Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. It is located on islands separated by numerous canals connected by bridges. This picturesque city is famous for its magnificent sights: the Royal Palace, the world's oldest stock exchange, the famous Dam Square, the museums of Madame Tussauds, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and many others. There is also a wonderful huge port, from which you can go on a cruise, you can enjoy amazing sea views.
After reading this article, you can find out about one of the most remarkable places of such a state as the Netherlands. Amsterdam (including the port) is of no small importance for the development of the entire economy of the country.
Amsterdam city
This is not only the capital, but also the largest city in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland. It has been the main city of the kingdom since 1814. It occupies the western part of the state of Amsterdam, where the mouths of the Hey and Amstel rivers are located. It connects to the North Sea via the Nordsee Canal.
The name of the capital of Holland came from two words: “Amstel” (river), “Dam” (“dam”). In the XII century, this place was just a small fishing village, and during the Golden Age of Holland the city became one of the most significant places, since a huge seaport was built here. Amsterdam has since become the largest shopping center.
In addition, Amsterdam is a place of concentration of a wide variety of cultures and customs, since people of more than 177 nationalities live here. Also in Amsterdam is the head office of the world famous Greenpeace.
Amsterdam is the financial and cultural center of the state. It houses the headquarters of 7 of the five hundred largest companies in the world: Philips, ING Groep, etc.
Location
The city is located on the shore of the IJsselmeer (bay). The Amstel River, flowing through the city center, has numerous canals and ducts. As noted above, the Nordsee Canal connects Amsterdam with the North Sea and the other canal (Amsterdam Rhine) with the Rhine River. It is noteworthy that the second channel is 2 meters below sea level.
The capital borders on the provinces of Flevoland and Utrecht. The total area of the city is 219.4 square meters. kilometers, and the population density is 4457 people per square meter. km
It should be noted that park areas and nature reserves occupy only 12% of the city due to the strong urbanization of Amsterdam. Natural landscapes and terrain are almost destroyed here.
Port of Amsterdam: photo, general information
The port in Amsterdam is the second largest in the Netherlands. It has a safe and vast water area, which is not affected by currents and tides.
Only 13 miles separate the port from the city of Emmeiden. This is the site of the confluence of the Hey River with the Nordsee (canal). The latter plays an important role for the port of Amsterdam. The canal is 24 kilometers long and 235 meters wide. The depth of 15 meters along almost the entire length makes it possible for vessels weighing up to 90 thousand tons to pass through it (there is the possibility of draft up to 14 meters).
Description
The seaport of Amsterdam is designed for the fast processing and transshipment of huge lots and a large mass of cargo. It also has a remarkable balance of linear Ro-Ro (ships transporting wheeled vehicles) and container traffic in both directions. A considerable part of the work of this port area (Amsterdam - Nordze) is associated with the transfer of food cargo: grain, oilseeds, vegetable oils, fruits, fish and other perishable and other refrigerated cargoes. Some of them are sent to the Baltic ports and to St. Petersburg. After delivery to the port, cargoes are delivered to Russian regions by land transport.
The port of Amsterdam has a total length of moorings of about 39 kilometers, half of which are for ships coming from the ocean. The port is divided into 2 main parts: the old port in the east (IJsselmeer), the new port in the west, but with deeper and wider backwaters connected directly with the Nordsee channel.
The port has 4 dry docks, the length of the repair berths is 14 thousand 500 meters. Bunkering is provided by barges. The port can provide ships with any kind of liquid fuel.
Climate
The port of Amsterdam is in a temperate region, with a large influence of the sea. Mostly northwestern winds prevail here, and quite often storms and squalling gusts occur.
In winter, air temperature rarely drops to negative values, and frosts occur only when large masses of air are moved from Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Summer is never hot, but it is relatively warm. The total average annual rainfall is 760 mm, most of which falls on the period from October to March.
In conclusion about the sights
The port of Amsterdam is notable for a considerable number of cultural and historical sights.
Amazingly romantic “grachts” (water channels) are the most pleasant place for walking. They divide the city into small islands, interconnected by bridges and bridges. There are about 600 channels with a total length of more than 100 kilometers. And the number of bridges reaches a total of 1200. The most famous and beautiful of them is the snow-white Mahehr Brug (translated as “Skinny Bridge”). It is named after the Maher sisters, who are the owners of one of the plots of land near the river.
There is even a wonderful song dedicated to these unique places, composed by the famous Belgian actor, poet and bard Jacques Brel.
The port of Amsterdam does not have large palaces in the surrounding territories. However, houses were lined up along the canals, which in the past were city residences of local merchants who earned unthinkable wealth from overseas trade. It happened that some of these buildings sometimes performed the role of warehouses for storing goods.
Similar historical buildings (17th century) are located not only in the center of Amsterdam. The city grew especially strongly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, in connection with which a rather curious and good version of urban architecture arose.