Amsterdam Architecture, History and People
Amsterdam is a fascinating architecture city - both for historical and contemporary architecture. This website will tell you all about it, where to go and what you will see there. In every district and neighbourhood of Amsterdam. From the Image section, you'll get a first impression of what all it looks like - sort of online tour of Amsterdam. We will have something to say about current issues as well: our housing policy, mobility, adaptive reuse, waterfront development, upgrading less successful districts and the transformation of old harbour areas. And yes, Amsterdam is moving to a green, healthy, sustainable and circular economy, so that is a topic too. On the practical side, you will find information about special hotels in case you want to spend some time in Amsterdam. We also give an overview of the guided tours that Stadswandelkantoor / City Walks Office organizes - walks, bike tours and boat or car trips.
History
Amsterdam: a dynamical metropolis in a historical setting. One of the grandiose aspects of the city is that its history is still visible everywhere. Amsterdam was not heavily bombed during the Second World War like the German cities. And unlike London, we managed to keep commercial project developers under control. The city and its inhabitants have remained the guiding force behind urban development.
Hence, the structure of the medieval city with its narrow canals and streets has been well preserved. And the 17th-century ring of canals was placed on the World Heritage List by Unesco.
Amsterdam is, however, anything but a museum. The city has one of the liveliest inner cities in Europe.
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Districts
Amsterdam is far more than just an ancient city centre - a characteristic that distinguishes Amsterdam from many other capitals. Practically all parts of the city are well worth a visit. They originated in different periods, have gone through the usual life cycle of emergence, flowering and decay. Currently, the city is in good shape again. Old neighbourhoods are being lifted to this time, old buildings are renovated and reused with a new function. There is little demolition, new buildings are respectfully injected into an existing environment. We do not erase the past. More...
Architecture
This is mainly an image section, a kind of online architecture tour through Amsterdam. Here you'll find images of the architecture of Amsterdam, with short descriptions, explanations and a comment here and there.
Our building blocks often have a special design and are considered 'adventurous'. Why is that? You will see how the urban landscape changes in a time of transition to a green and circular economy.
Planning to stay in Amsterdam? A - non-commercial - description of a number of special hotels may be of interest to you. And much
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Themes & Issues
Which way should Amsterdam go? Opinions differ widely on this. Are we absorbing the rapid growth of the population with high-rise buildings? Should a bridge be built over the historic IJ or should we go underneath it? How do we handle mobility? How do we control international capital? And behind all this the question: who actually determines policy here: The city council? The market? The population? Who owns this city? Food for discussion.
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Guided architecture Tours
Visiting Amsterdam and interested in its architecture and urban planning? Would you like to see how we live here and how we do it in Amsterdam? What are the issues here? On this page, you will find a selection of fascinating guided tours. All given by highly skilled professionals: inside information at a high level. We keep it enjoyable, never talk unnecessarily complicated. But at the end of the day, you have learned a lot and seen a lot. More...
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