Blauwbrug

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 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 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 Amstelhof (English: Amstel court), was a retirement home that is the Hermitage Amsterdam museum. It was built near the Amstel river in 1682 by the diaconate of the Dutch Reformed Church after having received an inheritance of the rich merchant Barent Helleman. He died on 18 October 1680 and left approximately 90,000 guilders to the church. The city of Amsterdam donated the land on which it was built.

Waterlooplein (Waterloo Square) is a square in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The square near the Amstel river is named after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The daily flea market on the square is popular with tourists. The Stopera city hall and opera building and the Mozes en Aäronkerk church are at Waterlooplein. Waterlooplein is a stop on the common part of Amsterdam Metro lines 51, 53, and 54. Tram line 14 and the Museumboot water taxi also stop at Waterlooplein. There is a taxi stand and parking garage. The area of Amsterdam that includes Waterlooplein is also called Groot Waterloo district.

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

The Zwanenburgwal is a canal and street in the center of Amsterdam. During the Dutch Golden Age the canal was home to painter Rembrandt van Rijn, as well as philosopher Spinoza lived here. In 2006 it was voted one of the most beautiful streets in Amsterdam by readers of Het Parool, a local daily newspaper.The Zwanenburgwal flows from the Sint Antoniessluis sluice gate (between the streets Sint Antoniesbreestraat and Jodenbreestraat) to the Amstel river. The canal was originally named Verversgracht ("dyers' canal"), after the textile industry that once dominated this part of town. Dyed textiles were hung to dry along the canal. Waterlooplein, a market-square popular among city visitors, sits along the Zwanenburgwal. The combined city hall and opera house structure, the Stopera, lies at the intersection of the Zwanenburgwal and the river Amstel. Also on this corner lies the Joods Verzetsmonument, a monument to the Jewish resistance during World War II, where a ceremony in remembrance of the Kristallnacht massacre is held each year. Well-known inhabitants of the Zwanenburgwal include the following painters: Rembrandt, Karel Appel, Nicolaes Eliasz. Pickenoy, Salomon Meijer, and Cornelis van der Voort, the philosopher Baruch de Spinoza, the architect Michel de Klerk, the writer Arend Fokke Simonsz, and the communist leader Paul de Groot. From 1631 to 1635, Rembrandt lived and worked at the home of Hendrick van Uylenburgh at the corner of Zwanenburgwal and Jodenbreestraat. In 1639 he bought the adjacent house, now the Rembrandthuis museum. Rembrandt was able to leave his house via an exit onto the Zwanenburgwal, running underneath the adjacent corner house, which enabled him to move the giant canvas of the Night Watch out of his studio. The Zwanenburgwal was originally an arm of the Amstel delta which was dug into a canal at the start of the 17th Century. In 1602 the Sint Antoniesdijk, a dike along the eastern edge of the city, was breached to construct a sluice gate, the Sint Antoniessluis. The inner section came to be known as the Zwanenburgwal and the outer section, beyond the sluice gate, became known as the Oude Schans. During construction of the canal, a part of the Amstel river was reclaimed to form two new neighborhoods, Zwanenburg (west of the Zwanenburgwal) and Vlooienburg (east of the canal).With the arrival in Amsterdam of large numbers of Jews from all over Europe in the late 16th and early 17th Century, the Zwanenburgwal became part of the Jewish neighborhood of Amsterdam. A synagogue was located on the Zwanenburgwal until 1936. During World War II, the neighborhood was emptied of its residents as most were deported to the Nazi concentration camps. The deserted houses were used for firewood and left derelict. After the war, the Vlooienburg district was demolished to make way for a new city hall, which however was not built until the 1980s.

Euronext Amsterdam is a stock exchange based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, it merged on 22 September 2000 with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange to form Euronext. The registered office of Euronext, itself incorporated in the Netherlands a public limited company (naamloze vennootschap), is also located in the exchange.

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.