Amstelveen

Map of Nieuwer-Amstel, 1865–1870

Topographic map of Amstelveen, September 2014

During the French occupation between 1810 and 1814, Amstelveen 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 fewer, 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 (about 12 acres), 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.

In the early 20th century Amstelveen was a small rural village. The turf industry had collapsed, so the village had lost its revenues from it. The village was somewhat isolated, because it had no major railway or waterway. The main source of income was livestock farming, with some arable, but 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 Amsterdam. Forts were in those days more often named after rivers. "Fort at the Schiphol" was a ditch separating 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 to build a provincial road (Mayor of Sonweg) from Amstelveen to Schiphol, with a swing bridge over the circular canal of the Haarlemmermeer. The development of Schiphol Airport 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. Amsterdam's plan 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. Amstelveen's landscaping and added art attracted much international attention.

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

In 2018 the St. Urbanus Church in Bovenkerk caught fire. The tower remained standing but the rest of the church suffered severe damage.

The city's close proximity to Schiphol Airport makes it a prime location for people working in the aviation industry.

KLM head office

KPMG head office

Downtown Amstelveen

KLM Netherlands has its head office in Amstelveen (52.306117°N 4.842954°E / 52.306117; 4.842954).[4][5] Air France-KLM is represented by the KLM head office.[6]

In addition Amstelveen has the international headquarters of KPMG auditing firm. Large international corporations such as Canon and HP also have corporate offices in Amstelveen.

Tram line 5 between the centres of Amstelveen and Amsterdam

Metro line 51 once served Amstelveen, but the Amstelveen portion of that line closed so that it could be converted to a tram line. Line 51 was a light rail line (sneltram in Dutch) that used to run via Amsterdam Zuid station to Westwijk, a district within Amstelveen. Tram line 5 currently runs via Amsterdam Zuid to Stadshart (city centre) in Amstelveen; it partly shared tracks with the former line 51. A new tram line 25 is currently under construction to replace metro line 51, and is expected to open to Westwijk in early 2021 and to Uithoorn in 2024.[7][8]

Amstelveen has a point to point bus connection to other villages and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol as well as a local network. There is also an extensive bus system.

• Shopping Amstelveen city centre. This has received the number one award for best shopping center in the 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
• On the Amstel river is a cheese farm called Rembrandt Hoeve. It is about 1 mile from the Rembrandt Statue, accessible by bike, boat, car or bus.
• An Electric Museum-tram line still connects Amstelveen to Amsterdam in the summer, passing by the Amsterdamse Bos and Olympic rowing lake

• 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")

The municipal council of Amstelveen consists of 37 seats, which were in 2010 divided as follows:

• VRA Cricket Ground
• Wagener Stadium
• Amsterdamseweg
• Rietwijkeroord

• 
  Koningsdag
• 
  Brandweer, Amstelveen
• 
  Paulus Kerk
• 
  Boathouse Bosbaan

• Media related to Amstelveen at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website (in Dutch)
• Shopping Stadshart Amstelveen