Amsterdam (English /ˈæmstərdæm/; Dutch: [ˌɑmstərˈdɑm] (
)) is the capital city of and the most populous within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the Dutch capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands[5] though it is not the seat of the Dutch government, which is at The Hague (Den Haag).[6] Amsterdam has a population of 810,084 within the city-proper, 1,569,300 in the urban region and 2.3 million in the greater metropolitan area.[4][7] The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. It comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.[8]
)) is the capital city of and the most populous within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the Dutch capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands[5] though it is not the seat of the Dutch government, which is at The Hague (Den Haag).[6] Amsterdam has a population of 810,084 within the city-proper, 1,569,300 in the urban region and 2.3 million in the greater metropolitan area.[4][7] The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. It comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.[8]
Amsterdam's name derives from Amstelredamme,[9] indicative of the city's origin as a dam of the river Amstel. Originating as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age, a result of its innovative developments in trade. During that time, the city was the leading center for finance and diamonds.[10] In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned and built. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdamand the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group. The city is also the cultural capital of the Netherlands.[11] Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and 7 of the world's top 500 companies, includingPhilips and ING, are based in the city.[12] In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked 2nd best city to live by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) [13] and 12th globally on quality of living by Mercer.[14] The city was previously ranked 3rd in innovation by 2thinknow in the Innovation Cities Index 2009.[15]
The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. Amsterdam's main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, theVan Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Hermitage Amsterdam, Anne Frank House, Amsterdam Museum, its red-light district, and its many cannabis coffee shops draw more than 3.66 million international visitors annually.
Contents
[show]History[edit]
Main article: History of Amsterdam
See also: Timeline of Amsterdam history
Etymology[edit]
The earliest recorded use of the name "Amsterdam" is from a certificate dated 27 October 1275, when the inhabitants, who had built a bridge with a dam across the Amstel, were exempted from paying a bridge toll by Count Floris V.[16][unreliable source?] The certificate describes the inhabitants ashomines manentes apud Amestelledamme (people living near Amestelledamme).[17] By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam.[16]
Founding and Middle Ages[edit]
Amsterdam's founding is relatively recent compared with much older Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008,historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean that there was already a settlement then since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat, used as fuel.[18]
Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306.[19] From the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely because of trade with theHanseatic League. In 1345, an alleged Eucharistic miracle in the Kalverstraat rendered the city an important place of pilgrimage until the adoption of the Protestant faith. The Stille Omgang—a silent procession in civil attire—is today a remnant of the rich pilgrimage history.[20]
Conflict with Spain[edit]
In the 16th century, the Dutch rebelled against Philip II of Spain and his successors. The main reasons for the uprising were the imposition of new taxes, the tenth penny, and the religious persecution of Protestants by the Spanish Inquisition. The revolt escalated into the Eighty Years' War, which ultimately led to Dutch independence.[21] Strongly pushed by Dutch Revoltleader William the Silent, the Dutch Republic became known for its relative religious tolerance. Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, Huguenots from France, prosperous merchants and printers from Flanders, and economic and religious refugees from the Spanish-controlled parts of the Low Countries found safety in Amsterdam. The influx of Flemish printers and the city's intellectual tolerance made Amsterdam a centre for the European free press.[22]
Center of the Dutch Golden Age[edit]
The 17th century is considered Amsterdam's Golden Age, during which it became the wealthiest city in the world.[23] Ships sailed from Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea, North America, and Africa, as well as present-day Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and Brazil, forming the basis of a worldwide trading network. Amsterdam's merchants had the largest share in both the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company. These companies acquired overseas possessions that later became Dutch colonies. Amsterdam was Europe's most important point for the shipment of goods and was the leading Financial Centre of the world.[24] In 1602, the Amsterdam office of the Dutch East India Company became the world's first stock exchange by trading in its own shares.[25]
Amsterdam lost over 10% of its population to plague in 1623–1625, and again in 1635–1636, 1655, and 1664. Nevertheless, the population of Amsterdam rose in the 17th century (largely through immigration) from 50,000 to 200,000.[26]
Decline and modernization[edit]
Amsterdam's prosperity declined during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The wars of the Dutch Republic with England and France took their toll on Amsterdam. During the Napoleonic Wars, Amsterdam's significance reached its lowest point, with Holland being absorbed into the French Empire. However, the later establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlandsin 1815 marked a turning point.
The end of the 19th century is sometimes called Amsterdam's second Golden Age.[27] New museums, a train station, and the Concertgebouw were built; in this same time, the Industrial Revolution reached the city. The Amsterdam-Rhine Canal was dug to give Amsterdam a direct connection to the Rhine, and the North Sea Canal was dug to give the port a shorter connection to the North Sea. Both projects dramatically improved commerce with the rest of Europe and the world. In 1906, Joseph Conrad gave a brief description of Amsterdam as seen from the seaside, in The Mirror of the Sea.
Twentieth century[edit]
Shortly before the First World War, the city began expanding, and new suburbs were built. Even though the Netherlands remained neutral in this war, Amsterdam suffered a food shortage, and heating fuel became scarce. The shortages sparked riots in which several people were killed. These riots are known as the Aardappeloproer (Potato rebellion). People started looting stores and warehouses in order to get supplies, mainly food.[28]
Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 and took control of the country. Some Amsterdam citizens sheltered Jews, thereby exposing themselves and their families to the high risk of being imprisoned or sent to concentration camps. More than 100,000 Dutch Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps of which some 60.000 lived in Amsterdam. Perhaps the most famous deportee was the young Jewish girl Anne Frank, who died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.[29] At the end of the Second World War, communication with the rest of the country broke down, and food and fuel became scarce. Many citizens traveled to the countryside to forage. Dogs, cats, raw sugar beets, and Tulip bulbs—cooked to a pulp—were consumed to stay alive.[30] Most of the trees in Amsterdam were cut down for fuel, and all the wood was taken from the apartments of deported Jews.
Many new suburbs, such as Osdorp, Slotervaart, Slotermeer, and Geuzenveld, were built in the years after the Second World War.[31] These suburbs contained many public parks and wide, open spaces, and the new buildings provided improved housing conditions with larger and brighter rooms, gardens, and balconies. Because of the war and other incidents of the 20th century, almost the entire city centre had fallen into disrepair. As society was changing, politicians and other influential figures made plans to redesign large parts of it. There was an increasing demand for office buildings and new roads as the automobile became available to most common people.[32] A metro started operating in 1977 between the new suburb of Bijlmer and the centre of Amsterdam. Further plans were to build a new highway above the metro to connect the Central Station and city centre with other parts of the city.
The incorporated large-scale demolitions began in Amsterdam's formerly Jewish neighbourhood. Smaller streets, such as the Jodenbreestraat, were widened and saw almost all of their houses demolished. During the destruction's peak, the Nieuwmarktrellen (Nieuwmarkt riots) broke out,[33] where people expressed their fury about the demolition caused by the restructuring of the city.
As a result, the demolition was stopped, and the highway was never built, with only the metro being finished. Only a few streets remained widened. The new city hall was built on the almost completely demolished Waterlooplein. Meanwhile, large private organisations, such as Stadsherstel Amsterdam, were founded with the aim of restoring the entire city centre. Although the success of this struggle is visible today, efforts for further restoration are still ongoing.[32] The entire city centre has reattained its former splendor and, as a whole, is now a protected area. Many of its buildings have become monuments, and in July 2010 the Grachtengordel (Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht) was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.[34]
Twenty first century[edit]
At the beginning of the new millennium, social problems such as safety, ethnic discrimination and segregation between religious and social groups began to develop. Forty-five percent of the population of Amsterdam has non-Dutch parents. Large social groups come from Suriname, the Dutch Antilles, Morocco and Turkey. Amsterdam is characterized by its (perceived) social tolerance and diversity. The former mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, and his alderman for integration Ahmed Aboutaleb (Now mayor of Rotterdam) formulated a policy of "keeping things together" which involves social dialogue, tolerance and harsh measures against those who break the law.
Geography[edit]
Amsterdam is located in the western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The river Amstel terminates in the city centre and connects to a large number of canals that eventually terminate in theIJ. Amsterdam is situated 2 metres below sea level.[3] The surrounding land is flat as it is formed of large polders. A man made forest, Amsterdamse Bos, is situated southwest. Amsterdam is connected to the North Sea through the long North Sea Canal.
Amsterdam is intensely urbanized, as is the Amsterdam metropolitan area surrounding the city. Comprising 219.4 kilometres (136.3 miles) of land, the city proper has 4,457 inhabitants per km2 and 2,275 houses per km2.[35] Parks and nature reserves make up 12% of Amsterdam's land area.[36]
Climate[edit]
Amsterdam has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), strongly influenced by its proximity to the North Sea to the west, with prevailing westerly winds. Winters are cool. Amsterdam, as well as most of the North Holland province, lies in USDA Hardiness zone 8b. Frosts mainly occur during spells of easterly or northeasterly winds from the inner European continent. Even then, because Amsterdam is surrounded on three sides by large bodies of water, as well as having a significant heat-island effect, nights rarely fall below −5 °C (23 °F), while it could easily be −12 °C (10 °F) in Hilversum, 25 kilometres (16 miles) southeast. Summers are moderately warm but rarely hot. The average daily high in August is 22.1 °C (71.8 °F), and 30 °C (86 °F) or higher is only measured on average on 2.5 days, placing Amsterdam in AHS Heat Zone 2. The record extremes range from −24 °C (−11 °F) to 36.8 °C (98.2 °F).[37] Days with more than 1 millimetre (0.04 in) of precipitation are common, on average 133 days per year. Amsterdam's average annual precipitation is 838 millimetres (33 in),[38] more than what is measured at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. A large part of this precipitation falls as light rain or brief showers. Cloudy and damp days are common during the cooler months of October through March.
| [hide]Climate data for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.9 (57) | 16.6 (61.9) | 21.1 (70) | 27.0 (80.6) | 31.5 (88.7) | 33.2 (91.8) | 32.3 (90.1) | 34.5 (94.1) | 29.4 (84.9) | 25.0 (77) | 17.5 (63.5) | 15.5 (59.9) | 34.5 (94.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 5.8 (42.4) | 6.3 (43.3) | 9.6 (49.3) | 13.5 (56.3) | 17.4 (63.3) | 19.7 (67.5) | 22.0 (71.6) | 22.1 (71.8) | 18.8 (65.8) | 14.5 (58.1) | 9.7 (49.5) | 6.4 (43.5) | 13.8 (56.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) | 3.5 (38.3) | 6.1 (43) | 9.1 (48.4) | 12.9 (55.2) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.6 (63.7) | 17.5 (63.5) | 14.7 (58.5) | 11.0 (51.8) | 7.1 (44.8) | 4.0 (39.2) | 10.2 (50.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 0.8 (33.4) | 0.5 (32.9) | 2.6 (36.7) | 4.6 (40.3) | 8.2 (46.8) | 10.8 (51.4) | 12.0 (53.6) | 11.8 (53.2) | 10.6 (51.1) | 7.5 (45.5) | 4.2 (39.6) | 1.5 (34.7) | 6.4 (43.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −15.4 (4.3) | −15.0 (5) | −11.1 (12) | −4.7 (23.5) | −1.1 (30) | 2.3 (36.1) | 5.0 (41) | 5.0 (41) | 2.0 (35.6) | −3.4 (25.9) | −6.9 (19.6) | −14.8 (5.4) | −15.4 (4.3) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 66.6 (2.622) | 50.6 (1.992) | 60.6 (2.386) | 40.9 (1.61) | 55.6 (2.189) | 66.0 (2.598) | 76.5 (3.012) | 85.9 (3.382) | 82.4 (3.244) | 89.6 (3.528) | 87.2 (3.433) | 76.3 (3.004) | 838.2 (33) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 12 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 133 |
| Avg. snowy days | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 26 |
| % humidity | 88 | 86 | 83 | 78 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 83 | 86 | 89 | 90 | 83 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 63.2 | 87.5 | 126.3 | 182.7 | 221.9 | 205.7 | 217.0 | 197.0 | 139.4 | 109.1 | 61.7 | 50.5 | 1,662 |
| Source #1: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (1981–2010 normals, snowy days normals for 1971–2000)[39] | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (1971–2000 extremes)[40] | |||||||||||||
Demographics[edit]
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1300[41] | 1,000 | — |
| 1400[42] | 3,000 | +200.0% |
| 1500[42] | 15,000 | +400.0% |
| 1600[42] | 54,000 | +260.0% |
| 1675[43] | 206,000 | +281.5% |
| 1796[43] | 200,600 | −2.6% |
| 1810[44] | 180,000 | −10.3% |
| 1850[45] | 224,000 | +24.4% |
| 1879[45] | 317,000 | +41.5% |
| 1900[9] | 523,577 | +65.2% |
| 1930[44] | 757,000 | +44.6% |
| 1990[46] | 695,221 | −8.2% |
| 2013[4] | 810,084 | +16.5% |
Amsterdam has a population of 810,084 inhabitants within city limits. On 1 January 2012, the ethnic makeup of Amsterdam was 49.5% of Dutch ancestry and 50.5% of foreign origin.[citation needed] In the 16th and 17th century non-Dutch immigrants to Amsterdam were mostly Huguenots, Flemings, Sephardi Jews and Westphalians. Huguenots came after the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1685, while the Flemish Protestants came during the Eighty Years' War. The Westphalians came to Amsterdam mostly for economic reasons – their influx continued through the 18th and 19th centuries. Before the Second World War, 10% of the city population was Jewish. Just twenty percent of them survived the Shoah.
The first mass immigration in the 20th century were by people from Indonesia, who came to Amsterdam after the independence of the Dutch East Indies in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s guest workers from Turkey, Morocco, Italy and Spain emigrated to Amsterdam. After the independence of Suriname in 1975, a large wave of Surinamese settled in Amsterdam, mostly in the Bijlmer area. Other immigrants, including refugees asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, came from Europe, America, Asia, and Africa. In the 1970s and 1980s, many 'old' Amsterdammers moved to 'new' cities likeAlmere and Purmerend, prompted by the third planological bill of the Dutch government. This bill promoted suburbanisation and arranged for new developments in so called "groeikernen", literally "cores of growth". Young professionals and artists moved into neighbourhoods de Pijp and the Jordaan abandoned by these Amsterdammers. The non-Western immigrants settled mostly in the social housingprojects in Amsterdam-West and the Bijlmer. Today, people of non-Western origin make up approximately one-third of the population of Amsterdam, and more than 50% of children.[47][48][49] A tendence to ethnical segregation is clearly visible, with people of non-Western origins, considered as a separate group by Statistics Netherlands, concentrating in specific neighborhoods especially in Nieuw-West,Zeeburg, Bijlmer and in certain areas of Amsterdam-Noord.[50][51]
The largest religious group are Christians (17% in 2000), who are divided between Roman Catholics and Protestants. The next largest religion is Islam (14% in 2000), most of whose followers areSunni.[52][53]
In 1578 the previously Roman Catholic city of Amsterdam joined the revolt against Spanish rule, late in comparison to other major northern Dutch cities. In line with Protestant procedure of that time, all churches were converted to Protestant worship. Calvinism became the dominant religion, and although Catholicism was not forbidden and priests allowed to serve, the Catholic hierarchy was prohibited. This led to the establishment of schuilkerken, covert churches, behind seemingly ordinary canal side house fronts. One example is the current debate centre de Rode Hoed. A large influx of foreigners of many religions came to 17th-century Amsterdam, in particular Sefardic Jews from Spain and Portugal, Huguenots from France, and Protestants from the Southern Netherlands. This led to the establishment of many non-Dutch-speaking religious churches. In 1603, the first notification was made of Jewish religious service. In 1639, the first synagogue was consecrated. The Jews came to call the town Jerusalem of the West, a reference to their sense of belonging there.
As they became established in the city, other Christian denominations used converted Catholic chapels to conduct their own services. The oldest English-language church congregation in the world outside the United Kingdom is found at the Begijnhof. Regular services there are still offered in English under the auspices of the Church of Scotland.[54] The Huguenots accounted for nearly 20% of Amsterdam's inhabitants in 1700. Being Calvinists, they soon integrated into the Dutch Reformed Church, though often retaining their own congregations. Some, commonly referred by the moniker 'Walloon', are recognizable today as they offer occasional services in French.
In the second half of the 17th century, Amsterdam experienced an influx of Ashkenazim, Jews from Central and Eastern Europe, which continued into the 19th century. Jews often fled thepogroms in those areas. The first Ashkenazi who arrived in Amsterdam were refugees from the Chmielnicki Uprising in Poland and the Thirty Years' War. They not only founded their own synagogues, but had a strong influence on the 'Amsterdam dialect' adding a large Yiddish local vocabulary.
Despite an absence of an official Jewish ghetto, most Jews preferred to live in the eastern part of the old medieval heart of the city. The main street of this Jewish neighborhood was theJodenbreestraat. The neighborhood comprised the Waterlooplein and the Nieuwmarkt.[55] Buildings in this neighborhood fell into disrepair after the Second World War, and a large section of the neighbourhood was demolished during the construction of the subway. This led to riots, and as a result the original plans for large-scale reconstruction were abandoned and the neighborhood was rebuilt with smaller-scale residence buildings on the basis of its original layout.
Catholic churches in Amsterdam have been constructed since the restoration of the episcopal hierarchy in 1853. One of the principal architects behind the city's Catholic churches, Cuypers, was also responsible for the Amsterdam Central Station and the Rijksmuseum, which led to a refusal of Protestant King William III to open 'that monastery'. In 1924, the Roman Catholic Churchof the Netherlands hosted the International Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam, and numerous Catholic prelates visited the city, where festivities were held in churches and stadiums. Catholic processions on the public streets, however, were still forbidden under law at the time. Only in the 20th century was Amsterdam's relation to Catholicism normalized, but despite its far largerpopulation size, the Catholic clergy chose to place its episcopal see of the city in the nearby provincial town of Haarlem.[56]
In recent times, religious demographics in Amsterdam have been changed by large-scale immigration from former colonies. Immigrants from Suriname have introduced Evangelical Protestantism and Lutheranism, from the Hernhutter variety; Hinduism has been introduced mainly from Suriname; and several distinct branches of Islam have been brought from various parts of the world. Islam is now the largest non-Christian religion in Amsterdam. The large community of Ghanaian and Nigerian immigrants have established African churches, often in parking garages in theBijlmer area, where many have settled. In addition, a broad array of other religious movements have established congregations, including Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism.
Although the saying "Leef en laat leven" or "Live and let live" summarizes the Dutch and especially the Amsterdam open and tolerant society, the increased influx of many races, religions, and cultures after the Second World War, has on a number of occasions strained social relations. With 176 different nationalities, Amsterdam is home to one of the widest varieties of nationalities of any city in the world.[57] The share of the population of immigrant ancestry in the city proper now is about 50%.[58]
The city has been at times marked by ethnic tension. In 2004 film director Theo van Gogh was murdered by an Islamic extremist in Amsterdam. Among others, in line with attitude changes in Dutch politics towards certain (especially Islamic) minorities Turkish-language and Arabic-language TV channels have been dropped from the basic cable TV package.[59] In recent years, politicians are actively discouraged against campaigning in minority languages. In the previous local elections politicians were criticized by current Amsterdam mayor Mr van der Laan (then minister of Integration) for distributing election leaflets in minority languages and in some cases leaflets were collected. Due to this anti-Multicultural stand, van der Laan has been accused of hypocrisy by its own party's PvdA main candidate.[60] Also during the same period, possibly due to his belief in integration via (possibly not always voluntary) assimilation, Amsterdam has been one of the municipalities in the Netherlands which provided immigrants with extensive and free Dutch-language courses, which have benefited many immigrants.
Cityscape and architecture[edit]
Amsterdam fans out south from the Amsterdam Centraal railway station. The oldest area of the town is known as de Wallen (the quays). It lies to the east of Damrak and contains the city's famous red light district. To the south of de Wallen is the old Jewish quarter of Waterlooplein. The mideavel and colonial age canals of Amsterdam, known as Grachten, embraces the heart of the city where homes have interesting gables. Beyond the Grachtengordel are the former working class areas of Jordaan and de Pijp. The Museumplein with the city's major museums, the Vondelpark, a 19th-century park named after the Dutch writer Joost van den Vondel, and the Plantage neighbourhood, with the zoo, are also located outside the Grachtengordel.
Several parts of the city and the surrounding urban area are polders. This can be recognised by the suffix -meer which means lake, as in Aalsmeer, Bijlmermeer, Haarlemmermeer, and Watergraafsmeer.
| Seventeenth-century canal ring area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
 | |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | I, II, IV |
| Reference | 1349 |
| UNESCO region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2010 (34th Session) |
Canals[edit]
Main article: Canals of Amsterdam
The Amsterdam canal system is the result of conscious city planning.[61] In the early 17th century, when immigration was at a peak, a comprehensive plan was developed that was based on four concentric half-circles of canals with their ends emerging at the IJ bay. Known as the Grachtengordel, three of the canals were mostly for residential development: the Herengracht (where "Heren" refers to Heren Regeerders van de stad Amsterdam (ruling lords of Amsterdam), and gracht means canal, so the name can be roughly translated as "Canal of the lords"),Keizersgracht (Emperor's Canal), and Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal).[62] The fourth and outermost canal is the Singelgracht, which is often not mentioned on maps, because it is a collective name for all canals in the outer ring. The Singelgracht should not be confused with the oldest and most inner canal Singel. The canals served for defence, water management and transport. The defences took the form of a moat and earthen dikes, with gates at transit points, but otherwise no masonry superstructures.[63] The original plans have been lost, so historians, such as Ed Taverne, need to speculate on the original intentions: it is thought that the considerations of the layout were purely practical and defensive rather than ornamental.[64]
Construction started in 1613 and proceeded from west to east, across the breadth of the layout, like a gigantic windshield wiper as the historian Geert Mak calls it – and not from the centre outwards, as a popular myth has it. The canal construction in the southern sector was completed by 1656. Subsequently, the construction of residential buildings proceeded slowly. The eastern part of the concentric canal plan, covering the area between the Amstel river and the IJ bay, has never been implemented. In the following centuries, the land was used for parks, senior citizens' homes, theatres, other public facilities, and waterways without much planning.[65]
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