Facts, figures, and other must-know information about Amsterdam.
For instance:
On October 27, 1275 Floris V, Count of Holland, granted the inhabitants of ‘Amestelledamme’ the right not to pay toll fees on goods moved throughout the county.
It is in part thanks to this toll concession that the small village quickly grew into a major commercial center.
The Netherlands has the best drinking water in the world. And it simply comes from the faucet.
How good are Dutch water agencies at purifying water? Watch this demonstration.
You’d be surprised how many bicycles a years fall — or are tossed — into Amsterdam’s canals.
But don’t believe the tourist guides that say on average one car a week ends up in the water.
Located west of Amsterdam’s city center the Jordaan is an atmospheric, bohemian quarter with a labyrinth of narrow streets and picturesque canals.
It is peppered with small shops and galleries, restaurants and brown cafes.
Amsterdam’s historic grachtengordel (literally, belt of canals) around the city’s center will be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July, a spokesman for the organization has said.
But not everyone is pleased with the decision.
The Amsterdam city council wants to experiment with coffeeshops — those establishments where soft drugs like marijuana and hash are legally sold and consumed.
In one variant drugs would only be consumed on the premises. The other consists only of a take-way counter open during established store hours.
The man whose scream caused a panicked stampede of a crowd gathered at Amsterdam’s Dam Square for the national Remembrance Day commemorations last Tuesday has apologized, his lawyer says.
“By crying out at the end of the two minutes of silence my client acted impulsively due to frustrations in his personal life as well as have imbibed an excessive amount of alcohol that day,” van Essen explains. “He could not have foreseen the consequences of his scream.”