Friday, December 29 2006, 9:59AM
The year 2006 will be the warmest year since temperature measurements started in Holland, in 1706.
This year has been remarkable, as it was a year of various broken heat records. July and September had the highest average temperature since 1706, and also the autumn as [....]
Thursday, December 28 2006, 9:34AM
The number of murders (and manslaughter) in Amsterdam in 2006 has decreased with more than 50%.
Whereas in 2005 36 people died in Amsterdam because of violence, in 2006 this number is (until today) only 17.
Also other big cities have seen a radical decrease. [....]
Thursday, December 14 2006, 5:58PM
Today the biggest video screen in Europe has been opened on Rembrandtplein square. Passers-by can interact with the screen with a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone.
The screen is 7.6 by 15 meter and it will show movie and video clips.
At first movie clips about art, [....]
Friday, December 08 2006, 3:44PM
The new Renault R27 will be presented on January 24 in Amsterdam.
The presentation will be in The Factory, on a former industrial area in the East of Amsterdam-Centre.
The French team has typically unveiled its [....]
Wednesday, December 06 2006, 1:20PM
Amsterdam has announced that, starting June 2007, a new type of certified taxi will operate in Amsterdam.
The new type of taxi, called Amsterdamtaxi, will have at least the following qualities:
- clear pricing
- very good knowledge of Amsterdam streets
- no refusal [....]
Tuesday, December 05 2006, 10:53AM
The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, has been chosen as number two of the world's best mayors. The contest was won by John So, the mayor of Melbourne, Australia.
Mayor Cohen was particularly praised for his policy after the assassination of the filmmaker Theo van Gogh, [....]
Friday, December 01 2006, 12:26PM
The city of Amsterdam has ordered about one third of the prostitution businesses in the Red Light District to close down before the end of the year.
The decision involves the closure of 33 companies, with a total of about 60 windows. One company can - with one license [....]
Thursday, November 30 2006, 1:18PM
The exhibition about stolen art from Jewish citizens 'Geroofd, maar van wie?' ('Looted, but from whom?') will be open from 30 November 2006 to 25 February 2007 in the Hollandsche Schouwburg (the Dutch Theatre) in Amsterdam.
During the Second World War, tens of [....]
Tuesday, November 28 2006, 7:04PM
Amsterdam has a new museum: the Diamond Museum.
The new museum is located at Museumplein, between the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.
The museum aims to get 50,000 to 100,000 a year. The museum will give information about diamonds, the diamond industry, the [....]
Tuesday, November 28 2006, 3:46PM
The authorities of Amsterdam Centrum have a plan to silence the carillon of the famous Westerkerk church during the night.
The 17th century Westerkerk church is located very close to the Jordaan area, almost next to the Anne Frank House.
The bells of the church play [....]
Monday, November 27 2006, 7:07PM
The new Michelin guide for 2007 has appeared. One restaurant in Amsterdam lost its star (Christophe).
One year ago 3 restaurants lost a star, the number of restaurants with a Michelin star went from 7 to 5. This year the number goes to 4.
There are no other changes [....]
Friday, November 24 2006, 2:20PM
The yearly open air Christmas market is not on Dam Square this year, but on 2 different locations.
The markets will be held on Thorbeckeplein/Rembrandtplein square and on the Beursplein square (next to the Beurs van Berlage at Damrak).
The markets will be open [....]
Thursday, November 23 2006, 12:31AM
Today were the elections for the new Parliament in the Netherlands. The turnout was more than 80%. All big political parties have lost votes to smaller parties on the left and the right side of the political spectrum.
The current government is a coalition of [....]
Thursday, November 16 2006, 11:01PM
Chestnuts from the chestnut tree that grows behind the Anne Frank House will be distributed amongst the hundreds of Anne Frank schools worldwide.
The chestnut tree is ill beyond cure, and will be cut down. The tree is described by Anne Frank in her diary several [....]
Wednesday, November 15 2006, 10:16PM
The yearly arrival in Amsterdam of the childrens' saint Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) is due on Sunday November 19.
Around 12 noon he will arrive, by boat, at the Scheepvaartmuseum, where he will be [....]
Wednesday, November 15 2006, 7:31PM
From Monday November 20 to January 7 there will be an ice skating rink on Leidseplein square.
In previous years the ice skating rink used to be on Dam Square or Museumplein square, but this year permission has been give to set up a rink on Leidseplein, together with a [....]
Tuesday, November 14 2006, 7:01PM
The chestnut tree that Anne Frank described in her famous diary is dying. The city has decided it must be cut down.
The tree, which has become famous because it was the tree that Anne Frank could see from her hiding place, and which she described in her diary, has a [....]
Monday, November 13 2006, 6:08PM
The controversial exhibition 'Bodies, the Exhibition' will open in Amsterdam, in the Beurs van Berlage, on November 25.
The exhibition shows real human bodies, in order to educate about the structure and the workings of the human body.
The bodies have been conserved [....]
Monday, November 13 2006, 5:08PM
On Wednesday, November 15 there will be a strike of buses, trams and metros in Amsterdam, between 9am and 4pm.
The rest of the day public transport will be free (in Amsterdam).
In Amsterdam, the strike only hits buses, trams and metros. The ferries will operate like [....]
Monday, November 13 2006, 2:47PM
On Saturday afternoon November 18, there will be an open day in various sex clubs in Amsterdam and other parts of the country.
The 'National Relax Day' is an initiative of the Verening van Exploitanten van Relaxbedrijven (Association of Sex club owners). With the [....]
Friday, November 03 2006, 5:44PM
On 14 December 2006 at 17.30, Ms Eva Schloss-Gieringer will open the exhibition Eva’s Story. The hideaway paintings of Erich and Heinz Gieringer (Dutch: Eva's verhaal. De onderduikschilderijen van Erich en Heinz Geiringer) in the Dutch Resistance Museum.
The [....]
Thursday, November 02 2006, 1:19PM
New rules on what is permitted in hand luggage will take effect on 6 November 2006. Liquids, gels and aerosols are only allowed in hand luggage in small quantities (no more than 100 ml per item) and if correctly packaged.
These rules will apply to all passengers [....]
Tuesday, October 31 2006, 10:25AM
Just a few weeks before the national elections on November 22, Minister Nicolaï (Ministry of the Interior) has decided that about 10% of the voting computers are not safe enough.
Research has shown that if a persons types in his vote, this signal can be intercepted up [....]
Tuesday, October 31 2006, 9:53AM
All buses, trams and metros in Amsterdam (and Utrecht, Den Haag and Rotterdam) will stop for 5 minutes, from 11.55am to 12 o'clock.
The action is a protest against the planned privatization of public transport in the Netherlands.
Public transport staff is afraid they [....]
Wednesday, October 25 2006, 5:47PM
Two statues of the statue group depicting the Nightwatch, which stands on Rembrandtplein square, have been damaged.
It is the second time this year that the statues were damaged. The first time was in July of this year.
The police have arrested 2 men, 26 and 30 [....]
Tuesday, October 24 2006, 11:39PM
The design for the commemorative monument for Theo van Gogh (the filmmaker who got murderded on November 2 2004), is now on display in the Rijksmuseum.
The monument is to be placed in the Oosterpark, in Amsterdam East, early 2007. The statue is 4.6 meter high, and [....]
Tuesday, October 24 2006, 5:01PM
The yearly listing of Reporters without Borders has the Netherlands on top as the country with the highest degree of freedom of the press.
Holland shares the number 1 position with Finland, Iceland and Ireland. From these countries there is no recorded censorship, [....]
Friday, October 20 2006, 3:19PM
Alderman Tjeerd Herringa (responsible for traffic) has launched a plan to make parking on the edge of Amsterdam very cheap: just 1 Euro per day, which also includes 2 public transport tickets.
There are already special 'P+R' (Park and Ride) parking lots in the [....]
Friday, October 20 2006, 3:07PM
This evening, a free Iftar meal will be given to 150 homeless people in the City Hall of Amsterdam.
The meal is an initiative of the Islamic Relief organization, in cooperation with the (Christian) Salvation Army. An Iftar meal is a meal eaten after sunset during [....]
Thursday, October 19 2006, 3:11PM
The Pollux, a former navy training ship, has been restored and transformed into a cafe/restaurant.
The Pollux used to be located near the Maritime Museum (Scheepvaartmuseum), in the centre of Amsterdam.
The ship has been restored into its old splendour, and is now [....]
Tuesday, October 17 2006, 4:15PM
A special committee, the Committee for the Development of the Dutch Canon, has presented a new national history curriculum for school classes, the Dutch Canon.
The Dutch Canon lists 50 important topics of history, or 'windows of history', that are all topics that [....]
Monday, October 16 2006, 5:35PM
The building of the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam South has been listed as one of the buildings from the period after the second World War to become an official protected monument.
The list has been made by the National Service for Archaeology, Cultural [....]
Wednesday, October 11 2006, 10:24PM
Amsterdam has moved up 26 places on the list of most expensive cities to live in. It moved from place 52 to 26.
The survey, by Mercers Human Resource Consulting, is carried out yearly by the consultancy firm, in 144 cities worldwide. Last year, Amsterdam went up 50 [....]
Monday, October 09 2006, 5:30PM
The hay fever season in the Netherlands may last 2 months longer than usual.
This is caused by the plant Ambrosia (ragweed), one of the causes of the allergy. The plant (common in North America) has become common in Southern Europe, and is causing more and more [....]
Monday, October 09 2006, 3:45PM
Until November 27, there will be a photo exhibition (name is 'Mensenwerk')with black and white photos about Amsterdam, from about 5 years after the end of World War II.
The exhibition is in the former Diamond Exchange, at Weesperstraat 4 in Amsterdam (just of [....]
Thursday, October 05 2006, 11:37PM
The British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (also known as Ali G) will visit Amsterdam to promote his new movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
He will visit Amsterdam on October 12, as the famous Kazachstan journalist [....]
Wednesday, October 04 2006, 7:17PM
As of tomorrow, the new butterfly pavillion can be visited in Amsterdam's Zoo, Artis.
The pavillion is a special greenhouse (because of the temperature requirements of the butterflies), that will house about a 1,000 butterflies.
The pavillion measures 1,000 square [....]
Wednesday, October 04 2006, 5:37PM
Last night, a man has been forced at knife point to use his ATM bank card for a total of 12 hours, by 3 robbers.
The man (36 years, from Den Haag) had parked his car in 'De Pijp', a neighbourhood just south of the centre of Amsterdam.
He was then attacked by 3 men [....]
Tuesday, October 03 2006, 3:21PM
From September 1 visitors to the Netherlands can ask for a tax refund if they shop for a minimum of E 50 on one day.
This makes tax-free shopping more attractive than in surrounding countries. The old minimum shopping was E 137.
A refund of up to 13.75 percent is [....]
Tuesday, October 03 2006, 3:13PM
The old guilder coins can be changed into Euro coins until December 31 2006, on all post offices in the Netherlands - if you have a bank account here.
After Holland became one of the 12 countries that use the Euro as a currency, it was decided that Dutch guilder coins [....]
Sunday, October 01 2006, 5:25PM
In 2 weekends on a row you can travel for E 2.- for a return ticket between Amsterdam and Den Haag (The Hague). This is normally E 17.50.
The reduced price is paid for by the government, because they want to reduce car traffic temporarily on the A4 highway, between [....]
Thursday, September 28 2006, 3:58PM
Princess Máxima (wife of the Crown Prince, and pregnant of her 3rd child) visited the Tropen Museum this morning.
The Tropen Museum has a special exhibtion for children about Bombay. The exhibition is a 1.5 hour [....]
Thursday, September 28 2006, 3:51PM
The special parking permits for the 4 princes who live in Amsterdam, and their wives, have been revoked.
The princes Maurits, Bernhard junior, Pieter-Christiaan and Floris had received a special parking permit, normally intended for care workers. According to [....]
Tuesday, September 26 2006, 11:37AM
The new sports centre and swimming pool Sportplaza Mercator will become a remarkable building.
Not only will there be a garden on the roof, the entire building will be covered with plants. The gables will are covered with a new, patented, layer system, which will have [....]
Thursday, September 14 2006, 10:15PM
The Rembrand 2006 year, commemorating the 400th birthday of the painter, turns out to be more successful than expected.
For the special Rembrandt exhibitions 900,000 visitors were expected, buying 1.5 million tickets for exhibitions, during the entire year.
This [....]
Friday, September 08 2006, 9:53AM
This weekend 54 monumental buildings are open to the public in Amsterdam, because of the yearly Open Monuments Day.
In Amsterdam Open Monument Day is on both September 9 and 10.
Many of the buildings listed on the website can normally be visited too, but some open [....]
Thursday, September 07 2006, 1:42PM
The exhibition 'Earth from Above', by the famous photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, is on display near the City Hall/Opera House.
The exhibition will run until November 30 2006. The exhibition consists of giant photographs taken from a helicopter. It is outside (in [....]
Monday, September 04 2006, 3:36PM
This week the Mövenpick hotel Amsterdam will be opened.
The hotel will be one of the largest hotels in Amsterdam, with 408 rooms on 20 floors.
The hotel is located between the Passengers Terminal Amsterdam (where the cruise ships moor), and the new Muziekgebouw aan [....]
Wednesday, August 30 2006, 11:35AM
A few days before the start of the Madonna Concerts in the Amsterdam Arena Stadium, the black ticket market is inundated with tickets. Tickets will probably be easily avaiable near the entrance, on the day of the concert.
There are so many tickets on the market, that [....]
Tuesday, August 29 2006, 11:36PM
The cattle market in Purmerend (a town just north of Amsterdam) will be closed down in 2007.
This has been decided by the town authorities of Purmerend. The market will stop at July 1, 2007.
The Earl of Egmond gave market rights to Purmerend on March 21 1484. Since [....]
Sunday, August 27 2006, 6:30PM
The Hungarian Nándor Gyöngyösi (29) has won the title 'Mister Gay Europe 2006'.
The last rounds of the contest were held in the Escape disco at Rembrandtplein Square.
Nándor Gyöngyösi, a computer engineer in his daily life, was one of the 20 contestants (from 17 [....]
Tuesday, August 22 2006, 11:27AM
From August 26 to September 17 there the first edition of the Euro Art Festival will be held in the Amstelpark.
The festival will have indoor as well as outdoor modern art exhibits (paintings, sculptures, digital work, etc.). It will be held every year.
The [....]
Friday, August 18 2006, 7:30PM
On Saturday September 2 there will be a barrel organ festival on the Nieuwmarkt Square, in the centre of Amsterdam.
Dutch barrel organs or street organs are famous for their size and fantastic, colourful design. Once there were many of them in the streets of Amsterdam [....]
Thursday, August 17 2006, 10:45AM
The yearly Uitmarkt has moved again to the city centre. This year's edition has more performances than ever before.
The Uitmarkt (site in Dutch only) is a festival marking the beginning of the new cultural season in [....]
Wednesday, August 16 2006, 11:43PM
Tourists in Amsterdam are frequently the victim of people who sell them old stamps.
The old stamps have a value in Dutch guilders or cents, the currency of the Netherlands before the Euro was introduced in 2002.
The old stamps are still valid, but their value is [....]
Monday, August 14 2006, 12:37PM
The top hotels Amsterdam Hilton and the Amsterdam Okura Hotel offer a special electric car to their guests since August 9.
The cars are hip, small electric cars, which are especially suitable for use in a city. The cars can have 2 persons, and have a maximum speed of [....]
Thursday, August 10 2006, 11:42PM
On Thursday August 17 (10pm) children can let a floating lantern into the Prinsengracht canal, next to the Westerkerk Church (Prinsengracht, corner Rozengracht).
In the lanterns the children can put their dearest wish. Together, the floating lanterns will make a nice [....]
Thursday, August 10 2006, 11:41AM
All incoming flights from Europe to London Heathrow have been cancelled.
The reason for the cancellation is the attempted terrorist attack on a plane from London to the US. The attack has been prevented, but security measures have been drastically stepped up on [....]
Friday, August 04 2006, 11:28PM
A new pub has been opened in Amsterdam: the Amsterdam Ice Bar.
The 'glasses' in the bar are made of ice, and the temperature inside is 8 degrees below zero. Visitors get special clothing to withstand the cold.
The Ice Bar also has a warm lounge recover from this [....]
Friday, August 04 2006, 11:13PM
The open air film festival to be held during the Gay Pride on the Nieuwmarkt Square has been cancelled.
The cancellation is due to lack of funding.
The full programme for gay pride can be found on the
Read More
Wednesday, August 02 2006, 12:41PM
The Ibis hotel next to the Central Station in Amsterdam is going to be the first big completely non-smoking hotel in Amsterdam.
It looked like the Mövenpick hotel, next to the Passengers Terminal Amsterdam, (to be opened in September of this year), was going to be the [....]
Wednesday, August 02 2006, 11:56AM
A group of 40,000 Amsterdammers will be the first to use the new chip card for public transport, that is going to replace the 'strippenkaart'.
Currently, to use public transport (bus, tram, metro), a so-called 'strippenkaart' is needed. This card works on all buses, [....]
Friday, July 28 2006, 5:22PM
The camp site 'Zeeburg' is this year more popular than ever.
It already has had 10,000 more visitors than last year, and often it has to turn down new visitors. The camp site space for 1,400 guests.
Because the site has been fully booked in the high season for the [....]
Monday, July 24 2006, 10:58PM
The city of Amsterdam will invite the authorities of Riga (the capital of Latvia) for next year's Amsterdam gay pride.
The reason for this is the incident that took place in Riga this week. The Riga gay pride march was prohibited by the local authorities, and as an [....]
Monday, July 24 2006, 4:19PM
Because of the continuing heatwave, several of the bridges in Amsterdam experience problems.
Some bridges have problems with opening and closing, causing delays for boats on the river Amstel, and some canals.
The bridge next to the Amstel Hotel also does not admit [....]
Friday, July 21 2006, 6:16PM
On Sunday July 23 there will be a street market with records and cd's on the Beursplein square.
Beursplein is located along Damrak, close to Dam Square, between the Bijenkorf department store and the Beurs van Berlage.
There are about 30 stalls with a variety of [....]
Thursday, July 20 2006, 6:50PM
The city of Amsterdam has taken steps to get the famous 17th century canal belt on the Unesco World Heritage List.
The canal belt is the concentric ring of canals was built from the year 1600 onward (the Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht).
The [....]
Wednesday, July 19 2006, 11:34PM
In the Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum) there is an exhibition about Rembrandt as he was used by the Nazis during World War II.
The Nazis tried to incorporate Rembrandt into the fascist ideology during their occupation of the Netherlands 1940-1945.
The artist [....]
Wednesday, July 19 2006, 2:16PM
Today the second heatwave of this year has been reached in Holland. The hot weather is expected to continue for a while.
Officially, there is a heatwave if in the town of De Bilt a temperature has been reached of at least 25 degrees Centigrade, and of these 5 days at [....]
Friday, July 14 2006, 11:01PM
The health authorities in Amsterdam have determined the most likely cause of the legionella outbreak earlier this week.
A cooling tower next the Post CS building is probably the cause of the outbreak. The building temporarily houses the
Read More
Thursday, July 13 2006, 3:31PM
The (about) 100 participating cars of the Amsterdam-Beijing Classic Car Endurance Rally will be parked on Dam Square from tomorrow afternoon.
The cars will park on Dam Square from 3.30pm tomorrow (Friday).
The real start of the race is on Saturday July 15, from [....]
Thursday, July 13 2006, 2:28PM
The Amsterdam International Fashion Week will not be held on the Museumplein square, as reported earlier.
The licences for the event (July 26-31) could not be given in time, and also the Museumplein is too expensive to rent for the organization.
The Fashion Week will [....]
Thursday, July 13 2006, 2:17PM
The health authorities have said that they believe the source of the legionalla outbreak is possibly in the area around the IJ (the water behind the Central Station).
Several cooling towers on top of office buildings have been closed, as well as fountains in the areas [....]
Tuesday, July 11 2006, 11:06PM
Today 4 more cases of legionella have been reported to the Amsterdam health authorities.
After the outbreak of legionalla was reported (see yesterday's news), health authorities around Amsterdam had also been warned. The 4 new cases all live outside Amsterdam, but had [....]
Monday, July 10 2006, 6:08PM
In the last few days 17 cases of legionalla have been reported to the Amsterdam health authority (GGGD).
One man died of the disease, 14 patients are still in hospital. Normally, about 10-20 people per year are diagnosed with legionella. The health authorities have [....]
Monday, July 10 2006, 12:53PM
On Saturday July 15, from 8am to 10am, there is a free breakfast in the garden of the Rijksmuseum.
The breakfast is served on the occassion of Rembrandt's 400th birthday (he was born July 15 1606 in Leiden).
During the breakfast, entrance to the museum is also [....]
Friday, July 07 2006, 4:30PM
On Sunday July 9 there will be the book market again on Dam Square.
About 100 book dealers will display their (antiquarian) books in stalls, from 10 to 5.
Friday, July 07 2006, 12:35AM
It is an impossible dream: to have all paintings made by Rembrandt together in one exhibition.
This is why the Beurs van Berlage has a special [....]
Wednesday, July 05 2006, 1:31PM
The Marnix has reopened in the Amsterdam Jordaan district.
Apart from 2 swimming pools, the new centre has a 'Spa & Health Centrum' (which will open this autumn), a sports centre, gym facilities, and a restaurant.
One of the swimming pools is on the same level as [....]
Tuesday, June 27 2006, 5:45PM
The Queen has today opened the Muiderslot castle, after an extensive redecoration.
The Muiderslot (official website in Dutch, here is an [....]
Tuesday, June 27 2006, 10:29AM
The man who was arrested yesterday for damaging a painting in the Rijksmuseum, turns out to be one of the most notorious art destroyers.
His name is Hans-Joachim Bohlmann, from Germany, also known as the 'acid assassin'. Between 1977 and 1988 he attacked 165 other [....]
Monday, June 26 2006, 5:05PM
Amsterdam has gone from 24 to 41 on the list of most expensive cities in the world, according to the Cost of Living Survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Mercer investigated 144 cities worldwide. Moscow, Seoul and Tokyo top the list, New York is number 10 [....]
Monday, June 26 2006, 12:06AM
This afternoon, a man has damaged a painting in the Rijksmuseum, by spraying a chemical on it.
The 69-year old man attempted to destroy the painting the 'Celebration of the Peace of [....]
Wednesday, June 21 2006, 11:54PM
The city of Amsterdam has announced that 37 of the approximately 170 brothels will be shut down.
The city has decided this on the grounds of suspicions that the owners are involved in criminal activities. A new law makes it possible to not only refuse a licence to new [....]
Friday, June 16 2006, 5:36PM
The famous fashion designers Viktor & Rolf have designed the new exhibtion 'Women from Tokyo & Paris' in the Van Gogh Museum.
'Women from Tokyo & Paris' reveals the influence of 19th-century Japanese prints and paintings by leading artists such as Eizan, Eisen and [....]
Wednesday, June 14 2006, 12:54AM
Parliament has passed a law that entitles Dutch citizens to free entrance to all National Museums.
After many debates in Parliament, a coalition of Liberals, Social Democrats and the Socialist Party forced the Minister of Culture (Medy van der Laan) to adopt a law to [....]
Wednesday, June 14 2006, 12:09AM
Amsterdam will host the Mr Gay Europe 2006 contest.
According to the organization, 'the Mr. Gay Europe Pageant is much more than a 'beauty contest'. The young man selected will be 'more than just a pretty face and a nice body'.
'While physical beauty will be part of [....]
Sunday, June 11 2006, 1:57PM
On Sunday morning a 30-year old woman was found dead in a hotel room in the Okura hotel, in neighbourhood De Pijp.
Apparently, the woman was found on the 17th floor of the hotel (a Japanese hotel, famous for its Japanes cuisine). The woman appears to have been [....]
Sunday, June 11 2006, 1:51PM
A group of teenagers in the age of 16 to 20 have beaten up 3 passers-by in the centre of Amsterdam. This was reported by the police yesterday.
The event took place on Saturday afternoon, around 4.30pm, in broad daylight, in the busiest shopping streets in down-town [....]
Wednesday, June 07 2006, 12:48AM
The Dutch ambassador to Estionia, Mr Hans Glaubitz, has decided to leave Estonia.
The reason given is that his husband (Mr Glaubitz is married to Raúl Garcia Laoa, a black man from Cuba) has experienced hatred against gays and racism in the baltic republic of [....]
Tuesday, June 06 2006, 5:07PM
Last night one of the statues depicting the famous Nightwatch painting by Rembrandt has been broken.
The statue group was placed on the Rembrandtplein square on the initiative of the business association Rembrandtplein, in celebration of the
Read More
Sunday, June 04 2006, 9:55PM
On June 9, the Vondelpark will become a golf course for 1 day, for the Vondelpark Open 2006.
The Vondelpark Open 2006 is a charity initiative of which the proceeds go the Cruyff Foundation and to maintenance [....]
Sunday, June 04 2006, 5:47PM
Today, the open air season has started for the Vondelpark Open Air Theater (Openluchttheater).
The opening act is performed by the Nederlands Kamerorkest, who perform the Royal Fireworks Music by Händel, the Trumpet Concert by Neruda and the Symphonie nr. 100 [....]
Thursday, June 01 2006, 11:53PM
With the opera 'After Life' by the Dutch composer Michel van der Aa the yearly Holland Festival will be opened on Friday evening.
The performance will take place in the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, and be attended by [....]
Thursday, June 01 2006, 10:35AM
Parked cars in Amsterdam are often towed away by mistake.
The Social and Civic Year Report of Amsterdam shows that car owners who appeal against the towing away of their cars, get the fine annulled in 15% of the cases. Of all city departments, this percentage is the [....]
Tuesday, May 30 2006, 11:07AM
Madelein Albright, the former Secretary of State of the United States, will visit Amsterdam to discuss her latest book.
In her new book – The Mighty and the Almighty (De Macht en de Almacht) – Madeleine Albright tackles the thorny subject of the role of faith in [....]
Friday, May 26 2006, 5:40PM
The Thalys train will celebrate its 10 years existence with cheap tickets.
In the night of 1 to 2 June the sale will start on the website.
Thalys is the high speed train, that started its service in 1996. It connects Amsterdam with Antwerp and Brussels (Belgium), [....]
Thursday, May 25 2006, 12:50PM
Another top fashion and gifts brand has opened a shop in the PC Hooftstraat. Yesterday, the French Hermès chain opened its first shop in the Netherlands.
The PC Hooftstraat is the most logical place for brands like Hermès, as this is the most upscale shopping street [....]
Wednesday, May 24 2006, 6:55PM
Amsterdam and Zandvoort are to get a new form of public transport.
The Tuk Tuk Company (in Dutch only) introduces the typically Thai vehicles to Amsterdam in October 2006.
According to the website the tuk tuks [....]
Wednesday, May 24 2006, 12:20AM
The province of Noord-Holland has published 7 do-it-yourself car tours around Amsterdam.
The car tours bring you along historic towns and nice landscapes around Amsterdam.
The routes can be downloaded and printed from
Read More
Tuesday, May 23 2006, 11:58PM
The princes Maurits, Bernhard junior, Pieter-Christiaan and Floris have received a special parking permit, normally intended for care workers.
The permit applies to the whole of Amsterdam, and can normally only be acquired by emergency workers and medical [....]
Tuesday, May 23 2006, 11:41PM
Also in the summer of 2006, Reguliersdwarsstraat will (partly) become a pedestrian street.
The street is well-known for its bars, restaurants and clubs, quite a few of which are gay venues.
Until a few years ago, during the summer months the streets would be crowded [....]
Monday, May 15 2006, 6:56PM
The well-known topless bar 'Teasers' has been ordered to close by the neighbourhood council Amsterdam-Centrum.
Teasers is particularly popular with tourists. The bar is located on a very prominent location at Damrak, the street that leads to the Central Station.
The [....]
Monday, May 15 2006, 6:38PM
All buildings in Amsterdam can be decorated for the World Championship Soccer, without a licence.
Between June 2 and July 10, Amsterdam will in all probability look very orange, to support the national soccer team in the World Championship that is held in [....]
Monday, May 15 2006, 6:30PM
A journalist of the Volkskrant has found out that Amsterdam's modern art museum Stedelijk Museum has to ask permission by ABN Amro Bank for sponsorship contracts.
The Stedelijk Museum was made more independent from the city government a few years ago, with the purpose [....]
Sunday, May 14 2006, 11:44PM
Amsterdam has again gone down on the list of cities with the most crimes.
Three years ago, Amsterdam was still number 1 on this list, last year it was 4th, and in 2005 it has gone to the 6th place.
The list is published every year by Algemeen Dagblad, one of [....]
Friday, May 12 2006, 12:04AM
On Thursday afternoon a few thousand households have been without electricity for a few hours.
The power outage was caused by the works for the new metro line, the Noord-Zuid-lijn, at Vijzelgracht.
The power outage had an effect in a large part of the centre, and in [....]
Thursday, May 11 2006, 11:55PM
The number of hotel guests in Amsterdam has gone up with 8% in 2005. These figures were announced by the city of Amsterdam.
The number of nights spent in Amsterdam grew less, with 3.5 percent. People visit more often, but stay shorter periods. The average stay of a [....]
Thursday, May 11 2006, 11:11PM
The extreme right wing Nationale Alliantie wants to organize a demonstration against pedophilia in Amsterdam, on May 27.
The specific target of the demonstration is the association Martijn, which is an organization [....]
Tuesday, May 09 2006, 9:40PM
The Amsterdam music website Fabchannel.com has received the Webby Award in the category music.
Webby Awards are for websites what Oscars are for movies. Fabchannel broadcasts pop concerts which were given in the [....]
Sunday, May 07 2006, 1:23PM
Last Friday the Blijburg beach on the new islands of IJburg went open.
The first few days were a great success, due to the nice weather.
Last year it was unclear whether Blijburg could find a new place. The beach had to move, because of the construction of new [....]
Friday, May 05 2006, 1:11PM
The painter Karel Appel has died Wednesday, at the age of 85, in the Swiss city of Zürich, where he lived.
Appel was famous for his experimental paint work, and particularly as a founding member of the CoBrA group.
The CoBrA group (CoBrA stands for Copenhagen, [....]
Thursday, May 04 2006, 11:23PM
The non-smokers association Clean Air Nederland has succeeded in collecting 56,000 signatures for a citizens' initiative about banning smoking in restaurants and bars.
With a minimum of 40,000 signatures any group can force the Dutch parliament to put a subject on the [....]
Thursday, May 04 2006, 7:37PM
The Amstel Botel is going to move to Amsterdam North.
The floating hotel, a large, white boat converted into a hotel with 175 rooms, presently is moored behind the Central Station.
As of January 2007, the boat will move to Amsterdam North. The boat will find a [....]
Wednesday, May 03 2006, 10:59PM
The 22nd edition of the Kunstrai was opened today, and will close on May 7. From now on the name will be changed into Art Amsterdam.
Art Amsterdam 2006 has 125 galleries, of which 26 are foreign galleries (from Paris, London and Berlin). The name Art Amsterdam refers [....]
Wednesday, May 03 2006, 10:30AM
After a sighting of a green heron in Amsterdam, bird watchers from all over the Netherlands, but also from Germany and Belgium, flock to the lake 'de Nieuwe Meer' in the outskirts of Amsterdam.
The green heron is extremely rare in Europe. It lives in Middle and North [....]
Sunday, April 30 2006, 1:50PM
The well-known map programme Google Earth has updated its Amsterdam photos.
Up to recently, only a small part of the centre of Amsterdam was visible in Google Earth. The rest of Amsterdam was an unclear blurry picture.
Most of Amsterdam is now clearly visible with [....]
Wednesday, April 26 2006, 11:21PM
On April 27, a special exhibition will open at the Hermitage in Amsterdam.
From 27 April 2006 the Hermitage Amsterdam will present a remarkable rediscovery in the rich collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. During this exhibition more than 100 [....]
Wednesday, April 26 2006, 11:42AM
This year's Queen's Day will be held on Saturday April 29.
Normally, the day is held on April 30, but if this is on a Sunday the celebrations are held on Saturday.
This year more licences for street parties and outside beer taps are issued than last year. Last year [....]
Tuesday, April 11 2006, 3:24PM
Amsterdam has ended on the 13th place on the list of world cities with the highest quality of living, according to the research organization Mercer.
This is down one place from the 12th position last year, and 3 places from the year before that.
In the European Union [....]
Thursday, April 06 2006, 10:04AM
Amsterdam is going to governed by a left wing coalition for the next 4 years.
The Social Democrats (PvdA) and the Green party (Groenlinks) have reached an agreement on the most important points. The Social Democrats have become by far the biggest party in last month's [....]
Thursday, April 06 2006, 9:56AM
The yearly Grachtenfestival (Canal Festival) will again grow larger. This year the concerts will also be held around the IJ, the water behind the Central Station.
As the locations in and around the IJ are included, more concerts will be given.
The festival is to be [....]
Tuesday, March 28 2006, 11:55AM
It is expected that some 110 cruise ships will visit Amsterdam, up 5 from last year.
The cruise ships will bring in 127,000 passengers.
Most ships moor at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam, the terminal that [....]
Monday, March 20 2006, 6:27PM
The licence that Van Aemstel excursions had received for carrying the weapons (halberds), has been withdrawn by the city.
The halberds were used to complete the Medieval uniforms worn by the excursion guide. The guide looks like a soldier from Rembrandt's time.
The tour is called 'Giggling with the [....]
Monday, March 20 2006, 5:59PM
The COC Amsterdam (the oldest gay movement organization in the Netherlands) has been saved by a subsidy by the city of Amsterdam.
COC Amsterdam was almost bankrupt a few months ago, and had sounded the alarm bells because of this. Benefit parties were organized, but [....]
Monday, March 20 2006, 5:51PM
The renovation of the Rijksmuseum takes 1.5 years longer than planned.
The re-opening of the Rijksmuseum was scheduled for mid 2008, but the date has now been moved to the end of 2009.
The delay is caused by several factors. An environmental report had to be made [....]
Wednesday, March 15 2006, 4:57PM
On Saturday March 18 the Silent Procession will be held in Amsterdam for the 125th time.
The (Catholic) procession is held because, according to tradition, on 15 March 1345, a man lay seriously ill in his house on Kalverstraat. Thinking he was about to die he called [....]
Monday, March 13 2006, 10:28PM
The number of 5-star hotels in Amsterdam has come down from 22 to 8.
The change is caused by the implementation of the new hotel classification system: the Benelux classification system has been replaced by the 'Nederlandse Hotel Classificatie'.
This was necessary to bring the hotel classification on an international level: the Netherlands used to have 22 5-star hotels, whereas the whole of the United States has only 32.
All hotels in Amsterdam will lose their current stars, and be judged again under the new system.
The Okura, l'Europe, the Amstel hotel and The Grand Hotel have already been judged and have maintained their 5 stars. The large Marriott hotel near the Leidseplein went from 5 to 3, and will fight the decision.
Apart from the 4 5-star hotels mentioned above, it is not clear what the remaining 4 5-star hotels in Amsterdam are. On websites such as bookings.nl (one of the largest booking websites in the Netherlands) and holland.com (the official website of the Netherlands Bureau of Tourism) list more than 8 5-star hotels in Amsterdam.
This may have to do with the transition from the old classification system to the new one, as this has not yet been finished.
Wednesday, March 08 2006, 12:13PM
Yesterday local elections were held in the Netherlands. The social democrats (PvdA) and the Socialist Party are the big winners in the city councils.
The parties constituting the current national government lost seats almost everywhere. The government now consist of a [....]
Monday, March 06 2006, 11:45PM
The food banks in Amsterdam have decided to stop the intake of new clients. They can not handle the large number of applications.
The food banks are a relatively recent development in Amsterdam (and in the Netherlands in general), but at the moment many new food banks [....]
Monday, March 06 2006, 11:38PM
The mayor of Amsterdam, Mr Job Cohen, has asked his colleague in Moscow (mr Loezjkov) to allow the gay pride parade in his city.
At the moment, the parade is forbidden in Moscow. The mayors of Berlin, London and Paris have also asked the mayor of Moscow to change his [....]
Monday, February 27 2006, 4:58PM
The House with the heads has been sold by the City of Amsterdam to Mr Joost Ritman, owner of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica.
The House with the heads (located at Keizersgracht [....]
Monday, February 27 2006, 4:24PM
As of today, the famous church tower of the Westerkerk will be closed for 14 months for an extensive maintenance operation.
The tower (with 90 meter the highest church tower in Amsterdam) was built in 1638.
Various materials on the inside and outside need [....]
Saturday, February 25 2006, 4:45PM
Although the Yoi store already opened in November 2005, it has moved several times: moving is part of the philosophy.
Yoi sell clothes that are manufactured with respect for 'humans, animals and the environment'. Although this type of fashion used to be associated [....]
Thursday, February 23 2006, 7:37PM
The Okura Hotel (in Amsterdam - De Pijp) will get the largest hotel suite in the Benelux.
All standard hotel suites are going to be larger, and this will mean that the Okura hotel will get the largest hotel rooms of all 5 star hotels in the Benelux.
The largest [....]
Wednesday, February 22 2006, 10:01PM
Today 400 journalists gathered at the Van Gogh Museum, for the press viewing of one of the most important exhibitions of this year.
The Rembrandt-Caravaggio exhibition is a confrontation of 2 famous [....]
Tuesday, February 21 2006, 3:23PM
The neighbourhood council has presented a plan to make the famous Leidseplein into a pedestrian zone.
Leidseplein is the square with the highest concentration of theatres, cinemas, restaurants, clubs and pubs of Amsterdam, and probably of the Netherlands too. The [....]
Saturday, February 18 2006, 6:49PM
After a 12 year long battle in the neighbourhood 'De Baarsjes', the construction of the largest mosque of Amsterdam, the Westermoskee can finally start.
The mosque will be built in Amsterdam-De Baarsjes, in Amsterdam West.
People in the neighbourhood have long [....]
Friday, February 17 2006, 11:50AM
Alderman Van der Horst has presented a plan for an Amsterdam quality taxi mark.
Hopefully by the beginning of 2007 there should be at least 300 recognizable taxis in Amsterdam that have the quality mark. Later this should grow to about 1,500, about half of all [....]
Wednesday, February 15 2006, 11:53AM
Get your high heels out of the closet, and win E 10,000 shopping money.
This is what is announced on the website of Glamour, a Dutch fashion and lifestyle magazine.
The run is to be held on March 9 in [....]
Monday, February 13 2006, 1:22PM
The ban on on-street smoking of marihuana around Mercatorplein square in neighbourhood de Baarsjes continues to attract attention, and cause new initiatives.
Soon after the placement of the
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Sunday, February 12 2006, 12:36PM
Amsterdam appears no longer to be the 'Gay Capital of Europe'. This is the result of research by the department 'Leisure Management' of the Inholland University.
Amsterdam as a popular destination for gay travellers now comes after cities like London, Berlin, Madrid, [....]
Friday, February 10 2006, 1:03PM
The Canadian photographer Finnbarr O'Reilly is the winner of the yearly World Press Photo contest.
The international jury of the 49th annual World Press Photo contest selected a color image of the Canadian photographer Finbarr O'Reilly of Reuters as World Press Photo [....]
Friday, February 10 2006, 11:55AM
The police has found an apartment in Amsterdam South that had been completely converted into a marihuana farm.
Almost 2,300 marihuana plants were found, which will be destroyed. Also a large quantity of equipment for growing the plants (lights etc.). A specialist [....]
Thursday, February 09 2006, 6:22PM
On Saturday February 18 there will be an open day in the Amsterdam Red Light District.
This means you can have a look (for free) in various theatres and brothels. Amongst the venues that take part in the open day are the famous club
Read More
Wednesday, February 08 2006, 12:32PM
Several muslim websites have placed calls to join a demonstration on Dam Square, on Saturday February 11, 1pm.
The demonstration is against 'insulting our prophet and our religion'. The demonstration is supposed to become a silent demonstration, people who want to [....]
Wednesday, February 08 2006, 12:16PM
COC Amsterdam, the oldest gay organization in the Netherlands, is in severe financial trouble.
The city of Amsterdam has ended the subsidies for the organization, and now it has to find its own funds. At present, it is in need of E 200,000 to survive, otherwise it [....]
Sunday, February 05 2006, 7:02PM
Today a woman was shot and seriously injured in the shopping mall 'Kalvertoren' in Kalverstraat, in the centre of Amsterdam.
The shopping mall is always busy, particularly on Sundays. After the shooting a panic broke out, and the mall was completely evacuated.
The [....]
Friday, February 03 2006, 3:11PM
The prohibition signs that were placed in Amsterdam-de Baarsjes (prohibiting the public smoking of marihuana around Mercatorplein) are now for sale.
The signs were already stolen a few times, and now the neighbourhood council has decided that they can be legally [....]
Wednesday, February 01 2006, 11:50PM
Neighbourhood 'de Baarsjes' has today installed the first traffic sign indicating a prohibition of on-street smoking of marihuana.
The prohibition was passed to reduce the hanging around of groups of youths in the neighbourhood.
Smoking of marihuana is now fined with [....]
Tuesday, January 31 2006, 2:07PM
Starting February 1, taxi drivers who refuse customers because they only need a short distance ride, can get fined E 50.-.
At this time, the measure only applies to the taxi stand at Central Station.
The measure is intended to improve the quality of taxi services in [....]
Monday, January 30 2006, 10:48PM
The village of Urk, the island Vlieland and the city of Amsterdam are the only 3 places in the Netherlands with less than 300 cars per 1,000 inhabitants.
This is reported by the CBS (Central Bureau voor de Statistiek).
For the island of Vlieland this is explained [....]
Sunday, January 29 2006, 2:41PM
Although the neighbourhood council Amsterdam East had previously decided the statue in commemoration of the assassinated filmmaker Theo van Gogh should be a cactus, it is not going to be so.
The winner of the design contest for the statue, to be place in the [....]
Sunday, January 29 2006, 2:26PM
Today was the Auschwitz commemoration in the Wertheim Park in Amsterdam.
Mayor Job Cohen held a speech, commemorating the 67 trains that went the concentration camp in Auschwithz and that departed from the Netherlands, carrying 60,000 people.
Like every year, the [....]
Friday, January 27 2006, 12:46PM
The hotels in Amsterdam have done well in 2005. The revenue per room, as well as the occupancy rate increased.
This is shown by a KPMG report about the revenue of hotel rooms in Europe.
Amsterdam is number 5 on the list of hotel room revenue, with an average of E [....]
Friday, January 27 2006, 10:15AM
The soccer club Manchester United will take part in the Amsterdam Tournament, in August this year.
The Amsterdam Tournament is an annual association football tournament played in the pre-season, hosted by [....]
Thursday, January 26 2006, 7:41PM
The much disputed Ceres Terminal in the harbour of Amsterdam will get 3 container lines that now work in Rotterdam.
The new lines are from Chile and China and South-East Asia.
The 3 new lines are an enormous relieve for the Ceres Terminal, which was financed by the [....]
Thursday, January 26 2006, 5:56PM
The new carriages that are going to run on the new North-South Line, that is currently under construction, will be tested by real hooligans.
The purpose of the test is to see whether the metro carriages are vandalism proof.
The testers, real Amsterdam 'vandals', [....]
Wednesday, January 25 2006, 11:33PM
The neighbourhood council Amsterdam-Centrum has won a victory in a 4-year court case about the expansion of the Hash Museum.
The 'Hash Marihuana and Hemp Museum' was opened in 1985, and attracts some 70,000 visitors each year.
It wanted to expand the museum to a [....]
Tuesday, January 24 2006, 5:35PM
Research has shown that on average 7% of the Amsterdam prostitutes carry the hiv virus, that can cause AIDS.
For the investigation a sample of 242 prostitutes were examined.
The virus occurs more often with transsexual prostitutes (17%), and also more often with [....]
Saturday, January 21 2006, 5:16PM
The Labour Union Museum ('De Burcht') will receive extra money to keep it open.
The museum is located in a building made by the architect Berlage, and is also named 'de Burcht' (the Fortress). This is the name it will carry in the future.
The museum was set up in [....]
Saturday, January 21 2006, 4:49PM
The Beurs van Berlage building, the large former goods exchange, maybe put on sale if Amsterdam Centrum does not get financial help.
The Amsterdam Centrum neighbourhood council is responsible for the maintenance of the prominent building along the Damrak in front of [....]
Saturday, January 21 2006, 12:30PM
The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) gets a summer edition in Amsterdam this year.
The summer edition will be part of the Holland Festival (June 2 to 25).
Some of the latest movies will be [....]
Friday, January 20 2006, 1:46PM
Yesterday the first real metro trip with the new public transport chip card was taken by Alderman van der Horst and Mr Kroon, general manager of the GVB (public transit company Amsterdam).
The trip marks the start of the implementation of the new chip card in [....]
Thursday, January 19 2006, 11:23AM
Yesterday the design for the new Filmmuseum was presented.
The new Filmmuseum (now located in the Vondelpark) will be built behind the Central Station, across the water and next to the Shell tower.
It is scheduled to be opened in 2009.
The design was made by the [....]
Wednesday, January 18 2006, 11:35AM
This year the Chinese New Year parade will be held on Saturday January 28.
2006 will be the Year of the Dog.
The lions and dragons will walk again on January 28, from 11am until approximately 5pm, on the Nieuwmarkt square in the old centre of Amsterdam, near the [....]
Wednesday, January 18 2006, 11:20AM
Starting January 27, the Rijksmuseum will be open until 10 pm on Fridays.
Between 6pm and 10pm there is a special evening programme, that changes every Friday.
Rembrandt will be the main theme for these programmes, because 2006 is the Rembrandt 400 Year.
Sunday, January 15 2006, 11:04PM
The LWO (the national Houseboat Association) has suggested that Amsterdam gets a monument listing for houseboats, similar to the monument listing for houses.
In Amsterdam there are about 2,600 houseboats, some of them very old. Because of the recent increase in [....]
Saturday, January 14 2006, 12:59AM
Last year, about 96,000 forged Euro coins were discovered in the European Union (75,000 in 2004).
Especially the 2 Euro coin was popular: about 80,000 of them were found.
The European Commission is not unsatisfied with this relatively low number, if compared to the [....]
Tuesday, January 10 2006, 1:19PM
Yesterday the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management checked hundreds of taxis throughout the country for carrying a valid taxi pass.
Having a taxi pass is required since January 1, and to get one a driver needs to pass an exam. The measure was taken [....]
Saturday, January 07 2006, 12:26PM
Cafes in Amsterdam will not be allowed to place beer taps or large tv screens out on the streets during the world soccer championship, to be held in Germany from June 9 to July 9.
This has been decided by the mayor of Amsterdam. He fears that the outdoor beer taps [....]
Friday, January 06 2006, 1:20PM
The soil under the Stedelijk Museum location at the Museum Square is seriously polluted with various poisonous materials.
The Stedelijk Museum is currently under restoration, and is temporarily located in a [....]
