From a small, humble fishing community established around 1200 on the desolate, watery landscape of the Amstel River estuary, Amsterdam flourished over the ensuing centuries to become, by the 1600's, the main trading centre of northern Europe, the centre of a vast empire stretching across the world, and ultimately, a major financial centre. Eventually internal unrest and Napoleonic restrictions led to a decline in the fortunes of the city by the mid-1800's.
The "Golden Age of Amsterdam" usually refers to the 1600's by which stage the city had become rich through trade, with a rapidly expanding population. This increase led to ambitious plans to quadruple the size of the city, including the digging of three grand, encircling new canals. The land surrounding these new canals attracted wealthy, prominent residents, and their arrival happily coincided with a period of particularly fine domestic architecture. Numerous architects, painters and specialized artisans were at work, while money poured into the ever expanding city.
Amsterdam became successful abroad as well, with the Dutch colonizing the fertile Indonesian islands. A wealthy empire was established, based on the trade of spices in the East . The mighty Dutch East India Company, powered by its massive wooden ships, called "East Indiamen", thrived. In what was then known as the New World, large parts of Brazil were ruled by the Dutch. It was also the Dutch who bought Manhattan from its original owners, naming it New Amsterdam. Eventually, by the end of the 1600's, war with England had radically curtailed Dutch maritime power.
Though the empire declined, the Netherlands remained wealthy and, by the middle of the 1700's, Amsterdam was the world's financial capital. But all good things come to an end, and one hundred years on, with the end of the reign of Louis Napoleon, Amsterdam had declined and stagnated. The golden age was well and truly over.
Today, modern Amsterdam is a vibrant, bustling city, and home to many cultures. But it is easy to slip away into the quieter canal quarters where the tall, graceful merchants' houses line the tranquil waterways, and dream of a glorious, bygone Amsterdam.
Top sights evoking daily life during the Golden Age include:
- Willet - Holthuysen Museum: Beautiful, historic canal house
- Amstelkring Museum : Unique house with a secret chapel
- Van Loon Museum: First occupied by one of Rembrandt's most renowned pupils
- The Rembrandt House Museum: Original house of the great master Rembrandt
- Theatre Museum: Exquisitely renovated, and part of the Dutch Theatre Institute
- Biblical Museum: Beautifully preserved 17 th century kitchen
- Huis Marseille: This charming house is used for international photography exhibitions.
