Amstelveen

Amstelveen () is a municipality and city in the province of North Holland, Netherlands, with a population of 95,996 as of 2024. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area.

The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villages of Bovenkerk and Nes aan de Amstel. In addition, as well as Downtown Amstelveen (Dutch: ''Amstelveen stadshart''), it contains the following neighbourhoods: Westwijk, Bankras-Kostverloren, Groenelaan, Waardhuizen, Middenhoven, Randwijk, Elsrijk and Keizer Karelpark. The name comes from the Amstel, a local river (as does the name Amsterdam) and , meaning fen, peat, or moor. Amstelveen houses the international headquarters of Dutch national airline KLM (although it is slated to leave for Schiphol in 2024) and KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms. The Cobra Museum is also located in Amstelveen.

History

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 Amstelveen flag and coat of arms, both present 5 strips in a red, black, red, black, red pattern, with three crosses on the top black strip, and a single cross in the middle of the lower black strip. The symbols bear great similarity to that of Amsterdam's, though the exact nature of the relationship remains unclear. 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 Van 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 91,691 inhabitants (2020).

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 1993, Amstelveen was in the news for its Krokettenmotie, debated in the municipal council after a motion proposal by Jan Peter Balkenende. In 2004 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. The Amstelveen city centre also received the number one award for the Netherlands' best shopping centre in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

In 2018 the St. Urbanus Church (''Sint-Urbanuskerk'') 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.

Economy

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines as well as the commercial organisation for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg have their head offices in Amstelveen (), although it is slated to leave in 2024. Air France-KLM is represented by the KLM head office.

In addition, Amstelveen houses the international headquarters of Big Four accounting firm KPMG. Large international corporations such as Nestlé, Canon and Hewlett-Packard also have corporate offices in Amstelveen.

Transport

Amstelveen is served by two tram lines running south from Amsterdam Zuid station. Tram line 5 runs south via Amsterdam Zuid to Stadshart (city centre) in Amstelveen. Tram line 25 runs between Amsterdam Zuid station and Westwijk. Both tram lines serve stops between Amsterdam Zuid and Oranjebaan. Tram line 25 replaced a portion of Metro line 51 that used to run between Amsterdam Zuid station and Westwijk.

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.

Tourism and attractions

* Shopping Amstelveen city centre. This has received the number one award for best shopping center in the Netherlands in 2013, 2014 and 2015
* Cobra Museum is located in the centre (Stadshart) of Amstelveen.
* Museum Jan, is centrehousing a glass art collection
* Birthplace of the artist Jan Cornelis Hofman.
* Birthplace of the actress Famke Janssen.
* Birthplace of the actor Michiel Huisman.
* 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

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 (literally, "learning path–supporting education")

Other education

* The International School Amsterdam is located in Amstelveen.

Local government

The municipal council of Amstelveen consists of 37 seats, which were in 2022 divided as follows:

Notable people

Public thinking & public service

* Jan Arnoldus Schouten (1883–1971) a Dutch mathematician and academic
* Johanna Westerdijk (1883–1961) a Dutch plant pathologist and the first female Dutch professor
* Dick Bulterman (born 1951) professor of computer science at the Vrije Universiteit
* Klaas van Berkel (born 1953 in Nieuwer-Amstel) a Dutch historian of science and academic
* Arend Jan Boekestijn (born 1959) a Dutch former politician
* Jan Peter Balkenende (born 1956) a Dutch jurist and retired politician, a city councilman in Amstelveen and Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2002 to 2010
* Jan van Zanen (born 1961) a Dutch politician, Mayor of Amstelveen from 2005 to 2013
* Jules Maaten (born 1961 in Nieuwer-Amstel) a Dutch former politician
* Okke Ornstein

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