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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, which had a population (including suburbs) of 1.36 million on 1 January 2008, comprises the northern part of the Randstad, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in Europe, with a population of around 6.7 million.




Its name is derived from Amstellerdam, indicative of the city's origin: a dam in the river Amstel. 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 that 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, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city centre. Amsterdam's main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Hermitage Amsterdam, Anne Frank House, its red-light district, and its many cannabis coffee shops draw more than 3.66 million international visitors annually.
History

A dam was built in 13th century in the river Amstel (that's why the city is called Amsterdam). The old harbor of the city, Damrak, is now one of the busiest streets in the city. The city was for the first time mentioned in 1275 by king Floris V who give the people of Amsterdam a bit more freedom. The city got its city rights probably in 1306; at least soon after the year 1300. The city became a major trading port pretty soon, with a successful trading route to the Baltic Sea. The city grew fast in the 15th century. Because the city basically lies in swamp, the builders of the city had to dig canals to use the digging-ground for getting the living-ground higher. Homes were built on wooden poles, and the canals served as a pretty effective primitive sewer.

The city was one the first cities in Western Europe to be fairly democratic: Wealthy citizens chose the leaders of the city. Amsterdam declared war on the Spanish in 1578, during the Eighty Years' War. When the city of Antwerp fell to the Spanish in 1585, many people of Antwerp fled to Amsterdam. Antwerp was also a major trading city, and because many fled to Amsterdam, these people took their trading-networks with them. That's why Amsterdam became an even more important trading city after that. This automatically led to the Dutch Golden Age. The number of people living in Amsterdam during the War rose from less than 30,000 in 1570 to over 100,000 in 1622. That number would even rise to 200,000 near the end of the 17th century, making the city a very large city for its time (only London and Paris also had that many people). In the 18th century, the number of people living in Amsterdam fell back to 140,000, ending the Golden Age.

The 19th century was the time for the first trains and trams to ride in Amsterdam. The first train ran from Amsterdam to Haarlem in 1839. The number of people also was rising, with about 250,000 living in Amsterdam in 1850, and more than 500,000 in 1900. Amsterdam was a heavy industrialised city by then. Before the Second World War, there were about 140,000 Jews living in Amsterdam. Most of those people did not survive the war. After the war, Amsterdam became a centre of tolerance and culture; to be different is not abnormal in Amsterdam. It is expected that Amsterdam will grow 12.6% until 2025. It will then hold almost 900,000 people, and the metropolitan area will hold almost 2.5 million people by then.