Amsterdam is the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which, apart from the Netherlands itself, comprises the Netherlands Antilles and the Island of Aruba. Monarchs are traditionally inaugurated in the Nieuwe Kerk church next to the Royal Palace on Dam Square, which is considered the heart of the nation. For centuries, life in the Netherlands has been inspired by Amsterdam, a place where people from virtually every country and culture feel at home. Since the Netherlands became an hereditary monarchy in 1813, the three kings and three queens of the House of Orange-Nassau who have succeeded to the throne have all been invested in Amsterdam. However, the reigning head of state, Queen Beatrix, was the first monarch to marry here as well, when she married Claus von Amsberg on 10 March 1966, in the Westerkerk church. Her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, will follow in her footsteps on 2 February 2002 (see The Royal Wedding Special). The name of the city The name Amsterdam derives from the dam on the Amstel River on which the city was built. The name (Amstelledamme/Amstelredamme) is first recorded in 1275. In the gazetteer the name of Amsterdam also appears in Georgia, Idaho and Ohio, in South Africa, at Spitsbergen and among the islands in the Indian Ocean. New York was originally a Dutch establishment known as New Amsterdam, with a 'walstraat' (Wall Street) and a 'bouwerij' (Bowery), and quarters bearing the names of related places, such as Haarlem (Harlem) and Breukelen (Brooklyn). Even the name 'Yankee' originates in the Dutch names Jan and Kees.

Geography Location: 520 22'30' N and 40 53'48' E, on both banks of the Amstel river and the IJ-inlet. Composition of the soil: the city is built on a four-metre-thick layer of peat, with a substratum of sand and clay to around 11 metres below N.A.P. (Amsterdam Ordnance Datum). All buildings are constructed on piling-foundations made from tree-trunks or concrete.

Population 731,000, average population density 4,403 per sq. km., in the inner city up to around 15,000 per sq. km.

Size The city covers an area of 219 sq. km., of which 165 sq. km. is land and the rest canals, waterways and lakes. Construction is under way of seven new artificial islands near the shores of IJmeer (Lake IJ) which together will comprise a new community to be known as IJburg. IJburg as a whole will occupy approximately 450 hectares.

The Emblem The heraldic origins of the coat of arms of Amsterdam are unknown. The black banner in the centre could represent the water on which the city is located. The three St. Andrew's crosses may stem from the Persijn crusader family from Waterland, which owned a considerable amount of land in and around Amsterdam. In 1489 the small merchant city obtained the right to add to its coat of arms the crown of the monarch, Maximilian I, archduke of Austria, German king and Holy Roman emperor. For the merchants of Amsterdam the crown was a weighty recommendation in other elements of the Kingdom, right down to the 17th century. By that time, Amsterdam had long been a powerful trading city in a by now Protestant country which, in 1648, was formally to leave the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation under the Peace of Münster. The crown adorning the emblem and the tower of the Westerkerk church is in fact the crown of emperor Rudolf II. The two lions were added as shield-bearers in the 16th century. In recognition of the conduct of the people of Amsterdam during the German occupation of 1940-1945, Queen Wilhelmina granted the city the right on 27 March 1947 to add to the coat of arms the motto 'Valiant, Resolute, Compassionate'.

The Town Hall The Town Hall (Stadhuis) contains a mall that appears to be an indoor continuation of the city's streets and squares. The building is located beside the River Amstel and forms an architectural whole with the Music Theatre. The building was designed by the Viennese architect Wilhelm Holzbauer; the construction work was directed by the Amsterdam architect Cees Dam. The costs amounted to some EUR 159 million. The Town Hall was officially opened on 7 September 1988. Before then the city council had its headquarters on Oudezijds Voorburgwal, in the complex of buildings that form the present Grand Hotel. The Royal Palace was originally the Town Hall of Amsterdam.

The Dam The Dam is 'the heart of Holland and of the city of Amsterdam', and has borne this title since the 16th century. What is today a fine square was originally built as a dam in the Amstel river towards the end of the 12th century. On the northern side there once stood the houses of shopkeepers; one of these was the lens-cutter Zacharias Jansen, inventor of the telescope. The municipal weighhouse, fish market and town hall were also on the square, which has long been the city's administrative and business centre. Until 1869, the watch post of the town commander was also on the Dam. It faced the classicist town hall, which dates back to Amsterdam's Golden Age in the 17th century, and which was chosen as a Royal Palace by King Louis Bonaparte in 1808. National festivities, processions and commemorations also frequently take place on the Dam. Since 1956 it has been the location of the National Monument, erected to commemorate those who gave their lives in the Second World War.

The Municipal Council The city's central administration is made up of the Municipal Council and the Municipal Executive, comprising the mayor and aldermen. The Municipal Council consists of 45 members, including the aldermen, and generally meets every 14 days on Wednesdays at 1.00 pm in the Council Chamber of the Town Hall. All registered citizens of Dutch or European Union nationality, and anyone who is at least 18 years old and has legally resided in the Netherlands for a continuous period of at least five years is entitled to stand for the Council and vote in local elections. Local elections take place every four years. The mayor is not elected by the voters, but is appointed by the national government for a period of six years.

The Boroughs Apart from the inner city, Amsterdam has 14 boroughs of which 13 have their own council. Westpoort Borough is the only one without its own council, as it comprises the uninhabited port area. The administrations of the boroughs are responsible for spatial planning and the management of public spaces as well as the environment, housing and housing improve-ment, the economy and employment, welfare and social affairs, policy on the elderly, education, sport and recreation, art and cultural affairs, finance and population affairs. The inner city has its own administration (the Inner City Department), but comes under the central city administration. In March 2002 the inner city will acquire its own elected administration.The borough will then be known as Stadsdeel Centrum (Central Borough).

Urban development Just a century ago, Amsterdam Noord - the borough north of the IJ - comprised little more than farmland behind old Zuiderzee dykes. The construction of the North Holland Canal (1824) and the North Sea Canal (1870) at first attracted maritime industries, mainly ship-builders. The first houses were built in 1914, followed by garden suburbs. For the next 20 years it seemed as if Amsterdam was going to expand in a northerly direction, but from the 1920s onwards a preference grew for the polders to the south and south-west of the city, where large new suburbs are today. The main reason for this was initially the unbridgeable water - without punt ferries the North was inaccessible. Since then, however, the suburb north of the IJ has grown into a mixed collection of neighbourhoods with 83,000 inhabitants, easily reachable by tunnels and bridges. In the future a fast tram connection is planned from Central Station, passing under the IJ. Amsterdam and the EU have invested millions in renovating old industrial sites and improving the infrastructure of this quarter of the city. At the end of 2000 it was announced that the Shell oil company was willing to sell the larger part of its substantial property holdings along the northern bank to the city of Amsterdam. If the plans since put forward go through, the entire skyline of the north will change. The multi-billion euro plan is part of a development linked to a new north-south link for the city's metro system. It is anticipated that a new city square, a multi-screen cinema complex and a sports stadium will form part of the project. In addition, around 3,000 new homes will be built, some with special facilities for people working from home. On the northern IJ waterfront, behind Amsterdam Central Station, an artistic habitat for 140 painters, 20 craft workshops as well as a multifunctional theatre and exhibition areas is being realised. The project also includes an indoor skating rink and a sculpture park. The developers are using the site and buildings once belonging to the NDSM dry-dock shipyard. The plans are part of Amsterdam's Broedplaats project, designed to provide alternative working and living environments for artists and other creative people who have lost their studios due to recent urban redevelopment. A 'second city centre' is under construction alongside the ArenA stadium in the Amsterdam Zuid-Oost borough in the southeast of the city. The 'ArenA Boulevard' already boasts a multi-plex cinema; the 3,500-seat Heineken Music Hall and the 'Villa ArenA' - a shopping and socialising centre with more than 70 shops on four levels, focusing on home decoration, gardening and DIY. Exhibitions and demonstrations, restaurants on a floating island and a crèche are part of the experience. Currently under construction is the 'Living Tomorrow' House, offering visitors a glimpse of the home of the future, complete with space-age technical wizardry. There are also plans for a 150-metre-high apartment complex with a 'viewpoint' on the top floor that will offer an extraordinary view over the canals and surrounding waterlands.

Public Order The Mayor of Amsterdam is the head of the police of Amsterdam-Amstelland, a regional police force in which Amsterdam collaborates with the Municipalities of Amstelveen, Aals-meer, Diemen, Ouder-Amstel and Uithoorn. The area covers 357 square kilometres and has 875,000 inhabitants The police force employs 5,600 people and has an annual budget of around EUR 270 million. There are committees that supervise the use of police cells and the handling of complaints.

Regional cooperation Regionaal Orgaan Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Regional Council, incorporates the capital of the Netherlands and 15 surrounding municipalities. The yearly budget is approx. EUR 363,000,000, of which about EUR 227,000,000 is for public transport. The council has 60 members and 7 executive members and is chaired by the mayor of Amsterdam. Its tasks and responsibilities include traffic and public/passenger transport; zoning/area planning; housing (100.000 new dwellings planned up to 2005, of which about 40% is social housing and about 60% is in the private sector), and economic development. The total of 16 municipalities covering an area of 810,900 sq. km have 1,281,805 inhabitants (compared with 735,000 in Amsterdam). As a regional authority ROA is a member of EMTA, the European Metropolitan Transport Authorities.

....with thanks to the City of Amsterdam

Ines van den Born is a registered nurse in Europe. She is also International Sales and Marketing manager pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Founder and owner of www.medicaleurope.com a medical consultancy. She is also Fashion designer of Italian leather gloves, in Europe known as Les Gants d'Ines-Ines'gloves. www.gloveseurope.com

Ines van den Born may be contacted at http://gloveseurope.com or info@gloveseurope.com