The Watergraafsmeer is a polder in North Holland, Netherlands. It was reclaimed in 1629. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were many buitenplaatsen in the Watergraafsmeer, though nowadays only one, Frankendael, remains. It is among the lowest-lying parts of Amsterdam (approximately 5 metres below the NAP).
Since 1921, the Watergraafsmeer is part of the city of Amsterdam and its rural character has all but disappeared. It is located in the borough of Amsterdam-Oost. The most important streets in the Watergraafsmeer are the Middenweg and the Kruislaan.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, a number of wealthy Amsterdammers (inhabitants of Amsterdam) built buitenplaatsen in the Watergraafsmeer. Today, only the buitenplaats of Frankendael remains. On the Maliebaan, people played jeu de mail.
From 1 May 1817 until 1 January 1921, Watergraafsmeer was an independent municipality with approximately ten thousand inhabitants. In the early 20th century, it was mainly agricultural, with horticulture and cattle breeding.
52°21′N4°56′E / 52.350°N 4.933°E
Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (wijk) of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular for water sports such as windsurfing and kiteboarding. The harbour is used for both fishing and tourism.
The Vecht is a Rhine branch in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is sometimes called Utrechtse Vecht to avoid confusion with its Overijssel counterpart. The area along the river is called the Vechtstreek.
The Bijlmermeer, or colloquially the Bijlmer, is a neighborhood in the Amsterdam-Zuidoost borough in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The other neighborhoods in Amsterdam-Zuidoost are Gaasperdam, Bullewijk, Venserpolder and Driemond.
Amsterdam has a long and eventful history. The origins of the city lie around 1000 CE, when inhabitants settled at the mouth of the Amstel and began peatland reclamation. After the All Saints' Flood (1170), a dam was built in the Amstel to protect the lower lands from floods.
's-Graveland is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wijdemeren, and lies about 4 km northwest of Hilversum. The former municipality of 's-Graveland merged with Loosdrecht and Nederhorst den Berg on 1 January 2002 to form the new municipality Wijdemeren.
Driemond is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of Weesp, an Urban area in the municipality of Amsterdam, Netherlands.
A buitenplaats was a summer residence for rich townspeople in the Netherlands. During the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, many traders and city administrators in Dutch towns became very wealthy. Many of them bought country estates, at first mainly to collect rents, however soon mansions started to be built there, which were used only during the summer.
Zeeburg is a former borough of Amsterdam. It had 52,701 residents and an area of 19.31 km². The construction of new islands to the east called IJburg made it the most rapidly growing borough of Amsterdam. On 1 May 2010 Zeeburg merged with the borough of Amsterdam-Oost.
The Zuiderkerk is a 17th-century Protestant church in the Nieuwmarkt area of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The church played an important part in the life of Rembrandt and was the subject of a painting by Claude Monet.
The Singel is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near the Central Station, to the Muntplein square, where it meets the Amstel river. It is now the inner-most canal in Amsterdam's semicircular ring of canals.
The Menkemaborg is a borg (castle) in the village of Uithuizen in Groningen in the Netherlands. Since 1927, the borg is a historic house museum.
Buiksloot is a former village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is now a neighbourhood of Amsterdam-Noord. Buiksloot was a separate municipality from 1811 until 1921, when it was merged with Amsterdam.
The Zwanenburgwal is a canal and street in the center of Amsterdam. During the Dutch Golden Age the canal was home to painter Rembrandt van Rijn, as well as philosopher Spinoza lived here. In 2006 it was voted one of the most beautiful streets in Amsterdam by readers of Het Parool, a local daily newspaper.
Amsterdam-Oost is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands, established in May 2010 after a merger of the former boroughs of Zeeburg and Oost-Watergraafsmeer. In 2013, the borough had almost 123,000 inhabitants.
Buikslotermeer is a neighborhood and a polder of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Buikslotermeer is a reclaimed lake, now largely located within the city of Amsterdam-Noord. Nowadays, the name 'Buikslotermeer' is used to refer to the entire Buikslotermeerpolder of the similarly named neighborhood, located in the south-east of the polder.
JOS Watergraafsmeer is an association football club from the Amsterdam district Watergraafsmeer. In 2010 the club had around 500 registered members. The Saturday team plays in the Derde Klasse, while the Sunday team competes in the Vierde Divisie.
Jan Gildemeester Jansz. was a Dutch art collector.
Duin en Kruidberg is a stately home in Santpoort, near Haarlem, the Netherlands. Kruidberg started as a summer house for rich merchants from Amsterdam, then it became a hunting lodge of the prince of Orange, the future king-stadholder, William III (1650–1702). The plans for the Dutch invasion of England were drawn up here, which culminated in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The estate merged with neighbouring Duin en Berg into Duin en Kruidberg in the 19th century. The current house was constructed by Jacob Theodoor Cremer around 1900 in Dutch Renaissance Revival architecture. The Cremers hosted royalty at the house and held hunting events as well. It was and is one of the largest country houses in the Netherlands. After the Second World War, it became a holiday resort for the employees of a large Dutch bank, ABN AMRO. Later, it was opened for the general public as well.
Frankendael is one of two remaining buitenplaats in Amsterdam. It comprises Huis Frankendael and the adjoining Park Frankendael in Watergraafsmeer. The house, located at Middenweg 72, is a historic country residence in Tuindorp Frankendaal (Amsterdam-Oost). It was probably built largely between the second half or end of the 17th century and around 1733. It is a Rijksmonument, and owned by the municipality of Amsterdam. The building houses a restaurant and rooms that are used for various events.