shipping decorations and the lanterns themselves are again in the shape of crowns. The bridge carries a road which is also used by the tramway.

The Nieuwe Keizersgracht is a canal in Amsterdam, part of the eastern Grachtengordel (canal belt).

The Leprozengracht was a canal in Amsterdam that defined one side of the Vlooyenburg island. Leprozengracht and the connected Houtgracht canal were filled in 1882 to form the Waterlooplein.

The Stopera is a building complex in Amsterdam, Netherlands, housing both the city hall of Amsterdam and the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, the principal opera house in Amsterdam that is home of Dutch National Opera, Dutch National Ballet and Holland Symfonia. The building was designed by Wilhelm Holzbauer and Cees Dam. The name is an abbreviation of the protest slogan "Stop the Opera" and not a portmanteau of "st"adhuis (Dutch: "city hall") and "opera" as is often claimed. Because the word 'Stopera' was a name for the protests against the building, the theater has never used this name in their communication. The Stopera is located in the center of Amsterdam at a bend of the Amstel River between Waterlooplein Square and the Zwanenburgwal Canal, on a plot of land called Vlooienburg, which was reclaimed in the 16th century. The opera house building is shaped like a huge, massive block, with a curved front facing the city. Its facade is covered in a red-orange brick and corrugated metal panels. The curved face of the theatre is faced with white marble punctuated by large windows that provide panoramic views of the river from the curved interior foyers and multi-level terraces. Next to the Stopera is the Joods Verzetsmonument, a 1988 monument to the Jewish victims of World War II. A remembrance of the Kristallnacht is held at the monument every year.

Waterlooplein is an Amsterdam Metro station in the centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The station is close to the Stopera, the city hall of Amsterdam.

The Joods Historisch Museum (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌjoːts ɦɪsˈtoːris myˈzeːjʏm]; English: Jewish Historical Museum), part of the Jewish Cultural Quarter, is a museum in Amsterdam dedicated to Jewish history, culture and religion, in the Netherlands and worldwide. It is the only museum in the Netherlands dedicated to Jewish history.

Amsterdam ( AM-stər-dam, UK also AM-stər-DAM, Dutch: [ˌɑmstərˈdɑm] (listen)) is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands; with a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area. Found within the Dutch province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North", due to the large number of canals which form a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Amsterdam was founded at the Amstel, that was dammed to control flooding; the city's name derives from the Amstel dam. Originating 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 of the 17th century, and became the leading centre for the finance and trade sectors. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned and built. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Sloten, annexed in 1921 by the municipality of Amsterdam, is the oldest part of the city, dating to the 9th century. Amsterdam's main attractions include its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, Hermitage Amsterdam, the Concertgebouw, the Anne Frank House, the Scheepvaartmuseum, the Amsterdam Museum, the Heineken Experience, the Royal Palace of Amsterdam, Natura Artis Magistra, Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, NEMO, the red-light district and many cannabis coffee shops. It drew more than 5 million international visitors in 2014. The city is also well known for its nightlife and festival activity; with several of its nightclubs (Melkweg, Paradiso) among the world's most famous. Primarily known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled façades; well-preserved legacies of the city's 17th-century Golden Age. These characteristics are arguably responsible for attracting millions of Amsterdam's visitors annually. Cycling is key to the city's character, and there are numerous biking paths and lanes spread throughout the entire city. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is considered the oldest "modern" securities market stock exchange in the world. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group. The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters in the city, including: the Philips conglomerate, AkzoNobel, Booking.com, TomTom, and ING. Moreover, many of the world's largest companies are based in Amsterdam or have established their European headquarters in the city, such as leading technology companies Uber, Netflix and Tesla. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second-best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and 12th globally on quality of living for environment and infrastructure by Mercer. The city was ranked 4th place globally as top tech hub in the Savills Tech Cities 2019 report (2nd in Europe), and 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Port of Amsterdam is the fifth largest in Europe. The KLM hub and Amsterdam's main airport, Schiphol, is the Netherlands' busiest airport as well as the third busiest in Europe and 11th busiest airport in the world. The Dutch capital is considered one of the most multicultural cities in the world, with at least 177 nationalities represented.A few of Amsterdam's notable residents throughout its history include: painters Rembrandt and Van Gogh, the diarist Anne Frank, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza.

The Amsterdam metropolitan area (Dutch: Metropoolregio Amsterdam) is the city region around the city of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It lies in the Noordvleugel (English: "North Wing") of the larger polycentric Randstad metropolitan area and encompasses the city of Amsterdam, the provinces of North Holland and Flevoland, as well as 36 further municipalities within the two provinces, with a total population of over 2.5 million inhabitants. The administrative responsibility for the Amsterdam metropolitan area lies with the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area Central Administration (BKG).

Zuyderzée ([zɥi.dɛʁ.ze], "Southern Sea", Dutch: Zuyderzee) was a department of the First French Empire in the present-day Netherlands. It is named after the Zuiderzee sea inlet. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponded more or less with the present-day Dutch provinces of North Holland and Utrecht. Its capital was Amsterdam. The department was subdivided into the following arrondissements and cantons (situation in 1812): Amsterdam, cantons: Amsterdam (6 cantons), Baambrugge, Kudelstaart, Loenen, Naarden, Nieuwer-Amstel, Oud-Loosdrecht, Watergraafsmeer and Weesp. Alkmaar, cantons: Alkmaar (2 cantons), De Rijp, Schagen, Texel, Wieringen and Zijpe. Amersfoort, cantons: Amersfoort (2 cantons), Rhenen and Wijk bij Duurstede. Haarlem, cantons: Beverwijk, Bloemendaal, Haarlem (2 cantons), Heemstede, Oostzaandam, Westzaan and Westzaandam. Hoorn, cantons: Enkhuizen, Grootebroek-Edam- Purmerend, Hoorn (2 cantons), Medemblik and Monnickendam. Utrecht, cantons: IJsselstein, Maarssen, Mijdrecht, Schoonhoven, Utrecht (2 cantons) and Woerden.Its population in 1812 was 507,500, and its area was 950,100 hectares.After Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the department became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Moses and Aaron Church (Dutch: Mozes en Aäronkerk, pronounced [ˌmoːzəs ɛn aːˈʔaːrəŋkɛr(ə)k]), in the Waterlooplein neighborhood of Amsterdam, is officially the Roman Catholic Church of St. Anthony of Padua (Dutch: Sint-Anthoniuskerk). Originally a clandestine church, it was operated by Franciscan priests at a house on Jodenbreestraat ["Jewish Broad Street"], where the wall tablets of Moses and Aaron hung on the wall. In 1970, the present church was designated as a Cultural Heritage Monument (Dutch: Rijksmonument) of the Netherlands.

The Royal Theater Carré (Dutch: Koninklijk Theater Carré) is a Neo-Renaissance theatre in Amsterdam, located near the river Amstel. When the theatre was founded in 1887, it was originally meant as a permanent circus building. Currently, it is mainly used for musicals, cabaret performances and pop concerts. Carré is located next to the Amstel, close to Waterlooplein. Its address is Amstel 115.