Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
city on a Sandbar
Amsterdam is built upon millions of wooden pilings. The city
was founded on unstable mud, which sits on stable sand. In
the Middle Ages, buildings were made of wood, which rests
lightly and easily on mud. But devastating fires repeatedly
wiped out entire neighborhoods, so stone became the build-
ing material of choice. Stone is fire resistant, but was too
heavy for a mud foundation, so for more support, pilings
were driven 30 feet through the mud and into the sand. The
Royal Palace sits upon 13,000 such pilings—still solid after
350 years. (The wood survives if kept wet and out of the air.)
Since World War II, concrete, rather than wood, has been
used for the pilings, with foundations driven 60 feet deep
through the first layer of sand, through more mud, and into
a second layer of sand. And today's biggest buildings have
foundations sinking as much as 120 feet deep.
the golden choir screen, and—with TV lights glaring and cameras
flashing—be crowned the next sovereign.
•LookingbetweentheRoyalPalaceandtheNewChurch,you'llseethe
fanciful brick facade of the Magna Plaza shopping center.
National Monument
The obelisk, which depicts a crucified Christ, men in chains,
and howling dogs, was built in 1956 as a
WWII memorial. Now it's considered a
monument for peace.
The Nazis occupied Holland from
1940-1945. They deported 100,000
Amsterdam Jews, driving many—includ-
ing young Anne Frank and her family—
into hiding. Near the end of the war, the
“Hunger Winter” of 194 4 -1945 kil il led
thousands and forced many to survive on
tulip bulbs. Today, Dutch people in their
mid-70s—whose growth-spurt years coin-
cided with the Hunger Winter—are easy
to identify, because they are uniformly short.
Circling the Square
You're at the center of Amsterdam. A few blocks to the east is
the top of the Red Light District. Amsterdam is a world center
for experimental theater, and several edgy theaters line the street
called the Nes (stretching south from Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky).
•FromDamSquare,headsouth(at
Rabobank
sign) on...
