1.
Van Gogh Museum
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The Van Gogh Museum is an art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is located at the Museum Square in the borough Amsterdam South, close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the museum opened on 2 June 1973. It is located in buildings designed by Gerrit Rietveld and Kisho Kurokawa, the museums collection is the largest collection of Van Goghs paintings and drawings in the world. In 2015, the museum had 1.9 million visitors, and was the 2nd most visited museum in the Netherlands, upon Vincent van Goghs death in 1890, his work not sold fell into the possession of his brother Theo. Theo died six months after Vincent, leaving the work in the possession of his widow, selling many of Vincents paintings with the ambition of spreading knowledge of his artwork, Johanna maintained a private collection of his works. Design for a Van Gogh Museum was commissioned by the Dutch government in 1963 to Dutch architect, Rietveld died a year later, and the building was not completed until 1973, when the museum opened its doors. In 1998 and 1999, the building was renovated by the Dutch architect Martien van Goor, starting in late 2012, the museum was closed for renovations for six months. During this period,75 works from the collection were shown in the Hermitage Amsterdam, on 9 September 2013, the museum unveiled a long-lost Van Gogh painting that spent years in a Norwegian attic believed to be by another painter. It is the first full-size canvas by him discovered since 1928, sunset at Montmajour depicts trees, bushes and sky, painted with Van Goghs familiar thick brush strokes. It can be dated to the day it was painted because he described it in a letter to his brother, Theo. In 1991, twenty paintings were stolen from the museum, among them Van Goghs early painting The Potato Eaters, although the thieves escaped from the building,35 minutes later all stolen paintings were recovered from an abandoned car. Three paintings – Wheatfield with Crows, Still Life with Bible, four men, including two museum guards, were convicted for the theft and given six or seven-year sentences. It is considered to be the largest art theft in the Netherlands since the Second World War, in 2002, two paintings were stolen from the museum, Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen and View of the Sea at Scheveningen. Two Dutchmen were convicted for the theft to four-and-a-half-year sentences, the museum offered a reward of €100,000 for information leading to the recovery of the paintings. The FBI Art Crime Team listed the robbery on their Top Ten Art Crimes list, in September 2016, both paintings were discovered by the Guardia di Finanza in Naples, Italy. The two artworks were found in a good state, according to the Van Gogh Museum. The museum is situated at the Museumplein in Amsterdam-Zuid, on the Paulus Potterstraat 7, the museum consists of two buildings, the Rietveld building, designed by Gerrit Rietveld, and the Kurokawa wing, designed by Kisho Kurokawa. The museum offices are housed on Stadhouderskade 55 in Amsterdam-Zuid, the Rietveld building is the main structure of the museum and exhibits the permanent collection
2.
Ferris wheel
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Some of the largest modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on the outside of the rim, with electric motors to independently rotate each car to keep it upright. These wheels are sometimes referred to as wheels and their cars referred to as capsules. The original Ferris Wheel was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. as a landmark for the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The generic term Ferris wheel is now used for all such structures, since the original 1893 Chicago Ferris wheel there have been nine worlds tallest-ever Ferris wheels. The current record holder is the 167. 6-metre High Roller in Las Vegas, US, pleasure wheels, whose passengers rode in chairs suspended from large wooden rings turned by strong men, may have originated in 17th-century Bulgaria. A Frenchman, Antonio Manguino, introduced the idea to America in 1848, a much earlier description of a Ferris-type wheel can be seen in The Death of Arthur, a volume of the Vulgate Cycle dating from around 1220. The text describes King Arthur in a dream being approached by Fortuna, the following year he was granted the first U. S. patent for a Roundabout. George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. rode on Somers wheel in Atlantic City prior to designing his wheel for the Worlds Columbian Exposition, the original Ferris Wheel, sometimes also referred to as the Chicago Wheel, was designed and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. With a height of 80.4 metres it was the largest attraction at the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois and it was intended to rival the 324-metre Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition. Ferris was a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and he began his career in the railroad industry and then pursued an interest in bridge building. Ferris understood the growing need for steel and founded G. W. G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that tested and inspected metals for railroads, the wheel rotated on a 71-ton,45. There were 36 cars, each fitted with 40 revolving chairs and able to accommodate up to 60 people, the Exposition ended in October 1893, and the wheel closed in April 1894 and was dismantled and stored until the following year. It was then rebuilt on Chicagos North Side, near Lincoln Park and this prompted William D. Boyce, then a local resident, to file a Circuit Court action against the owners of the wheel to have it removed, but without success. The Wiener Riesenrad is an example of nineteenth-century Ferris wheels. A demolition permit for the Riesenrad was issued in 1916, but due to a lack of funds with which to carry out the destruction, following the demolition of the 100-metre Grande Roue de Paris in 1920, the Riesenrad became the worlds tallest extant Ferris wheel. Still in operation today, it is one of Viennas most popular tourist attractions, chronology of worlds tallest-ever wheels 1893, the original Ferris Wheel was 80.4 metres tall. Built for the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, it was moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904 for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and demolished there in 1906
3.
Rijksmuseum
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The Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Concertgebouw. The Rijksmuseum was founded in The Hague in 1800 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808, the current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened its doors in 1885. On 13 April 2013, after a renovation which cost €375 million. In 2013 and 2014, it was the most visited museum in the Netherlands with record numbers of 2.2 million and 2.47 million visitors and it is also the largest art museum in the country. The museum also has a small Asian collection, which is on display in the Asian pavilion, in 1795, the Batavian Republic was proclaimed. The Minister of Finance Isaac Gogel argued that a museum, following the French example of The Louvre. On 19 November 1798, the government decided to found the museum, on 31 May 1800, the National Art Gallery, precursor of the Rijksmuseum, opened its doors in Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. The museum exhibited around 200 paintings and historic objects from the collections of the Dutch stadtholders, in 1805, the National Art Gallery moved within The Hague to the Buitenhof. In 1806, the Kingdom of Holland was established by Napoleon Bonaparte, on the orders of king Louis Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, the museum moved to Amsterdam in 1808. The paintings owned by city, such as The Night Watch by Rembrandt. In 1809, the museum opened its doors in the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, in 1817, the museum moved to the Trippenhuis. The Trippenhuis turned out to be unsuitable as a museum, in 1820, the historical objects were moved to the Mauritshuis in The Hague, and in 1838 the 19th-century paintings were moved to Paviljoen Welgelegen in Haarlem. In 1863, there was a design contest for a new building for the Rijksmuseum, Pierre Cuypers also participated in the contest and his submission reached the second place. In 1876 a new contest was held and this time Pierre Cuypers won, the design was a combination of gothic and renaissance elements. The construction began on 1 October 1876, on both the inside and the outside, the building was richly decorated with references to Dutch art history. Another contest was held for these decorations, the winners were B. van Hove and J. F. Vermeylen for the sculptures, G. Sturm for the tile tableaus and painting and W. F. Dixon for the stained glass. The museum was opened at its new location on 13 July 1885, in 1890 a new building was added a short distance to the south-west of the Rijksmuseum
4.
Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, 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 neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
5.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
6.
Pierre Cuypers
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Petrus Josephus Hubertus Cuypers was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station, more representative for his oeuvre, however, are numerous churches, of which he designed more than 100. Moreover, he restored a number of monuments. Cuypers was born in Roermond, the son of a church painter, after he studied at the urban college in Roermond, he moved to Antwerp in 1844 to study architecture at the Royal art academy. He was taught by Frans Andries Durlet, Frans Stoop and Ferdinand Berckmans, Cuypers was a good student, in 1849, he gained the Prix dExcellence of the academy. From 1875 he led the restoration of the front of the Mainz Cathedral. In doing so, he created as a pole to the western tower group the high, gothic likely eastern tower helmet, replacing a bell floor. After a tour in the German Rheinland, he returned to Roermond, in 1852, he opened a workshop where ecclesiastical art was manufactured. Cuypers ecclesiastical work was strongly influenced by 13th century French architecture and by the writings of his friends Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. Cuypers built a number of churches all across the Netherlands. Highlights from these first period are the Lamberts Church in Veghel, from 1870 onwards Cuypers style became more influenced by the native Gothic styles of the Netherlands as well as Gothic styles from other countries like Norway and Italy. He also experimented with centralizing ground-plans and other non-conventional layouts, in this second part of his career he built some of his best work. After 1883 he was assisted by his son Joseph Cuypers in much of his work, Cuypers led a large number of restorations. An early example of this is the restoration of the Munster Church in Roermond. Pierre Cuypers was the uncle of Eduard Cuypers who trained in his practice as a young man, other relatives who became architect are his grandsons Pierre Cuypers jr. and Theo Taen. Cuypers was a practising Roman Catholic and a member of the Lay Dominicans, as such, he was buried in the Dominican habit. He died in his town of Roermond, aged 93. A. J. C. van Leeuwen, Pierre Cuypers architect, het complete werk, Rotterdam, Nederlands Architectuurinstituut,2007
7.
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
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The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The 19th century building was designed by Adriaan Willem Weissman and the 21st century wing with the current entrance was designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects. It is located at the Museum Square in the borough Amsterdam South, where it is close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the collection comprises modern and contemporary art and design from the early 20th century up to the 21st century. In 2015, the museum had an estimated 675,000 visitors, the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, opened on 14 September 1895 as an initiative of the local authority and private individuals. The Dutch Neo-Renaissance style museum building was designed by Dutch architect Adriaan Willem Weissman as part of a project spearheaded by local citizens starting in 1850. The construction of the building was funded in 1890 by Sophia Adriana de Bruyn. The Van Eeghen family also contributed to the costs and donated paintings from the collection of Christiaan Pieter van Eeghen. The building was constructed between 1891 and 1895 at Paulus Potterstraat, a walking distance from the Rijksmuseum. The museums original collection included militaria of the Amsterdam militia, Asiatic art, and artifacts from the Museum of Chronometry, in 1905, Cornelis Baard was appointed curator of the Stedelijk and promoted to museum director in 1920. During his time as curator, the local authority began building its own collection of modern art, the Great Depression in the Netherlands led to municipal cutbacks and an increased need for policy reviews in the first half of the 1930s. In 1932, a committee was established with two members from the VVHK and two from the local authority. These four figures oversaw all art purchases for the museum, notably works of Hague and Amsterdam Impressionism, the museum began actively acquiring art in 1930. Nijkerks collection of books came to the Stedelijk, which was expanded to include aesthetic book design. The Museum of Applied Art opened on the floor of the west wing on 15 December 1934. In 1936, David Röell, who had worked at the Rijksmuseum and was secretary of the VVHK. Röell appointed Willem Sandberg as the new curator in January 1938, Sandberg eventually took over as director of the museum in 1945. By 1962, the VVHK handed over most of its collection, including works by George Hendrik Breitner, Paul Cézanne, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet, Vincent van Gogh, and Johan Jongkind. Under the direction of Sandberg, the Stedelijk started a department of applied art in 1945, at the start of 1950, the Stedelijk also began to present modern music and films
8.
Concertgebouw
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The Royal Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term concertgebouw literally translates into English as concert building, on 11 April 2013, on occasion of the buildings 125th anniversary, Queen Beatrix bestowed the Royal Title Koninklijk upon the building, as she did previously to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Because of its highly regarded acoustics, the Concertgebouw is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world, along with such as Bostons Symphony Hall. The architect of the building was Adolf Leonard van Gendt, who was inspired by the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, construction began in 1883 in a pasture that was then outside the city, in Nieuwer-Amstel, a municipality that in 1964 became Amstelveen. A total of 2,186 piles of length twelve to thirteen metres were sunk into the soil. The hall opened on 11 April 1888 with a concert, in which an orchestra of 120 musicians and a chorus of 500 singers participated, performing works of Wagner, Handel, Bach. The resident orchestra of the Concertgebouw is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, for many decades the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest have also been regular performers in the Concertgebouw. The Main Hall seats 1,974, and is 44 metres long,28 metres wide and its reverberation time is 2.8 seconds without audience,2.2 seconds with, making it ideal for the late Romantic repertoire such as Mahler. Though this characteristic makes it unsuited for amplified music, groups such as Led Zeppelin, The Who. It hosts not only orchestral and operatic performances, but also jazz, a smaller, oval-shaped venue, the Recital Hall, is located behind the Main Hall. The Recital Hall is 20 metres long and 15 metres wide and its more intimate space is well-suited for chamber music and Lieder. The Recital Hall has 437 seats, when the Concertgebouw was built, acoustics were something of a black art. As in shipbuilding, designers drew upon what had worked in the past without entirely understanding the underlying science, when the building was completed, the acoustics were not perfect, and a lot of effort went into fine-tuning the aural ambience. During later restorations, particular care has been not to alter the materials used for interior decoration with this in mind. In the 1980s, the hall embarked on extensive fund-raising for renovations after the hall was found to be sinking into the ground. Pi de Bruijn was the architect for the annex to the original hall. Today, some nine hundred concerts and other events per year take place in the Concertgebouw, for a public of over 700,000, as of February 2014, the managing director of the Concertgebouw is Simon Reinink and the artistic director is Anneke Hogenstijn. The organ was built in 1890 by the organ builder Michael Maarschalkerweerd from Utrecht and it has 60 registers on three divisions and pedal
9.
International Colonial and Export Exhibition
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The International Colonial and Export Exhibition was a colonial exhibition that was held in Amsterdam from May 1 to October 1,1883. The event drew at least a million visitors and was the first international exhibition, with 28 different nations presenting their colonial trade. The event was the brainchild of Edouard Agostini, a French entrepreneur, Agostini, who had previously been involved in organizing the 1878 Exposition Universelle in Paris, presented his plans to the city of Amsterdam and King William III of the Netherlands in 1880. The Dutch government was hesitant, but Agostini managed to secure funding from Belgian. The location chosen for the exhibition was an area of land behind the Rijksmuseum. This area is now Museumplein square, the main building was designed by the French architect Paul Fouquiau in Moorish style. It was constructed of wood covered with plaster and painted cloth, between the buildings two large towers, a large cloth in Indian style was hung, with plaster heads of elephants and other animals. Items on show in the building included a telephone, wood- and metalworking machines. The buildings colonial section presented products such as tobacco and rubber, at that time, it was not considered degrading or racist to put humans on display, in fact, it became a regularly featured spectacle at such exhibitions. Other structures included a pavilion, the pavilion of the city of Amsterdam, the Dutch colonial pavilion, a Japanese bazar, various shops. A canal with a bridge and a Chinese junk intersected the exhibition grounds. The exhibition, bringing more than a million visitors from around the world to Amsterdam, a number of hotels were expanded or newly built in order to profit from the large number of visitors, including the Hotel Americain, the Doelen Hotel, and Hotel Krasnapolsky. The expansion of the Krasnapolsky included the glass-roofed Wintertuin lounge, with electric lighting, in Amsterdam, modern-day remains of the exhibition are the front gate of the Vondelpark and a collection of items in the Tropenmuseum which were on show in the Dutch colonial pavilion. Some items from the Dutch colonial pavilion were also donated to the museum of Artis zoo and. However, the share of the thousands of items from this pavilion was donated to the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. Some parts of the German restaurant are now in the Veenkoloniaal Museum in Veendam, heineken still uses the label Diplôme dHonneur on its beer bottles, an honour that was bestowed on the brewer at the 1883 colonial exhibition. Colonial Exhibition of Semarang, a 1914 Colonial Exhibition in the Dutch East Indies Alberdingk Thijm, De waereldtentoonstelling van 1883, in, De Gids 1883, III, pp. 292-310. Bloembergen, Marieke, De koloniale vertoning, Nederland en Indië op de wereldtentoonstellingen, ISBN 90-284-1925-X Map showing the layout of the exhibition terrain World Expositions in Amsterdam -1883 Canon van Amsterdam
10.
Public space
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A public space is a social space that is generally open and accessible to people. Roads, public squares, parks and beaches are considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, such as libraries are public spaces, although they tend to have restricted areas. Recently, the concept of Shared space has been advanced to enhance the experience of pedestrians in public space used by automobiles. Public space has become something of a touchstone for critical theory in relation to philosophy, geography, visual art, cultural studies, social studies. The term public space is often misconstrued to mean other things such as gathering place. One of the earliest examples of spaces are commons. For example, no fees or paid tickets are required for entry, non-government-owned malls are examples of private space with the appearance of being public space. In Nordic countries like Norway, Sweden and Finland, all areas are considered public space, due to a law. In the United States the right of the people to engage in speech, the government cannot usually limit ones speech beyond what is reasonable in a public space, which is considered to be a public forum. This is not to say that the government can control what one says in their own home or to others, parks, malls, beaches, waiting rooms, etc. may be closed at night. As this does not exclude any specific group, it is not considered a restriction on public use. Entry to public parks cannot be restricted based upon a users residence, in some cultures, there is no expectation of privacy in a public space, however civil inattention is a process whereby individuals are able to maintain their privacy within a crowd. Public space is shared and created for open usage throughout the community. The area is built for a range of types of recreation. The physical setting is socially constructed, which creates a behavior influence, limitations are imposed in the space to prevent certain actions from occurring--public behavior that is considered obnoxious or out of character --and are supported by law or ordinance. Police forces are involved in moving unwanted members of the public from public spaces. In fact, by not being provided suitable access, disabled people are excluded from some spaces
11.
Museumkwartier (Amsterdam)
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Museumkwartier is a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands, located in the borough of Amsterdam-Zuid. It is bordered by the Stadhouderskade, Vondelpark, Emmastraat, Reinier Vinkeleskade, the area was developed following the construction of the Rijksmuseum. The neighbourhood gets its name from the museums at Museumplein, the Rijksmuseum. Other attractions in the include the Concertgebouw and the Vondelpark. The tram lines 2,3,5,12,16 and 24 pass through the neighbourhood
12.
Amsterdam-Zuid
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Amsterdam-Zuid is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The borough was formed in 2010 as a merger of the former boroughs Oud-Zuid, the borough has almost 138,000 inhabitants. With 8,500 homes per square kilometer, it is one of the most densely populated boroughs of Amsterdam and it has the highest income per household of all boroughs in Amsterdam. Amsterdam-Zuid is the borough of Amsterdam situated to the south and southwest of the Singelgracht canal, the Singelgracht canal had been Amsterdams city border since the 17th century, when the Amsterdam canal belt was constructed. The taking down of the surrounding the Singelgracht, the outer canal. South of the wall, the first neighborhoods to develop were the Oude Pijp neighborhood, the neighborhood surrounding the Rijksmuseum. This area is now known as Oud Zuid. In 1917, the area was further developed southwards on the basis of Plan Zuid, berlages plan included wide streets lined with four-story apartment blocks for the middle class. The plan also included public art to be installed in the new residential areas, between 1920 and 1940, the Plan Zuid neighborhoods of Nieuwe Pijp, Diamantbuurt, Rivierenbuurt, Stadionbuurt and Apollobuurt were constructed, with many buildings designed in Amsterdam School style. This area is known as Nieuw Zuid. Another neighborhood built in the 1920s is the Hoofddorppleinbuurt, west of the Schinkel river and this neighborhood is part of Plan West, another urban expansion plan by Berlage which was designed for the western area of the city on the territory of the former municipality of Sloten. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Buitenveldert neighborhood and the smaller Prinses Irenebuurt became the last major developments in the southern part of the city. In 1961, the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre opened, the A10 motorway, which runs through the southern borough, was constructed in 1962. In 1978, the first section of the Weesp–Leiden railway and the Amsterdam Zuid railway station opened along the part of the A10 motorway. In the 1990s and 2000s, the surrounding the railway station became the rapidly developing business district of Zuidas. Since the 2014 municipal elections, the councils have been abolished and replaced by smaller. The district committees are elected every four years, on the day as the citys central municipal council. Each district committee elects three of its members to form an executive committee, the district committees jurisdiction is determined by the central municipal council
13.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
14.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
15.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
16.
Landscape architecture
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Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor public areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the investigation of existing social, ecological, and soil conditions and processes in the landscape. A practitioner in the profession of architecture is called a landscape architect. The most valuable contribution can be made at the first stage of a project to generate ideas with technical understanding and creative flair for the design, organization, and use of spaces. The landscape architect can conceive the concept and prepare the master plan, from which detailed design drawings. They can also review proposals to authorize and supervise contracts for the construction work, other skills include preparing design impact assessments, conducting environmental assessments and audits, and serving as an expert witness at inquiries on land use issues. e. They often work in forestry, nature conservation and agriculture, Landscape scientists have specialist skills such as soil science, hydrology, geomorphology or botany that they relate to the practical problems of landscape work. Their projects can range from surveys to the ecological assessment of broad areas for planning or management purposes. They may also report on the impact of development or the importance of species in a given area. Landscape planners are concerned with planning for the location, scenic, ecological and recreational aspects of urban. Some may also apply an additional specialism such as landscape archaeology or law to the process of landscape planning, green roof designers design extensive and intensive roof gardens for storm water management, evapo-transpirative cooling, sustainable architecture, aesthetics, and habitat creation. An example is the work by André Le Nôtre at Vaux-le-Vicomte for King Louis XIV of France at the Palace of Versailles. The first person to write of making a landscape was Joseph Addison in 1712, the term landscape architecture was invented by Gilbert Laing Meason in 1828, and John Claudius Loudon was instrumental in the adoption of the term landscape architecture by the modern profession. He took up the term from Meason and gave it publicity in his Encyclopedias and in his 1840 book on the Landscape Gardening, the practice of landscape architecture spread from the Old to the New World. IFLA was founded at Cambridge, England, in 1948 with Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe as its first president, representing 15 countries from Europe, later, in 1978, IFLAs Headquarters were established in Versailles. Through the 19th century, urban planning became a focal point, the combination of the tradition of landscape gardening and the emerging field of urban planning offered Landscape Architecture an opportunity to serve these needs. In the second half of the century, Frederick Law Olmsted completed a series of parks which continue to have an influence on the practices of Landscape Architecture today. Among these were Central Park in New York City, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York, jens Jensen designed sophisticated and naturalistic urban and regional parks for Chicago, Illinois, and private estates for the Ford family including Fair Lane and Gaukler Point
17.
Ice skating
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Ice skating is the act of moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including exercise, leisure, traveling, ice skating occurs both on specially prepared ice surfaces, both indoors and outdoors, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as ponds, lakes and rivers. A study by Federico Formenti of the University of Oxford suggests that the earliest ice skating happened in southern Finland more than 3,000 years ago, originally, skates were merely sharpened, flattened bone strapped to the bottom of the foot. Skaters did not actually skate on the ice, but rather glided on top of it, true skating emerged when a steel blade with sharpened edges was used. Skates now cut into the ice instead of gliding on top of it, adding edges to ice skates was invented by the Dutch in the 13th or 14th century. These ice skates were made of steel, with sharpened edges on the bottom to aid movement, the construction of modern ice skates has stayed largely the same since then. In the Netherlands, ice skating was considered proper for all classes of people, ice skating was also practised in China during the Song dynasty, and became popular among the ruling family of the Qing dynasty. Ice skating was brought to Britain from the Netherlands, where James II was briefly exiled in the 17th century, when he returned to England, this new sport was introduced to the British aristocracy, and was soon enjoyed by people from all walks of life. The first organised skating club was the Edinburgh Skating Club, formed in the 1740s, from this description and others, it is apparent that the form of skating practiced by club members was indeed an early form of figure skating rather than speed skating. On the Continent, participation in ice skating was limited to members of the upper classes, emperor Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire enjoyed ice skating so much, he had a large ice carnival constructed in his court in order to popularise the sport. King Louis XVI of France brought ice skating to Paris during his reign, madame de Pompadour, Napoleon I, Napoleon III and the House of Stuart were, among others, royal and upper class fans of ice skating. The next skating club to be established was in London and was not founded until 1830, as the technology for the maintenance of natural ice did not exist, these early rinks used a substitute consisting of a mixture of hogs lard and various salts. The area of ice is extremely convenient for such as may be desirous of engaging in the graceful. Skating became popular as a recreation, a means of transport, racing was the preserve of workers, most of them agricultural labourers. It is not known when the first skating matches were held, but by the nineteenth century racing was well established. Skating as a sport developed on the lakes of Scotland and the canals of the Netherlands, in the 13th and 14th centuries wood was substituted for bone in skate blades, and in 1572 the first iron skates were manufactured. When the waters froze, skating matches were held in towns, in these local matches men would compete for prizes of money, clothing or food. The winners of matches were invited to take part in the grand or championship matches in which skaters from across the Fens would compete for cash prizes in front of crowds of thousands
18.
Festival
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A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect of that community and its religion or traditions. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, next to religion and folklore, a significant origin is agricultural. Food is such a resource that many festivals are associated with harvest time. Religious commemoration and thanksgiving for good harvests are blended in events that take place in autumn, such as Halloween in the northern hemisphere, Festivals often serve to fulfill specific communal purposes, especially in regard to commemoration or thanksgiving. The celebrations offer a sense of belonging for religious, social, or geographical groups and they may also provide entertainment, which was particularly important to local communities before the advent of mass-produced entertainment. In Ancient Greece and Rome, festivals such as the Saturnalia were closely associated with social organisation, in modern times, festivals may be attended by strangers such as tourists, who are attracted to some of the more eccentric or historical ones. The word festival was used as an adjective from the late fourteenth century. In Middle English, a festival dai was a religious holiday and its first recorded used as a noun was in 1589. Feast first came into usage as a noun circa 1200, the term feast is also used in common secular parlance as a synonym for any large or elaborate meal. When used as in the meaning of a festival, most often refers to a religious rather than a film or art festival. In the Philippines and many other former Spanish colonies, the Spanish word fiesta is used to denote a religious feast to honor a patron saint. Many festivals have religious origins and entwine cultural and religious significance in traditional activities, the most important religious festivals such as Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, Diwali, and Eid al-Adha serve to mark out the year. Others, such as harvest festivals, celebrate seasonal change, events of historical significance, such as important military victories or other nation-building events also provide the impetus for a festival. An early example is the established by Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses III celebrating his victory over the Libyans. In many countries, royal holidays commemorate dynastic events just as agricultural holidays are about harvests, there are numerous types of festivals in the world and most countries celebrate important events or traditions with traditional cultural events and activities. Most culminate in the consumption of specially prepared food and they bring people together, Festivals are also strongly associated with national holidays. Lists of national festivals are published to make participation easier, among many religions, a feast is a set of celebrations in honour of Gods or God. A feast and a festival are historically interchangeable, the Sed festival, for example, celebrated the thirtieth year of an Egyptian pharaohs rule and then every three years after that
19.
Party
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A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration of a special occasion. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music, in many Western countries, parties for teens and adults are associated with drinking alcohol such as beer, wine or distilled spirits. Some parties are held in honor of a person, day, or event, such as a birthday party. Parties of this kind are often called celebrations, a party is not necessarily a private occasion. Public parties are held in restaurants, pubs, beer gardens, nightclubs or bars. Large parties in public streets may celebrate events such as Mardi Gras or the signing of a treaty ending a long war. A birthday party is a celebration of the anniversary of the birth of the person who is being honored, the tradition started in the mid-nineteenth century but did not become popular until the mid-twentieth century. Birthday parties are now a feature of many cultures, in Western cultures, birthday parties include a number of common rituals. The guests may be asked to bring a gift for the honored person, party locations are often decorated with colorful decorations, such as balloons and streamers. A birthday cake is served with lit candles that are to be blown out after a birthday wish has been made. The person being honored will be given the first piece of cake, while the birthday cake is being brought to the table, the song Happy Birthday to You or some other birthday song is sung by the guests. At parties for children, time is taken for the gift opening wherein the individual whose birthday is celebrated opens each of the gifts brought. It is also common at childrens parties for the host to give parting gifts to the attendees in the form of goodie bags, children and even adults sometimes wear colorful cone-shaped party hats. Birthday parties are often larger and more extravagant if they celebrate someone who has reached what is regarded in the culture as a milestone age, examples of traditional coming of age celebrations include the North American sweet sixteen party and the Latin American quinceañera. A surprise party is a party that is not made known beforehand to the person in whose honor it is being held, Birthday surprise parties are the most common kind of surprise party. At most such parties, the guests arrive a hour or so before the honored person arrives. Often, a friend in on the surprise will lead the honored person to the location of the party without letting on anything, the guests might even conceal themselves from view, and when the honored person enters the room, they leap from hiding and all shout, Surprise. For some surprise birthday parties, it is considered to be a tactic to shock the honored person
20.
Demonstration (protest)
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Actions such as blockades and sit-ins may also be referred to as demonstrations. Demonstrations can be nonviolent or violent, or can begin as nonviolent, sometimes riot police or other forms of law enforcement become involved. In some cases this may be in order to try to prevent the protest from taking place at all, in other cases it may be to prevent clashes between rival groups, or to prevent a demonstration from spreading and turning into a riot. Demonstrations are a form of activism, usually taking the form of a gathering of people in a rally or walking in a march. Thus, the opinion is demonstrated to be significant by gathering in a associated with that opinion. Demonstrations can be used to show a viewpoint regarding a public issue, a demonstration is usually considered more successful if more people participate. There are many types of demonstrations, including a variety of elements and these may include, Marches, in which a parade demonstrate while moving along a set route. Rallies, in which people gather to listen to speakers or musicians, picketing, in which people surround an area. Nudity, in which they protest naked - here the antagonist may give in before the demonstration happens to avoid embarrassment, Demonstrations are sometimes spontaneous gatherings, but are also utilized as a tactical choice by movements. They often form part of a campaign of nonviolent resistance. Demonstrations are usually physical gatherings, but virtual or online demonstrations are certainly possible, topics of demonstrations often deal with political, economic, and social issues. Clashes between demonstrators and counter-demonstrators may turn violent, government-organized demonstrations are demonstrations which are organized by a government. The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Peoples Republic of China, Republic of Cuba, sometimes the date or location chosen for the demonstration is of historical or cultural significance, such as the anniversary of some event that is relevant to the topic of the demonstration. Locations are also chosen because of some relevance to the issue at hand. Protest marches and demonstrations are a nonviolent tactic. They are thus one tactic available to proponents of strategic nonviolence, some demonstrations and protests can turn, at least partially, into riots or mob violence against objects such as automobiles and businesses, bystanders and the police. Police and military authorities often use force or less-lethal weapons, such as tasers, rubber bullets, pepper spray. Sometimes violent situations are caused by the preemptive or offensive use of weapons which can provoke, destabilize
21.
Armin van Buuren
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Armin van Buuren is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a radio show called A State of Trance. According to Djs And Festivals, the radio show propelled him to stardom, Van Buuren has won a number of accolades. He has been ranked the No.1 DJ by DJ Mag a record of five times and he is currently ranked No.4 on DJ Mag list for 2016. In the United States, he holds the record for most entries, twenty-one and his 2008 studio album, Imagine, entered the Dutch album chart at No. 1, a first for a trance artist in Dutch music history, Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, Netherlands, on 25 December 1976, but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buuren started making music when he was 14 and he was inspired by French electronic music composer Jean-Michel Jarre. Van Buuren graduated from the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and he began working as a DJ in Club Nexus, playing multiple sets a week, most of which lasted six or more hours. In 1999, he met Dave Lewis who introduced him as a DJ in England, as his musical career began to take off he put his law degree on hold, although he returned to graduate from law school in 2003. On 18 September 2009, Van Buuren married Erika van Thiel and their daughter Fenna was born in July 2011. Van Buuren announced just hours before he was due to headline the main stage at Tomorrowland that his wife had given birth to a son, in 2011, Van Buuren was appointed Officer of the Order of Orange Nassau for his services to music. In 1996, Armin released EP and Push on Timeless Records, Van Buuren had his first major success with a track called Blue Fear, which was released under the Cyber Records label in 1997. Another successful track, Communication, was released under the label and became popular in Ibiza. After being signed to AM PM Records, this track entered the UK Singles Chart at No.18 in 2000, in the beginning of 1999, Van Buuren started his label Armind together with United Recordings. The first release, Gig – One, was well received, the second release, Touch Me under the name Rising Star, was signed to Ministry of Sound in the UK, before the record was released. By the time of his release, Gimmick – Free was signed to R&S Records. During this year, he remixed the first two singles of Gouryella and, under the guise of Rising Star, produced a remix of LEsperanza, in 2000, Van Buuren started his own Armin van Buuren compilation series. He found a balance between proper progressive house, and vocal trance music styles and his first compilation album, A State of Trance, sold 10,000 copies and contains Van Buurens remix of Moogwai, Viola
22.
Netherlands national football team
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The Netherlands national football team represents the Netherlands in international football. It is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association, the body for football in the Netherlands. The team is referred to as Het Nederlands Elftal and Oranje. Like the country itself, the team is sometimes referred to as Holland. The Dutch hold the record for playing the most World Cup finals without winning the tournament. They finished second in the 1974,1978 and 2010 World Cups, losing to West Germany, Argentina and Spain respectively, the Netherlands played their first international match in Antwerp against Belgium on 30 April 1905. The players were selected by a commission from the Dutch football association. After 90 minutes, the score was 1–1, but because the match was for a trophy, the Netherlands made their first appearance at the World Cup final tournament in 1934. After a second appearance in 1938 they did not appear in another World Cup until 1974, the 1970s saw the invention of Total Football, pioneered by Ajax and led by playmaker Johan Cruyff and national team coach Rinus Michels. The Dutch made significant strides, qualifying for two World Cup finals in the decade. The captain of the Brazilian team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Carlos Alberto, went on to say, since then everything looks more or less the same to me. Their carousel style of play was amazing to watch and marvellous for the game, in 1974, the Netherlands beat both Brazil and Argentina in the second group stage, reaching the final for the first time in their history. However, the team lost to West Germany in the final in Munich, however, a converted penalty by Paul Breitner and the winner from Gerd Müller led to a victory for the Germans. By comparison, Euro 76 was a disappointment, the Netherlands lost in the semi-finals to Czechoslovakia, as much because of infighting within the squad and the coach George Knobel, as well as the skill of the eventual winners. In 1978, the Netherlands again reached the final of a World Cup, only to be beaten by the hosts and this side played without Johan Cruijff, Willem van Hanegem, and Jan van Beveren, who refused to participate in the World Cup. It still contained Johan Neeskens, Johnny Rep, Arie Haan, Ruud Krol, Wim Jansen, Jan Jongbloed, Wim Suurbier, the Netherlands were less impressive in the group stages. They qualified as runners-up, after a draw with Peru and a loss to Scotland, in the second group phase, however, the Netherlands topped a group including Italy and West Germany, setting up a final with Argentina. However, the Dutch finished as runners up for the second World Cup in a row as they ultimately lost 3–1 after two extra time goals from Argentina, Rensenbrink hit the Argentinian post in the last minute of normal time, with the score 1–1
23.
Swedish House Mafia
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Swedish House Mafia was a Swedish electronic music supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, the supergroup placed at number ten on the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll 2011 and have been called the faces of mainstream progressive house music. In the DJ Magazine Top 100 Poll 2012 they were ranked at number twelve, on June 24,2012, the group announced via their website that they would split up after embarking on One Last Tour, which ended at Ultra Miami 2013 on March 24,2013. Before the official formation in late 2008, the trio would play shows together with fellow Swedish DJ Eric Prydz joining them for some shows. The name Swedish House Mafia came about after friends and fans began labelling the four as they played shows together. Eventually the group adopted the name, Prydz decided not to join the group, describing himself as a control freak in the studio who cant abide collaboration, even with close friends. The first production that was released by Axwell, Angello and Ingrosso was Get Dumb and it was produced with Laidback Luke and released in 2007. In 2009, they released Leave the World Behind with Laidback Luke, in 2010, Swedish House Mafia signed a record deal with UMGs Polydor Records after a falling-out with previous record label EMI, due to differing ideas. They released One, their first official single under the name Swedish House Mafia, on Beatport on May 2,2010, the group followed this with an equally well received vocal version featuring Pharrell, retitled One. The next single, Miami 2 Ibiza, with Tinie Tempah, both tracks were taken from the album Until One, a collection of productions and remixes from both Swedish House Mafia as a group and as individuals. It has achieved a BPI Gold Sales award in the United Kingdom, in May 2011, Swedish House Mafia released a new single, Save the World, featuring John Martin on vocals, which charted at number 10 in the UK Chart. Later that year on December 16, they released the track Antidote with Knife Party, on March 12,2012, Swedish House Mafia released their next single titled Greyhound. Their final and most commercially successful track Dont You Worry Child and that same month on September 17, the group announced the release of a second compilation album titled Until Now, forming the official soundtrack to One Last Tour. The album was released on October 22,2012, exactly two years after the release of their first compilation album Until One, Axwell and Ingrosso also wrote and performed Roar for the 2013 Pixar movie Monsters University and its soundtrack. On November 29,2010, Swedish House Mafia released their first DVD documentary called Take One, the movie was filmed over the course of 2 years,253 gigs and 15 countries by two Swedish directors Christian Larson and Henrik Hanson. They commented on Take One by saying Its not narrated at all and its just sequences of them and its made into a story. Its just us following them around and they become characters in their own film and it was pretty easy because they are all such strong characters, all three of them. The documentary starts with Swedish House Mafia in the studio with Laidback Luke working on Leave the World Behind and concludes at Ultra Music Festival in 2010 premiering their hit One
24.
Diamond Museum Amsterdam
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The Diamond Museum Amsterdam is a museum located at the Museumplein in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The museum was founded in 2007 by Ben Meier of Coster Diamonds, the permanent collection consists of diamond jewelry and gives background information about diamonds. The museum is a member of the Dutch Museum Association and the Official Museums of Amsterdam, media related to Diamant Museum in Amsterdam at Wikimedia Commons Diamond Museum Amsterdam
25.
Coster Diamonds
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Coster Diamonds is one of the oldest still operating diamond polishing factories in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 1840, Moses Elias Coster, diamond cutter in Amsterdam, founds Coster Diamonds in a building at the Waterlooplein in Amsterdam. 1848, Son Meijer Moses Coster succeeds his father and he leaves for Paris for new business. 1910, Felix Theodoor Manus purchases Coster Diamonds from one of Coster’s inheritors and it becomes a company and remains so until the German occupation in 1940. 1945, After World War II, Wim Biallosterski, owner of a diamond sawing company,1962, Ben Meier purchases the Coster premises together with partner Max Meents, Joop Schoos and Simon Cohen. 1970, The old diamond factory has to make way for the construction of the town hall,1995, The well-known Van Moppes Diamonds was purchased by Coster Diamonds. 2005, Coster Diamonds was obliged to close the Van Moppes Diamonds factory due to events in the world like terrorism, there were hardly any visitors left. 2007, The opening of the Diamond Museum Amsterdam 2008, The introduction of a new diamond round cut with 201 facets, Voorzanger, both diamond polishers at Coster Diamonds in Amsterdam, left to London to re-polish the famous Koh-i Noor. Louis Benjamin Voorzanger won the medal for his achievements at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1855. He also polished the “Star of the South”, the family of the deceased diamond polisher still owns the silver plates with the inscription of this price for the diamond polishers, who polished the Koh-i Noor. Ben Meier polished in 1959 the many diamonds which were set in a gold watch. Between 1991 and 1994 Pauline Willemse, a diamond polisher at Coster Diamonds polished the smallest diamond in the world,0. 16–0.17 mm in diameter and with a height of 0.11 mm. This event was published in the Guinness Book of Records
26.
Amstelpark
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The Amstelpark is a park in Amsterdam-Zuid. The park includes a labyrinth, a café, a restaurant, the Amstelpark attracts between 800000 and one million visitors a year. The Amstelpark was built and opened for the 1972 Floriade gardening exhibition, the park has its own train line, the Amstel train, which runs through the Rosarium, the rhododendron valley and the Riekermolen. The park contains a variety of plant species from around the world, including a valley with about 139 species of rhododendrons, blooming in April. At one point, the park lost about 30 percent of its larger trees due to disease, the park contains a Japanese Garden, which was renovated in 2001 at the time of the celebration of the 400-year relationship between the Netherlands and Japan. The Riekermolen windmill lies south of the Amstelpark, the windmill was situated here in 1636, was active until 1932, and was removed in 1956. The city council decided to rebuild the mill on the west side of the Amstel in 1961
27.
Amsterdamse Bos
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The Amsterdamse Bos is an English park or landscape park in the municipalities Amstelveen and Amsterdam. And although most of the park is located in Amstelveen, the owner of the park is the City of Amsterdam, the park was mainly build in the early thirties, mostly by the forced labour of the unemployed, who risked to lose their benefits. Annually, almost 4.5 million people visit the park, in it, one can find animal parks, several sporting clubs, a rowing course, gardens and remembrance monuments. Throughout the decades, the location has seen different gatherings, political manifestations and these often took place on the so-called Vietnam Meadow. Despite extensive protests, this part was turned into a venue in 1994. Bosbaan An important part of the park is the course called de Bosbaan. The course was an alternative for rowing on the Amstel river, or on the surrounding the polder of the Haarlemmermeer. It is the world’s oldest artificial rowing course, in 1977 it hosted the World Rowing championships. In order to meet international competition regulation, the Bosbaan was widened to 118 meters, in 2014 the Bosbaan hosted the World Rowing Championship for a second time. The area of the park called Zonneweide is a designated for naturist recreation. Official website Live weather in Amsterdamse Bos
28.
Flevopark
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Flevopark is a park located in the Indische Buurt, in the eastern portion of the city of Amsterdam, in the Dutch province of North Holland. The park contains a playground, tennis courts, the youth centre Jeugdland, an swimming pool, large lawns, barbecue areas. On the banks of the Nieuwe Diep is a distillery and tasting room and this park was given concrete form in 1908. P. Thijsse envisioned a park between the Jewish Cemetery and the Nieuwe Diep, the expropriation procedure began in 1914, and from 1921 there was money available to obtain the land suitable for building the park. In 1928, the construction of the park began, the park officially opened in 1931. In 1956 a large part of the adjacent Jewish Cemetery Zeeburg was relocated to the Jewish Cemetery of Diemen because of the construction of a road, the other part was sold to the Amsterdam municipality and added to the park
29.
Hortus Botanicus (Amsterdam)
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Hortus Botanicus is a botanical garden in the Plantage district of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. One of the oldest in the world, it is one of Amsterdams major tourist attractions, Hortus Botanicus was founded in 1638 by the city to serve as an herb garden for doctors and apothecaries. It contains more than six thousand tropical and indigenous trees and plants, the monumental Palm House dates from 1912 and is renowned for its collection of cycads. The hexagonal pavilion dates from the late 1600s, the entrance gate was built in the early 1700s. The Orangery dates from 1875, and the Palm House and Hugo de Vries Laboratory - both created in Amsterdam School expressionist architecture - date from 1912 and 1915. The garden was almost bankrupt in 1987 when the University of Amsterdam stopped paying its expenses, now the Hortus Botanicus is supported by the Amsterdam City Council as well. There are also two halls at the garden which are now used for conferences and ceremonies, and a cafe serves as meeting point for locals, Hortus Botanicus is now a popular attraction for both Dutch and international visitors. The collection is famous for some of its trees and plants, well-known plants and trees can be found there, like the Persian ironwood tree which is known in Dutch as Perzische Parrotia. A single coffee plant, Coffea arabica, in Hortuss collection served as the parent for the coffee culture in Central. Hugo de Vries was the director of the garden during 1885–1918, recent additions to Hortus include a huge hothouse, which incorporates three different tropical climates. Media related to Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam at Wikimedia Commons Official website
30.
Hortus Botanicus Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
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The Hortus Botanicus Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is a botanical garden belonging to Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was established in 1967 for the purpose of education and research for the Biology faculty and it is situated behind the University Medical Centre, and includes a garden area of about 1 hectare of which about 1,000 square metres is occupied by glass-houses. Since 1988, the Hortus no longer has an educational function, the collection includes about 10,000 species, such as varieties of hardy ferns, cacti and succulents. There is also a collection of plants and orchids. The garden also accommodates a collection of trees and shrubs, tub plants, there is international collaboration with over 500 botanical gardens and numerous Biblical gardens worldwide. The Hortuss existence was threatened in 2009, when plans for an expansion of the university called for it to be removed. In 2010, after widespread popular protest, the VU announced the Hortus could remain
31.
Oosterpark (Amsterdam)
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The Oosterpark in Amsterdam is the first large park laid out by the municipality of Amsterdam. The park is located in the Oost/Watergraafsmeer borough and forms a component of the Oosterpark area, the park, an English garden, was designed by Dutch landscape architect Leonard Anthony Springer and was laid out in 1891. In order to create the Oosterpark, a cemetery behind the Tropical Museum had to be relocated. There were a lot of protests at the time when the municipality of Amsterdam suggested the new plans, in the end the protesters gave in and agreed with the new location for their cemetery which is now known as the New Ooster Begraafplaats. In the park is a pond with a small island, the park also contains a part of the former cemetery. The park contains The National Slavery Monument, which commemorates the abolition of slavery in the Netherlands in 1863, the monument was unveiled on July 1,2002 in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix. The dynamic dimension of the monument, the National Institute for Dutch Slavery, every year on July 1, NiNsee commemorates the abolition of Dutch Slavery in the Oosterpark with the Keti Koti festival. The Oosterpark also contains a memorial to Theo van Gogh, a film maker, along the park towards Linnaeusstraat there are a number of grey heron nests. The streets lining the southern and western borders of the park are also called Oosterpark, originally these streets were called Eerste Parkstraat
32.
Sarphatipark
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The Sarphatipark is a public urban park located in the stadsdeel Amsterdam Oud-Zuid in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The park is named after Samuel Sarphati, in 1942, the park was renamed Bollandpark after G. J. P. J. Bolland, because Samuel Sarphati was a Jew, the old name was restored after the war in 1945. The Dutch painter Mommie Schwarz and his wife Else Berg lived adjacent to the park from 1927 until their deportation to, and execution at, some of their last works were landscape paintings of the park
33.
Vondelpark
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The Vondelpark is a public urban park of 47 hectares in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Zuid and situated west from the Leidseplein, the park was opened in 1865 and originally named the Nieuwe Park, but later renamed to Vondelpark, after the 17th-century playwright and poet Joost van den Vondel. Yearly, the park has around 10 million visitors, in the park is an open-air theatre, a playground and several horeca facilities. In 1864 a group of citizens led by Christiaan Pieter van Eeghen established the Vereeniging tot Aanleg van een Rij- en Wandelpark and they bought several hectares of grass-land and marshes at the rim of the city of Amsterdam, in order to create the new park. They assigned the architect Jan David Zocher to design it, and in 1865 Het Nieuwe Park was opened for members of the association, two years after the park opened, in 1867, a statue of writer and playwright Joost van den Vondel was placed in the park. Sculptor Louis Royer created the sculpture and the architect Pierre Cuypers designed the stand, as a result, people started to call the park Vondelspark. In 1873 a bandstand was built, in the same year, brewer Gerard Adriaan Heineken was denied to open a bar in the park, so he built the Bierhuis Vondel in the street next to the park, what is now Vondelstraat 41. The last part of the park was designed by Louis Paul Zocher, Jan David Zochers son, the park now became its current size of 47 hectares. In 1878 the Pavillon was built as a replacement of a chalet built by Louis Paul Zocher. The Pavillon is currently known as the Vondelparkpaviljoen, the parks name was officially changed into Vondelpark in 1880. Already in the 1880s and 1890s the cycling in the park caused hindrance and it was only after mediation of the Algemene Nederlandsche Wielrijders-Bond, that helped fund the park, that a park guard was installed and cyclists were again permitted to cycle normally. In 1936, a garden was created in the center of the park. One year later in 1937, the Blauwe Theehuis was opened and this tearoom is a round modernist building, designed by the architectural office Baanders. The landscape architect Egbert Mos renovated the Vondelpark for the city in the 1950s, the purpose was improve the park for both usage and maintenance. Small bushes were grouped into larger bushes, superfluous paths were removed, also the stream of water in the trunk near the northern entrance of the park was removed. In the 1960s childrens playgrounds were created, during the flower power era in the 1960s/1970s the Vondelpark became a symbol of a place where everything is possible and everything is allowed. In the 1980s an open-air theatre was built, the Vondelpark received the status of rijksmonument in 1996. In the 1990s the number of visitors grew to approximately 10 million visitors annually, the grass is used as sports field and the paths as bike paths
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Westerpark (park)
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The Westerpark is a public urban park in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The former borough of Westerpark is named after the park, as is the current neighborhood, in 2012 opposite the park, two trains were involved in a head-on collision. The verdant space of the former Westergasfabriek gasworks along Haarlemmerweg has become a place for cultural avant-garde businesses, westergasgabriek To the west of the park lies a historical building known as Westergasbriek. The building was built in 1883, the historic building has been renovated and are now used by creative and cultural entrepreneurs
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Dam Square
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Dam Square or Dam is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city and the country. Dam Square lies in the center of Amsterdam, approximately 750 meters south of the main transportation hub, Centraal Station. It is roughly rectangular in shape, stretching about 200 meters from west to east and it links the streets Damrak and Rokin, which run along the original course of the Amstel River from Centraal Station to Muntplein and the Munttoren. The Dam also marks the endpoint of the other well-traveled streets Nieuwendijk, a short distance beyond the northeast corner lies the main red-light district, de Wallen. On the west end of the square is the neoclassical Royal Palace, beside it are the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk and the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. The National Monument, a stone pillar designed by J. J. P. Oud and erected in 1956 to memorialize the victims of World War II, also overlooking the plaza are the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky and the upscale department store De Bijenkorf. These various attractions have turned the Dam into a tourist zone, the Dam derives its name from its original function, a dam on the Amstel River, hence also the name of the city. Built in approximately 1270, the dam formed the first connection between the settlements on the sides of the river, as the dam was gradually built up to it became wide enough for a town square, which remained the core of the town developing around it. Dam Square as it exists today grew out of what was originally two squares, the dam, called Middeldam, and Plaetse, an adjacent plaza to the west. A large fish market arose where ships moored at the dam to load and unload goods, the area became a centre not only of commercial activity but also of the government, as the site of Amsterdams town hall. As a market square, the Dam had a house that can be seen in some old paintings. It was demolished in 1808 by order of Louis Bonaparte who, upon taking up residence in the newly converted Royal Palace, complained that his view was obstructed. The Damrak, or the mouth of the Amstel River, was partially filled in the 19th century, since then. The new land made room for the Beurs van Zocher, an exchange that was built in 1837. After the stock moved to the Beurs van Berlage in 1903. In its place, De Bijenkorf department store has stood since 1914, in 1856, a war memorial named De Eendracht was unveiled inside the square before King William III
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Leidseplein
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The Leidseplein is a square in central Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Lying in the southwest of the Grachtengordel district of Amsterdam, the Leidseplein is immediately northeast of the Singelgracht canal and it is situated on the crossroads of the Weteringschans, the Marnixstraat, and the Leidsestraat. The Leidseplein is one of the busiest centres for nightlife in the city, historically, the square was the end of the road from Leiden, and served as a parking lot for horse-drawn traffic. Today, modern traffic travels through the square and side streets are packed with restaurants, the Stadsschouwburg, a theater, is the most notable architectural landmark on the square, and the American Hotel is close by
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Marie Heinekenplein
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The Marie Heinekenplein is a square in Amsterdam, popularly known as Heinekenplein. The circle-shaped square is used for events, such as a book market. Marie Heinekenplein was constructed in the early 1990s and it lies just outside the city centre, in the neighbourhood of De Pijp, along the street Ferdinand Bolstraat. The street Quellijnstraat runs along the edge of the square. Tram lines 16 and 24 have a stop near the square, along the Marie Heinekenplein are a number of bars and cafés. The square is lined with café terraces, between the square and the Stadhouderskade street is the former Heineken brewery, now a popular tourist attraction known as the Heineken Experience. Along the northern side of the square is an apartment building incorporating a supermarket. One of the three restaurants of renowned Chinese restaurant chain Nam Kee is located along the square, originally the area was part of the Heineken brewery complex. In 1988, most of the brewery was demolished, and in 1993, the name of the square was the source of much debate in Amsterdam. Originally it was supposed to be named after Nelson Mandela, the plan was scrapped after Winnie Mandela was convicted in 1991 of kidnapping and being an accessory to assault in connection with the death of 14-year-old James Seipei. Local street-naming rules do not allow a street to be named after someone who is alive or a company. This also prevented the square to be named Heinekenplein, the square is located in an area of De Pijp where streets are normally named after Dutch painters. An elegant compromise was struck by naming the square after a niece of the Heineken founder Gerard Adriaan Heineken, painter Marie Heineken
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Markenplein
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Markenplein is the name of a square in the centre of Amsterdam. Until 1970, it was called het oude Markenpleintje and before World War II it used to be a part of the Jewish district of Amsterdam, the name Markenplein symbolizes the bond between the new neighborhood and the old Jewish neighborhood. The pavement pattern was designed by the American artist Sol LeWitt, the square houses the entrance of the Netherlands Film and Television Academy, the parking garage Markenhoven and the Grand Cafe Allure
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Muntplein, Amsterdam
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The Muntplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. The square is in fact a bridge — the widest bridge in Amsterdam — which crosses the Singel canal at the point where it flows into the Amstel river, all bridges in Amsterdam are numbered, and the Muntplein carries the number 1. Muntplein is named after the Munttoren tower which stands on this square and this tower was once part of one of the three main medieval city gates. In the 17th century, it served as a mint. The guard house building attached to the tower is not the original medieval structure, an underpass was added to the building during a 1938–1939 renovation. The name Muntplein dates from 1917, the square was originally known as Schapenplein and, from 1877 to 1917, as Sophiaplein. The square is an intersection of six streets. It forms the end of the Kalverstraat shopping street and the major street Rokin. The eastern end of the flower market along the Singel canal is directly south of the square. Six tram lines stop at Muntplein, but only when travelling south, the building on Muntplein at the intersection of the Kalverstraat and Rokin is an early design by prominent Dutch architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage. This article is based on the Dutch Wikipedia article about Muntplein
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Nieuwmarkt
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Nieuwmarkt is a square in the centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The surrounding area is known as the Nieuwmarktbuurt and it is situated in the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The square is considered part of Amsterdams Chinatown, next to the De Wallen, there are over 20 cafés and coffeeshops facing the square. There is a market on the square, as well as an organic food market on Saturdays. The Nieuwmarkt is dominated by a known as the Waag, originally a gate in the Medieval city walls. The square was created when the canals around the Waag were filled in 1614, in World War II the square was used by the Nazis as a collection point for Jews who had been rounded up to be sent to the concentration camps. In the 1970s many buildings on and around the square were torn down to make way for a planned metro and this led to heavy rioting, known as the Nieuwmarkt Riots, in 1975 and, ultimately, abandonment of the highway plans. The metro, however, was constructed, and Nieuwmarkt is now a station on the Amsterdam metro system, documentation about the Nieuwmarkt riots at the Amsterdam City Archives
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Noordermarkt
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The Noordermarkt is a square in the Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The square is lined by cafés and restaurants, markets are held on the square every Monday. On Saturdays, an organic farmers market is held on the square. On Mondays a market is held in the adjacent Westerstraat street. Noordermarkt dates back to 1616 and was originally named Prinsenmarkt, after the Prinsengracht canal which the square borders, after completion in 1623 of the Noorderkerk church, which dominates the square, the square came to be known as Noordermarkt. Until 1655 the square served mainly as a graveyard for the church, during World War II, the organisers of the February Strike of 1941, to protest deportations of Jews by the Nazis, held their first public meetings on Noordermarkt square. This is commemorated by a plaque on the face of the Noorderkerk church
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Oudekerksplein
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The Oudekerksplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. It is named after the 14th-century church Oude Kerk which dominates the square, the Oudekerksplein is wedged between the Warmoesstraat street and Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal. Originally the Oudekerksplein was a graveyard, in 1655, the graveyard was cleared and moved to a new location beyond the city limits, creating the present square. The Oudekerksplein lies at the heart of the district of De Wallen. Along the square are some 35 windows from behind which prostitutes offer their services, as part of the so-called Project 1012, the Amsterdam city government is trying to reduce the number of prostitutes on Oudekerksplein. The city wants to remove all brothels from the square and replace them with restaurants, shops, artists workshops, as part of the plans, the coffeeshop on Oudekerksplein would also be closed. A statue titled Belle, honouring the prostitutes of the world, was placed on the square in 2007, the plaque on this statue reads, Respect sex workers all over the world. The street also has a relief of a hand caressing a female breast. The sculpture was set in the cobblestone in February 1993 by an anonymous artist, the 1968 Dutch documentary film Rondom het Oudekerksplein gave an impression of what life in the red-light district was like in the 1960s
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Rembrandtplein
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Rembrandtplein is a major square in central Amsterdam, the Netherlands, named after the famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn who owned a house nearby from 1639 to 1656. The square has its origins in the walls constructed in the Middle Ages to protect the city. The site of Rembrandtplein held a Regulierspoort or gateway into the city, by 1668, the Regulierspoort housed a Waaggebouw or weigh house. Each autumn, the square hosted a fair and the stalls were replaced by dance orchestras. The market continued under this name until 1876 when a statue of Rembrandt by sculptor Louis Royer was moved from the perimeter to the centre of the square, by the early twentieth century, the square developed into a centre for nightlife drawing artists, young people and laborers. To serve these visitors, several hotels, cafés and entertainment venues opened in the adjoining streets, the area continues to be popular with residents and tourists. The square is bordered on the east by Utrechtsestraat, Reguliersdwarsstraat on the south, Regulierbreestraat on the north, ABN AMRO vacated the structure in 2002 and in 2011 it reopened as retail office building named simply The Bank with 25,000 m2 of space after a five-year renovation. Thorbeckeplein, named after politician Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, is adjacent to the south, in December 2006, the square became home to a large interactive LCD-screen. The display measures 7.6 m ×15 m and, in addition to programmed advertisements, at the time of installation, the screen was the largest in Europe at 114 m2. The statue of Rembrandt was made in 1852 by sculptor Louis Royer and is of cast iron and it was cast in one piece and it is Amsterdams oldest surviving statue in a public space. The current design of the square is the result of a €3.5 million renovation completed in December 2009, the statue is on a grey granite base bearing a replica of his signature. It occupies a space in the centre of the square facing a plaza paved with matching gray granite slabs accented by planters, trees, the perimeter of the square is bordered by grass and trees. This bronze-cast representation of the painting was on display for three-years before traveling to New York City, Moscow and Oranienbaum. In 2012, the bronze Night Watch sculptures returned to the square where they serve as a magnet for visitors. In January 2013, the Rembrandtplein Entrepreneurs Foundation began a fundraiser to keep the sculptures in the square throughout the year
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Spui (Amsterdam)
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The Spui is a square in the centre of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The Spui was originally a body of water formed the southern limit of the city until the 1420s. In 1882 the Spui was filled in and became the square that we know today, in 1996 the square was renovated and is now largely car-free. Tram lines 1,2,4,5,9,14,16,24 and 25 stop at or near the Spui, there is also a weekly art market on the Spui, every Sunday. The Spui provides entry to the Begijnhof, a Medieval courtyard, a small statue, Het Lieverdje, stands on the square. The statue represents the youth of Amsterdam, always playing pranks yet with a heart of gold and he was a gift to the city from a cigarette company in 1960. In the 1960s, the Provo counterculture movement held weekly gatherings around the statue. Also located at the Spui is the work of Lawrence Weiner, Een vertaling van de ene taal in de andere, each pair presents the sentence in Dutch on one side, and on the other side in English, Arabic and Surinaams respectively. The Maagdenhuis, the headquarters of the University of Amsterdam, arti et Amicitiae, an artists society and art gallery at the corner of Rokin and Spui, designed in part by Berlage. Gebouw Helios at Spui 15-19, in Art Nouveau style, the design by Gerrit van Arkel won third prize in the architects competition at the 1900 Worlds Fair in Paris. The Oude Lutherse Kerk, the Old Lutheran Church, across the Singel canal
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Waterlooplein
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Waterlooplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, near the Amstel river. 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 part of Amsterdam Metro lines 51,53. Tram lines 9 and 14 and the Museumboot water taxi stop at Waterlooplein. There is a stand and parking garage. The area of Amsterdam that includes Waterlooplein is also called Groot Waterloo district, Waterlooplein was created in 1882 when the Leprozengracht and Houtgracht canals were filled in. The square is named after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the square is situated in the center of Amsterdam. The square became a marketplace when the city government decided that the Jewish merchants in the nearby Jodenbreestraat, the Waterlooplein became a daily market in 1893. During World War II the Jewish quarter was emptied of its residents as the Nazis rounded them up, the Waterlooplein market had disappeared by 1941. After the war, the Jewish quarter was left deserted, the market currently has some 300 stalls and is open every day except Sunday. In 2005, the Jewish Historical Museum presented an exhibition of paintings, the exhibition included works by Wolfgang Suschitzky, Max Liebermann and Oskar Kokoschka. In 1969, Dutch performers Johnny Kraaykamp and Rijk de Gooyer had a hit single with the song Oh Waterlooplein and this was an adaptation of Mike Wilshs Waterloo Road with original lyrics by Mike Deighan and released by Jason Crest in February 1968. The Dutch lyrics, written by Herman Pieter de Boer, using the pseudonym Johnny Austerlitz, a French adaptation Les Champs-Élysées written by Pierre Delanoë in 1969 and released by Joe Dassin received most traction. Website of the Waterlooplein market website of the District of Groot Waterloo
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North Holland
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North Holland is a province in the northwest of the Netherlands. It is situated on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, in 2015, it had a population of 2,762,163 and a total area of 2,670 km2. From the 9th to the 16th century, the area was a part of the County of Holland. During this period West Friesland was incorporated, in the 17th and 18th century, the area was part of the province of Holland. At that time, the distinction between the Noorderkwartier and the Zuiderkwartier became common, in 1840, the province of Holland was split into the two provinces of North Holland and South Holland. In 1855, the Haarlemmermeer was drained and turned into land, the capital and seat of the provincial government is Haarlem, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands capital city, is the provinces largest city. The Kings Commissioner of North Holland is Johan Remkes, there are 51 municipalities and three water boards in the province. For most of its history, the province of North Holland was an integral part of Holland. From the 9th century to the 16th century, Holland was a county ruled by the counts of Holland, during this period an area known as West Friesland was conquered and integrated into Holland. For centuries afterwards Holland would be officially called Holland and West Friesland, the people of West Friesland had a strong sense of identity as a region within Holland. From the 16th century to 1795, Holland was the wealthiest and most important province in the United Provinces in the Dutch Republic, as the richest and most powerful province, Holland dominated the union. During this period a distinction was made between the North Quarter and the South Quarter, areas that roughly correspond to the two modern provinces. The province of North Holland as it is today has its origins in the period of French rule from 1795 to 1813 and this was a time of bewildering changes to the Dutch system of provinces. In 1795 the old order was swept away and the Batavian Republic was established, in the Constitution enacted on 23 April 1798, the old borders were radically changed. The republic was reorganised into eight departments with roughly equal populations, Holland was split up into five departments named Texel, Amstel, Delf, Schelde en Maas, and Rijn. The first three of these lay within the borders of the old Holland, the two were made up of parts of different provinces. In 1801 the old borders were restored when the department of Holland was created and this reorganisation had been short-lived, but it gave birth to the concept of breaking up Holland and making it a less powerful province. This time the two departments were called Amstelland and Maasland and this also did not last long
