Amstelveen

For the NV Reederij Amsterdam steamship, see SS Amstelveen.

Amstelveen
—  Municipality  —
Stadshart (Centre of Amstelveen).
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 52°18′N 4°52′E / 52.30°N 4.87°E / 52.30; 4.87Coordinates: 52°18′N 4°52′E / 52.30°N 4.87°E / 52.30; 4.87
Country	Netherlands
Province	North Holland
Area(2009)
- Total	44.05 km2 (17 sq mi)
- Land	41.56 km2 (16 sq mi)
- Water	2.49 km2 (1 sq mi)
Population (26 January 2009)
- Total	78,980
- Density	1,903/km2 (4,928.7/sq mi)
	Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	http://www.amstelveen.nl

Satellite photograph of Amstelveen

 Amstelveen (help·info) is a suburban municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam. The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the following villages and/or districts: Amstelveen, Bovenkerk, Westwijk, Bankras-Kostverloren, Groenelaan, Waardhuizen, Randwijk, Elsrijk, Keizer Karelpark, Nes aan de Amstel, Ouderkerk aan de Amstel (partly). The name Amstelveen comes from 'Amstel', a local river, and 'veen', meaning fen, peat, or moor.

KLM has its headquarters in Amstelveen. In addition Amstelveen has the international headquarters of one of the Big Four auditors, KPMG.^{[citation needed]}

History

During the French occupation between 1810 and 1814, it 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 symbol adopted for Amstelveen was based on the Amsterdam symbol of three crosses, with one additional cross for distinction. 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, 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 living in Amstelveen.

Local government

The municipal council of Amstelveen consists of 37 seats, which are divided as follows:

• VVD - 9 seats
• PvdA - 5 seats
• GroenLinks - 5 seats
• Burger Belangen - 4 seats
• CDA - 4 seats
• D66 - 6 seats
• Christen Unie - 1 seat
• OCA/VSP - 1 seat
• SP - 2 seats

Twinned with

• Woking in United Kingdom
• Villa El Salvador in Peru
• Tempelhof in Germany
• Óbuda-Békásmegyer in Hungary

Transportation

Amstelveen has a metro and tram connection with Amsterdam. The Metro is a larger version of the tram in which some bicycles may be taken. It has a good 'point to point' bus connection to other villages, Schiphol International Airport, Amsterdam as well as a local network.

Tourism and attractions

• Cobra Museum is located in the centre (Stadshart) of Amstelveen.
• Museum Jan van der Togt, is centrehousing a glass art collection
• Birthplace of the artist Jan Cornelis Hofman.
• Birthplace of the actress Famke Janssen.
• A statue of Rembrandt overlooks the river Amstel, south east from the Amstelpark, where a windmill open to visitors is also situated
• An Electrische Museumtramlijn still connects to Amsterdam in the summer, passing by the Amsterdamse Bos and Olympic rowing lake
• Further places of interest: Amsterdam,

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 and gymnasium).
• The Amstelveen College offers vmbo-tl, havo, and vwo (atheneum and gymnasium)
• The Panta Rhei offers vmbo, optionally with leerwegondersteunend onderwijs (literally, "learning path supporting education")

Other Education

• The International School Amsterdam is located in Amstelveen.

Economy

KLM head office

KLM has its headquarters in Amstelveen.^[1][2]52°18′22″N 4°50′35″E / 52.306117°N 4.842954°E / 52.306117; 4.842954 KLM Netherlands is also located in Amstelveen. Air France-KLM is represented by the KLM head office.^[3]

In addition Amstelveen has the international headquarters of one of the Big Four auditors, KPMG.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ "Contact." KLM Corporate. Retrieved on 28 September 2009.
2. ^ "Fact Sheet." SkyTeam. Retrieved on 27 December 2008.
3. ^ "KLM office, Amsterdam." Air France-KLM. Retrieved on 18 June 2010.

• Statistics are taken from the Sdu.nl (Dutch)

External links

Netherlands portal

• Official website Amstelveen
• Official website Amstelveen (Dutch)
• A map of the municipality Amstelveen
• Amstelveenweb.com (Dutch)
• Part of Amstelveen in the near future
• Website of Scouts group in Amstelveen
• Live weather in Amstelveen, follow live updates on Twitter and Facebook (meteoamstelveen)