University of Amsterdam

Amsterdam is located in the west of the Netherlands and is the country's largest city. Also it is of great importance because the city is the capital of the country. If we go a little deeper into the name of the city then there is a concept behind the word "Amsterdam". Basically, the concept is that there is a dam inside the city whose name is "Amstel" and also there is a dam on the river so combining these two words the name of the city popped out as "Amsterdam". During the 12th Century Amsterdam became one of the leading and important ports for trading purposes. During that time the city was well known for the trade of diamonds.


Geographically Amsterdam is located on the west side of Holland. The position is 2 meters above sea level.

Amsterdam, due to the ocean, has a cool climate. Winters are very cold having temperatures most of the time under 0 degrees, and at night it even falls below -5 degrees easily. The summers are hot but most of the time just warm. The summer temperatures commonly range from 20 to 30 degrees. Rainfalls are a common thing in Amsterdam as the city enjoys rainfalls for 175 days on average throughout the year.

Architecture wise Amsterdam is a very rich city which has a lot of history. In the present day Amsterdam is the only city in the world which has two buildings made of total wood which were built in the 13th and 14th Centuries. In the starting era of construction people use to build their houses and all the other buildings from total wood but later, in the 16th Century, all the buildings made from wood were demolished and were rebuilt with stones and bricks. Most of the buildings in Amsterdam are of gothic style architecture.

The economy of the Netherlands is strong, the main reason behind that is the economy of Amsterdam really contributes in the economy of Netherlands. The stock Exchange of Amsterdam is the oldest of the world. It is considered as a financial platform or hub for the total economy of Holland.

For tourists Amsterdam is one of the most popular and destination. The city alone receives around 3 million tourists every year according to the latest 2009 statistics. The report also suggests that this figure is increasing day by day. Tourists are attracted towards Amsterdam because of its architecture and arts and natural beauty.

In the field of sports Holland has its own football league named as "Eredivise" and Amsterdam has a team playing in that league which is called as "Ajax Amsterdam". Their home ground is located in Amsterdam and is name as "The Amsterdam Arena".

In the educational sector Amsterdam has two universities and a number of schools and colleges which are producing quality students. Among all these institutions "University of Amsterdam" is highly regarded as the best educational institution in all of the Netherlands. Among schools and colleges, "The International Institute of Social History Amsterdam" is one of the biggest research institutions.