Since the city council totally forgot April 20 2008 marks the day Amsterdam should be celebrating it's 200th anniversary as Holland's capital, me as a born and raised Amsterdamian and more importantly, a model citizen (syke) feel it's my moral duty to post an entry on this coulda been festive, yet epically failed moment.

My city is the constitutional capital and the largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its name is derived from "Amstel dam", pointing to the city's origin: a dam on the river Amstel. The first known record of Amsterdam is October 27th 1275, when the good folks from a late 12th century fishing village who had built a bridge with the dam across the Amstel were granted freedom by count Floris V from paying a bridge toll. The certificate's wording "Homines manentes apud Amestelledamme" ("People living near Amestelledamme") gives the first known use of the name Amsterdam, which by 1327 had developed into Aemsterdam. A local tradition has the city being founded by two fishermen who landed on the shores of the Amstel in a small boat with their dog. In any case, Amsterdam's origin is relatively recent in comparison with other Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam and Utrecht.

The 17th century is considered Amsterdam's "Golden Age". In the early 17th century, Amsterdam became one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Ships sailed from Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea, North America, Africa and present-day Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Brazil, and formed the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants had the biggest share in the VOC and WIC. These companies acquired the overseas possessions which formed the seeds of the later Dutch colonies. Amsterdam was the most important point for the trans-shipment of goods in Europe, and it was the leading financial centre of the world. Amsterdam's stock exchange was the first to trade continuously.

The 18th and early 19th centuries saw a decline in Amsterdam's prosperity. The wars of the Dutch Republic with England and France took their toll on Amsterdam. During the wars, Amsterdam's fortunes reached their lowest point. However, things slowly began to improve after the establishment of Amsterdam as the capital and the declaration of the Netherlands as a kingdom in 1815 by Napoleon's brother, no less. (Sidenote: Did you know Napoleon used a kilo of snuff a week - equivalent to a hundred-cigarette-a-day habit?)



Nowadays the city is known for its museums, architectural monuments and its many canals which have led to Amsterdam being called the "Venice of the North" or "Damsko", as some affectionately call it. That's the tourist board information-version though. What you really want to visit for, of course, is the red light district, the coffeeshops (which aren't famous for serving coffee, but other interesting stuff) and the extremely high risk of being ran over by trams, cabs or locals on truck bikes. You gotta love it...

So here's a special celebration post and toast to my city, Amsterdam!