Amsterdam, Holland Juliette Fayaud & Loek Mobers

Where is it located  Amsterdam is located in Holland

Amsterdam’s geographic layout  Amsterdam is situated in a flat and low-lying area, and has many little water channels called “grachten” used as a defense system

Amsterdam’s Social Makeup  Amsterdam is a very diverse city. In addition to the native Dutch, there is a very large Muslim population from North Africa and the Middle East, as well as Turkey. There are also immigrants from West Africa, black Dutch citizens, and Europeans from other nations (Germans, French, Italians, Brits, Danish, etc).  783,364 is Amsterdam’s population.  Density : 3,506/km 2 (9,080/sq mi).

Buildings and city layout  Amsterdam started around the 13th century as a fishers town around the Amstel river.  In the 1650’s Amsterdam built a semi ring of canals around itself for protection.  Amsterdam has had houses built in rows with decorative tops.They are very famous and many tourists walk through the city and enjoy the rooftops. Later the water between the buildings came as a protection. Amsterdam we know today has been built around the old city and has expanded onwards. The city is very historical!

Amsterdam’s Contribution  Economically: As Netherlands' commercial capital and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group. Amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands.  Socially: At the beginning, drug was only accepted in Amsterdam but it later on got accepted in all of Holland. Marijuana is now part of Holland’s culture.  Culturally: Museums are the main tourist attraction in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has over 50 museums which attract millions of tourists each year.

Conflicts  There have not been any major wars fought in amsterdam, but the effects of war have been seen. Just outside at dutch seas many wars have been fought against the brits, french and spanish. In amsterdam, people were collected to fight out at sea and ships were designed and created.

Impacts on other cities  Amsterdam has had impacts on all cities in Holland because of the drug legalization. Two of those cities are The Hague and Rotterdam. The drugs affected the city because due to that, people don’t just got to Amsterdam for marijuana anymore but they also visit other cities such as The Hague and Rotterdam. <-The Hague Rotterdam ->

Claim to fame  Amsterdam makes no real claims to fame but except for trying to be the gay capital of the world, as the first legalized gay marriage in the world was in Amsterdam. Furthermore the red light district and unique paintings. the sale of soft drugs makes the city unique and has many tourists. Also many great dutch paintings are in some of the multiple museums, including some of the most. The famous night watch by Rembrandt van Rijn

Why Is It Popular For Tourists?  A lot of tourists go to Amsterdam because marijuana is legal there even though a recent law has changed that.