10 Facts that you don’t know about Amsterdam
There are things that you should always think about when you are told about a place. When you think of Paris, you’ll probably think of the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre. When in Rome, of course, you’ll do what the Romans do.
But when we think about Amsterdam, what facts do you usually think about?
The endless streams of canals, and the intertwining bridges from one island to another. And the awe inspiring field of tulips.
But then again, you knew all of that. So here are some facts that you don’t know about Amsterdam.
Sitting on Poles
To start up our facts, how about some shaky information. Amsterdam is built on top of wooden poles. Yes, you read that right. The Dutch capital is built on giant wooden poles. This is is the reason most of the houses in this city are crooked and are leaning sideways.
Which leads us to our next tidbit of information
Those houses are not drunk
The famous houses of Amsterdam are called the Dancing Houses.
These tilted houses were commissioned by rich Dutch merchants and bankers and is built on swamps using the aforementioned poles. Because of the nature of the foundation of the houses they tend to sink into the swamp. Thus causing the “dancing” of the houses.
A City On Top of Poles
There are approximately 11,000,000 houten palen or wooden poles that support Amsterdam. Oh yes, the Dutch capital is sitting on top of giant wooden poles. Each houses are supported by 15-20 meter poles fixed through the mud. The foundation is 11 meters deep and each house is supported by 10 poles on average.
Girls Galore
Listen up gentlemen! Amsterdam needs you.
The Dutch capital is dominated by women. There is more women in Amsterdam than there are men. And it is not close. For every 100 men between 20-25 years old, there are about 145 women.
Why Amsterdam
By this time, you’d probably been thinking of the fact about Amsterdam and its name. So don’t fret, we got you. Amsterdam is named after the river where it is seated on. The Amstel river and the dam that was built for it. The fishing village was named Amstellodamus.This is the predecessor of the name as sit evolves into the current iteration - Amsterdam.
Canals, canals and more canals
Here is a non-surprise. Amsterdam has a LOT of canals. It has 165 canals.
The whole measure of the canals add up to over 100 kilometers. The number of canals in Amsterdam exceeds the number of canals of Venice. Which has 150.
The canals of Amsterdam was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 2010.
Speaking of Canals
More canals, means an mind boggling number of bridges. Amsterdam is a proud site of 1281 bridges. That’s a lot of bridges to cross. For comparison, the city of Venice has only 409 bridges, Amsterdam has them beat on the number of bridges, almost three times over.
Houses? They float!
There are approximately 2500 houseboats in Amsterdam. Instead on sitting on poles, some houses just enjoys floating on the canals. And they have been there for more than a hundred years already. If you want to experience being on one, there is a Houseboat museum just for you.
XXX
That is not usual liberated mindset that is associated with Amsterdam, that is the number of Xs in the city’s coat of arms. It is not symbol for pornography and or a representation of the red light district. This is a symbol of the fisherman saint - St. Andrew. The apostle was crucified on an x-shaped cross. Since Amsterdam came from a fishing community, it is quite obvious where that symbol came from.
Bars! Bars! Bars!
Are you looking for a good time in Amsterdam? Well, you don’t need to look hard and long. You can choose from the 1,515 bars all around the city. Choose a watering hole and get a hold of a local brew and party Dutch style!
Speaking of visiting, BCN Montjuic Tourist Point will help you understand the city that you are visiting, by creating a personalized itinerary and hassle free booking. Those bridges won’t be crossed by themselves.