West Netherlands

The National Monument on Dam Square (Dutch: Nationaal Monument op de Dam) is a 1956 cenotaph in Amsterdam, Netherlands. A national Remembrance of the Dead ceremony is held at the monument every year on 4 May to commemorate the casualties of World War II and subsequent armed conflicts.

North Netherlands (Dutch: Nord-Nederland) is a subdivision of Netherlands as defined by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). It is one of the four classified NUTS-1 statistical regions of Netherlands. The region incorporates the northern parts of the country, and encompasses an area of 11,389 km2 (4,397 sq mi) and had a population of over 1.83 million inhabitants. The region has a long coastline along the North Sea to the west and shares an international border with Belgium to the south. It incorporates three provinces –Drenthe, Friesland, and Groningen. It encompasses the urban agglomeration of the capital Amsterdam.

The Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky Amsterdam, colloquially known as Kras, is a five-star luxury hotel located on Dam Square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1865, the hotel has 402 rooms, a convention center, restaurants, and a pier for boats on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal. The hotel is part of the Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas brand under Minor Hotels.

Dam Square or the Dam (Dutch pronunciation: [dɑm]) is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country.

Swissôtel Amsterdam is a four-star luxury hotel in Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands, and is managed by the Switzerland-based hotel chain Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts. Swissotel Amsterdam is located near Dam Square, in the heart of Amsterdam's historic city centre.

Amsterdam Ordnance Datum or Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP) is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in the Netherlands, its height was used by Prussia in 1879 for defining Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries. In the 1990s, it was used as the reference level for the United European leveling Network (UELN) which in turn led to the European Vertical Reference System (EVRS).Mayor Johannes Hudde of Amsterdam in a way came up with the idea after he expanded the sea dike after a flood in Amsterdam in 1675. Of course a dike should be storm-resistant to protect a city against flooding, and in this case a margin of "9 feet and 5 inches" (2.67 m - margin is defined in Amsterdam feet) was deemed enough to cope with rising water. So he measured the water level of the adjacent sea arm, Het IJ and compared it with the water level in the canals within the city itself. He found that the water level at an average summer flood in the sea arm (when the water level reaches its maximum, not counting storms) was about the same as the level on the other side of the sea-dike, plus the margin of 9 feet and 5 inches. The relatively constant water level in the canals of Amsterdam, called Amsterdams Peil ("Amsterdam level", AP), equalled the level at summer flood at sea in the sea-inlet, which changes throughout the year. AP was carried over to other areas in the Netherlands in 1860, to replace locally used levels. In this operation, an error was introduced which was corrected (normalised) between 1885 and 1894, resulting in the Normaal Amsterdams Peil. Originally the zero level of NAP was the average summer flood water level in the IJ just north of the centre of Amsterdam (which was at the time, in 1684, the main shipping area, then still connected with the open sea). Currently it is physically realised by a brass benchmark on a 22-meter pile below the Dam square in Amsterdam. The brass benchmark in the Amsterdam Stopera (combined city hall and opera house), which is a tourist attraction, is no longer used as a reference point.

The Rokin Plaza is a large retail complex south of the Dam in Amsterdam which used to be an office building. The name refers to the Rokin canal on which the building sits.

Madame Tussauds Amsterdam is a wax museum situated in Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands. It is located in the centre of the city on Dam Square, near the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Founded in 1970, it was the first Madame Tussauds that was opened in mainland Europe as well as being the first foreign branch of the British institution. The collection of Madame Tussauds Amsterdam consists of a collection of wax figures of famous celebrities in different categories such as the Golden Age of Dutch history, music, sport and film.

The Hotel Polen fire occurred on 9 May 1977 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The conflagration destroyed the Hotel Polen (Hotel Poland), a five-story hotel in the centre of the city which had been built in 1891, as well as the furniture store on the ground level and a nearby bookstore. Many of the tourists staying at the hotel (of whom the majority were Swedes) jumped to their deaths trying to escape the flames. Upon their arrival, the fire department used a life net to help people escape, but not everyone could be saved. The incident resulted in 33 deaths and 21 severe injuries. The cause of the fire is unknown. In 1986 the Polish-born artist Ania Bien created a photographic installation based on the fire which compared it to the Holocaust. The hotel was located between the Kalverstraat (no. 15–17) and the Rokin (no. 14), near the present day Madame Tussauds. Its place is now occupied by the Rokin Plaza, originally an office building, which today houses several fashion shops.

Amsterdam-Centrum is the inner-most borough and historical city centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands containing the majority of the city's landmarks. Established in 2002, Amsterdam-Centrum was the last area in the city to be granted the status of self-governing borough. The borough is only 8.04 km2 large and covers the old innercity and the UNESCO-listed Amsterdam canal belt. In 2013, the borough had approximately 85,000 inhabitants, who on average had the second-highest income per household in the city (after Amsterdam-Zuid) and one of the highest in the country.

The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Defence Line of Amsterdam (in Dutch named Stelling van Amsterdam, pronounced [ˌstɛlɪŋ vɑn ɑmstərˈdɑm]) is a 135-kilometre (84 mi) ring of fortifications around Amsterdam. It has 42 forts that are 10–15 kilometres (6.2–9.3 mi) from the centre and lowlands, which can easily be flooded in time of war. The flooding was designed to give a depth of about 30 centimetres (12 in), too little for boats to cross. Any buildings within 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of the line had to be made of wood so that they could be burnt and the obstruction removed. The Stelling van Amsterdam was constructed between 1880 and 1920. The invention of the aeroplane and tank made the forts obsolete almost as soon as they were finished. Many of the forts now are under the control of both the town councils and the nature department. They may be visited by the public, and admission is free on Monuments Day, the second Saturday in September.