Not many people (also not the locals!) know that Amsterdam has 8 windmills. Two of them can be visited. The Sloten Windmill is the easiest to access and specially made suitable for tourists. Windmill 'de Otter' is a different story. This hidden treasure (a 20 minutes' walk from Dam Square) can be visited on weekdays, and on Friday the miller is (normally) present to let it be in operation. With a bit of luck he saws tree stems, just like they did in the 17th century. The inside can be entered on a ladder, and will hold only 2 or 3 people at a time.

Amsterdam City

Amsterdam , the official capital of the Netherlands, lies on the banks of two bodies of water, the IJ bay and the Amstel river. Founded in the late 12th century as a small fishing village on the banks of the Amstel, it is now the largest city in the country and its financial and cultural centre. As of 2005, the population of the city proper is 742,951^[1]; the population of the greater Amsterdam area is approximately 1.5 million.

Amsterdam has one of the largest historic city centres in Europe, dating largely from the 17th century. At this time, a series of concentric, semi-circular canals ("grachten") were dug around the old city centre. Along the canals houses and warehouses were built. The canals still define Amsterdam's layout and appearance today. Many fine houses and mansions are situated along the canals. Some of the narrow brick houses are gradually sinking because they are built on wooden piles to cope with the marshy subsoil.

Although Amsterdam is officially designated as the capital of the Netherlands, it has never been (save a brief period between 1808 and 1810), the seat of the court, government, or parliament of the Netherlands, which are all located at The Hague. Amsterdam is also not the capital of the province in which it is located, North Holland, whose capital is located at Haarlem. See capital of the Netherlands for more information.

Amsterdam City

Amsterdam City

Amsterdam City

Modern Party of Amsterdam City

Amsterdam City

Amsterdam City

Den Haag

The Hague is the third-largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 472,087 (January 1 2005) (700,000 in the greater metropolitan area) and an area of approximately 100 km². It is located in the west of the country, in the province South Holland, of which it is also the provincial capital.

The Hague is the seat of government, but, somewhat anomalously, not the capital of the Netherlands, a role set aside by the Dutch constitution for Amsterdam. The Hague is the home of the "Eerste Kamer" (literally "First Chamber") or "Senaat" and the "Tweede Kamer" (literally "Second Chamber"), respectively the upper and lower houses forming the "Staten Generaal" (literally the "Estates-General"). Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives and works in The Hague. All foreign embassies and government ministries are located in the city, as well as the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (The Supreme Court) and many lobbying organisations, including the Association of Netherlands Municipalities VNG.

Roterdam City

On May 14, 1940 Rotterdam was bombed by the German Luftwaffe, on the last of five days of war in the Netherlands (save Zeeland). The heart of the city was almost completely destroyed, which Ossip Zadkine later expressed strikingly with his statue Stad zonder hart (City without a heart). The statue is located near the Leuvehaven, not far from the Erasmusbrug in the north of the city. From the 1950s through the 1970s the city was rebuilt. It remained quite windy and open until the city councils from the 1980s on began developing an active architectural policy. Daring and new styles of apartments, office buildings and recreation facilities resulted in a more 'livable' city center with a new skyline. In the 1990s a new business centre on the south bank of the river, the Kop van Zuid has been built. The City Hall survived the bombing campaign.

Roterdam City

Roterdam City

Roterdam City

Rotterdam (pronunciation (help·info)), located in the province of South Holland, is the second largest municipality in the Netherlands. The city has the largest port in Europe and was until recently the world's busiest port; it is found on the banks of the river the Nieuwe Maas, one of the streams in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse rivers. The name "Rotterdam" is derived from a dam in a small river, the Rotte, which joins the Nieuwe Maas at the heart of the city.