Amstelveen

Amstelveen

Amstelveen, a city close to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, was our first twin town.  A Charter of Friendship was signed between the two towns in 1989, following links first made in 1983.

Amstelveen is seven miles south of Amsterdam in the Province of North Holland close to Schiphol Intenational Airport, and has excellent road and rail links. 

This is the link to the town's website http://www.amstelveen.nl/

History

The city was first established in 1278 but did not begin to expand until the 17th century.  Originally a fishing and farming community, it became a centre for peat digging - the name Amstelveen means 'a watery place with peat'.  Like much of the Netherlands, the ground the town stood on had to be drained to be cultivated. Then, at the turn of the century, cattle ranching and agriculture took over and horticulture also started to develop.

Amstelveen today

The city's location led to rapid development in the 20th century.  The town now has a growing population of over 76,000.  Amstelveen is culturally diverse, with Japanese, British, American and Indonesian communities all making their homes in the city.  Over 4000 companies are based there, with world leading business in the field of information technology and computer services amongst them.

A new state of the art city centre was built in year 2000 including a new library,hotel, adult education centre, music school, cultural centre, restaurants, shops and many new facilities.  The world famous Cobra Modern Art Museum was opened in 1995.