Amstelveen

Amstelveen
Municipality

Flag
Coat of arms
Highlighted position of Amstelveen in a municipal map of North Holland
Location in North Holland
Coordinates: 52°18′N 4°51′E / 52.300°N 4.850°E / 52.300; 4.850Coordinates: 52°18′N 4°51′E / 52.300°N 4.850°E / 52.300; 4.850
Country Netherlands
Province  North Holland
Government[1]
 • Body Municipal council
 • Mayor Bas Eenhoorn (acting) (VVD)
Area[2]
 • Total 44.08 km2 (17.02 sq mi)
 • Land 41.45 km2 (16.00 sq mi)
 • Water 2.63 km2 (1.02 sq mi)
Elevation[3] −1 m (−3 ft)
Population (August 2017)[4]
 • Total 89,918
 • Density 2,169/km2 (5,620/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Amstelvener
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode 1180–1189
Area code 020
Website www.amstelveen.nl

Amstelveen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌɑmstəlˈveːn] ( listen)) is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 89,918 (2017). It is a suburban part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam.

The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villages of Bovenkerk and Nes aan de Amstel; in addition, the following neighbourhoods have been recently built, as was Downtown Amstelveen (Dutch: Amstelveen stadshart): Westwijk, Bankras-Kostverloren, Groenelaan, Waardhuizen, Middenhoven, Randwijk, Elsrijk and Keizer Karelpark. The name Amstelveen comes from the Amstel (as does the name Amsterdam), a local river, and veen, meaning fen, peat, or moor. KLM has its headquarters in Amstelveen; in addition the municipality has the international headquarters of one of the Big Four accounting firms, KPMG. Nowadays Amstelveen is best known for its Museum of Modern Art.

History

Map of Nieuwer-Amstel, 1865–1870
Topographic map of Amstelveen, September 2014

During the French occupation between 1810 and 1814, it was the capital of a canton in the French department Zuyderzée, and until 1964 the municipality of Amstelveen was called Nieuwer-Amstel. It is technically a large dorp (village), because it was never walled. The symbol adopted for Amstelveen was not based on the Amsterdam symbol of three crosses, with one additional cross for distinction, but rather Amsterdam has one cross less to indicate Amstelveen's and Ouder-Amstel's seniority. The Thijssepark (in full the Dr Jac. P. Thijssepark), was the first heempark in the Netherlands and is one of sixteen heemparks or heemgroen in Amstelveen. Designed by landscape architect C. P. Broerse; following the ideas of the great Dutch naturalist and conservationist Jac. P. Thijsse, it was developed between 1940 and 1972 and covers an area of 5 hectares, and is situated just south of the Amsterdamse Bos. Amstelveen was chosen as an unlikely host of a match in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, for which the Netherlands had not qualified. South Africa played Kenya in the match. Former Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende started his political career as member of the council for Amstelveen. As a result of the vicinity of Schiphol (Amsterdam Airport), and its links to Amsterdam, Amstelveen has grown and become a cosmopolitan mix of many cultures living in Amstelveen.

In the early 20th century Amstelveen was a small rural village. The turf industry had collapsed, so the revenues of it were gone. The village was somewhat isolated, because no major rail and waterway were connected. The main source of income was livestock farming with some arable, but the horticulture and floriculture were already emerging.

In 1852 the Haarlemmermeer polder was reclaimed and the "Fort at the Schiphol" was created as a defense for the capital Amsterdam. Forts were in those days more often named after rivers. "Fort at the Schiphol" was a separating ditch between Aalsmeer and Amstelveen, and named after a piece of land from Amstelveen. Fort Schiphol, became a military airport in 1916. Four years later Schiphol became a civilian airport. Schiphol Fort was demolished in 1934. The demolition was necessary for the construction of the provincial road (Mayor Of Sonweg) from Amstelveen to Schiphol, with a swing bridge over the circular canal of the Haarlemmermeer. The development of Schiphol attracted many people, many of whom settled in Amstelveen. The headquarters of KLM was established there. Amstelveen once was the fastest growing city in the Netherlands and has now grown to 81,003 inhabitants (2010).

After World War II Amstelveen caught a portion of Amsterdam's housing shortage, and was also a member of the municipality of Schiphol. Amsterdams Planning was to introduce Amstelveen as a metropolitan area, with its urban and green areas. Amstelveen remained an independent and self-conscious municipality and adopted a policy that reflected many attractive new residential areas. Amstelveens landscaping and added art attracted much international attention.

Amstelveen in 2003 was voted the most attractive city of the Netherlands to live in. Currently Amstelveen is in the top three on the national list of best cities to live in. With Amstelveen city center also receiving the number one award for best shopping center Netherlands in 2013, 2014 and 2015

Economy

KLM head office
KPMG head office
Downtown Amstelveen

KLM Netherlands has its headquarters in Amstelveen (52°18′22″N 4°50′35″E / 52.306117°N 4.842954°E / 52.306117; 4.842954).[5][6] Air France-KLM is represented by the KLM head office.[7]

In addition Amstelveen has the international headquarters of KPMG auditing firm.

Transport

Metro in Amstelveen

Amstelveen has a metro (Line 51) and tram (Line 5) connection with Amsterdam. The metro is a larger version of the tram in which some bicycles may be taken; both lines run on the same tracks although the metro goes further south than the tram which has its terminus in Downtown Amstelveen. It has a point to point bus connection to other villages and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as well as a local network.

The metro line passing through Amstelveen now runs to Amsterdam Centraal station (northern terminus); it will run from Amsterdam Zuid railway station (northern terminus) to Uithoorn (southern terminus) by 2020. The extension and renovation of the line includes its conversion into a tram line.

Tourism and attractions

  • Shopping Amstelveen city centre. Which has received the number one award for best shopping center Netherlands in 2013, 2014 and 2015
  • Aan de Poel. A fine-dining restaurant that was awarded one Michelin star for the period 2009–2012. Since 2013 it carries two Michelin stars. Aan de Poel is located on the shore of lake De Poel.
  • Cobra Museum is located in the centre (Stadshart) of Amstelveen.
  • Museum Jan van der Togt, is centrehousing a glass art collection
  • Birthplace of the artist Jan Cornelis Hofman.
  • Birthplace of the actress Famke Janssen.
  • Birthplace of the DJ and artist Martin Garrix
  • A statue of Rembrandt overlooks the river Amstel, south east from the Amstelpark, where a windmill open to visitors is also situated
  • An Electric Museum-tram line still connects Amstelveen to Amsterdam in the summer, passing by the Amsterdamse Bos and Olympic rowing lake

Secondary education

  • The Hermann Wesselink College offers vmbo-tl, havo, vwo (gymnasium and atheneum) and bilingual education
  • The Keizer Karel College offers havo and vwo (atheneum, gymnasium and technasium).
  • The Amstelveen College offers vmbo-tl, havo, and vwo (atheneum and gymnasium)
  • The Panta Rhei offers vmbo, optionally with leerwegondersteunend onderwijs (literally, "learning path supporting education")

Other education

Local government

The municipal council of Amstelveen consists of 37 seats, which are divided as follows:

  • VVD – 9 seats
  • PvdA – 5 seats
  • GroenLinks – 5 seats
  • Burger Belangen – 4 seats
  • CDA – 4 seats
  • D66 – 6 seats
  • Christen Unie – 1 seat
  • OCA/VSP – 1 seat
  • SP – 2 seats

Notable people

International relations

Sister cities

Amstelveen is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Burgemeester mr. G.J. (Fred) de Graaf" [Mayor mr. G.J. (Fred) de Graaf] (in Dutch). Gemeente Amstelveen. Archived from the original on 2014-02-26. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten" [Key figures for neighbourhoods]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Postcodetool for 1182JR". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "Contact." KLM Corporate. Retrieved on 28 September 2009.
  6. ↑ "Fact Sheet Archived 2009-02-26 at the Wayback Machine.." SkyTeam. Retrieved on 27 December 2008.
  7. ↑ "KLM office, Amsterdam." Air France-KLM. Retrieved on 18 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "Woking Town twinning". The Woking Town Twinning Association. Retrieved 2013-07-19.
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