Amsterdam is the capital and most populated city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 921,402 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area. Located in the Dutch province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North", for its large number of canals, now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Holland is a geographical region and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th century, Holland proper was a unified political region within the Holy Roman Empire as a county ruled by the counts of Holland. By the 17th century, the province of Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, dominating the other provinces of the newly independent Dutch Republic.
The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Concertgebouw.
De Wallen is the largest and best known red-light district in Amsterdam. It consists of a network of alleys containing approximately 300 one-room cabins rented by prostitutes who offer their sexual services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights and blacklight. Window prostitution is the most visible and typical kind of red-light district sex work in Amsterdam.
HNLMS Schorpioen is a Schorpioen-class monitor built in France for the Royal Netherlands Navy in the 1860s. These new ships were equipped with heavy rifled 23 cm (9 in) guns, and a heavy armor. The hull had an armor plated belt of 15 cm (6 in) and the gun turret, housing the two guns, had almost 30 cm (12 in) of armor.
Villa Welgelegen is a historical building in Haarlem, the Netherlands, which currently houses the offices of the provincial executives of North Holland. Located at the north end of a public park in the city, it is an example of neoclassical architecture, designed by Abraham van der Hart and unusual for its style in the Netherlands.
The Wereldmuseum Amsterdam is an ethnographic museum located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1864.
Amsterdam-Noord is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands with a population of about 90,000. The IJ, the body of water which separates it from Amsterdam-Centrum and the rest of the city, is situated southwest of Amsterdam-Noord. The borough, which has an area of 49.01 km2, borders the municipalities of Zaanstad, Oostzaan, Landsmeer and Waterland to the north, all part of the province of North Holland like Amsterdam. It borders the Markermeer to the east.
The Anne Frank House is a writer's house and biographical museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank. The building is located on a canal called the Prinsengracht, close to the Westerkerk, in central Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Yab Yum was one of the best-known and most exclusive brothels in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Located in a 17th-century canal house on the Singel, it mostly catered to businessmen and foreign visitors. A second Yab Yum operated for a while in Rotterdam, but has since been closed.
The Prostitution Information Centre is located in the heart of Amsterdam in the red light district, near Amsterdam's Old Church. The PIC serves as an educational centre and resource for providing Amsterdam's visitors with information and advice about prostitution.
The Heineken Experience, located in Amsterdam, is a historic brewery and corporate visitor center for the internationally distributed Dutch pilsner, Heineken beer.
The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands. It was purchased for use as a burying ground by the Jewish community of Amsterdam in 1614 and is located in the village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, in the countryside near Amsterdam.
Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder is a 17th-century canal house, house church, and museum in the city center of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The Catholic Church was built on the top three floors of the canal house during the 1660s. It is an important example of a "schuilkerk", or "clandestine church" in which Catholics and other religious dissenters from the seventeenth century Dutch Reformed Church, unable to worship in public, held services. The church has been open as a museum since 28 April 1888, and has 85,000 visitors annually.
Museum Bredius is a museum named after Abraham Bredius on the Lange Vijverberg in The Hague. It is remarkable for its collection of etchings and paintings, but is most attractive to visitors for its accurate restoration of the 18th-century Herenhuis interior with period furnishings.
The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD, previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in documentation, archives, and books on Western art from the late Middle Ages until modern times. All of this is open to the public, and much of it has been digitized and is available on their website. The main goal of the bureau is to collect, categorize, and make art research available, most notably in the field of Dutch Masters.
The Jodenbuurt is a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. For centuries before World War II, it was the center of the Dutch Jews of Amsterdam — hence, its name. It is best known as the birthplace of Baruch Spinoza, the home of Rembrandt, and the Jewish ghetto of Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
The International Colonial and Export Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held in Amsterdam from May 1 to October 1, 1883. The event drew at least a million visitors and was the first international colonial exhibition, with 28 different nations presenting their colonial trade and wealth.
A Tjasker is a type of small drainage windmill used in the Netherlands and Germany. There are 28 tjaskers remaining the Netherlands.
The Vermeer Centre is an information center dedicated to the painter Johannes Vermeer and the work of his contemporaries in Delft, the Netherlands.
