Founded in the late century, Amsterdam’s name originates from a dam on the Amstel River. The city is also often called the “Venice of the North”, due to its many canals.
What do the three ‘x’s in Amsterdam mean? There are several theories of its origins, among which are two of them:
1) That is derived from the coast of arms of family Persijn.
2) That the crosses stand for the 3 scourges that have hit Amsterdam in the history – water (flooding), fire and the plague.
Attention trivia buffs; the numbers are in, Amsterdam has over 2,500 houseboats, 654 gable stones and 8 windmills.
Amsterdam in Numbers
Inhabitants – over 811,185
Inhabitants in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area – 2,332,773
Nationalities – 178
Bicycles – 881,000
Trees – 220,000
Flower bulbs in parks and public gardens – 600,000
Parks – 40
Trams – 216
Ferries routes – 9
Markets – 32
Shops – 6,159
Antique shops – 165
Diamond polishing factories – 24
Canals – 165
Bridges – 1,281
Wooden drawbridges – 8
Glass-topped canal boats and saloon boats – 110
Houseboats – 2,500
16th, 17th and 18th century buildings – 8,863
Gable stones – 654
Royal Palace – 1
Statues and sculptures – 302
Windmills – 8
Museums – 75
Art galleries – 141
Paintings by Rembrandt – 22
Paintings by Van Gogh – 207
Wax statues at Madame Tussauds – 140
Types of animal at Artis Royal Zoo – 900
Historical church organs – 42
Concerts and theatrical performances per year – 9,000
Concerts and theatrical performances per day – 25
How impressive are these numbers to you?
19 thoughts on “Moving To Amsterdam: Fun Facts And Figures”
They even track the number of Van Gogh paintings, awesome!
They track everything, man!
So much of everything! So many canals and old buildings…I love it! Another number for you: about 12% of the population is expats :) No wonder when it’s so amazing!
I know!! By the way, we gotta catch up, soon!
Great post. Nice to see you with another favorite blogger of mine :)
Thanks, girl! Enjoy India with your mom :*!
Never knew so many interesting things about Amsterdam. Keep them coming. :)
Thanks, sweetie!
Whoa! Those are a lot of numbers and stats indeed – Amazing!
Indeed :)
…and the number of flower bulbs in parks? OMG!
Yeah, that’s a huge number!
I always wondered what those x’s in Amsterdam meant haha.
There’s more people living in Amsterdam than I thought!
Yes, definitely!
Incredible numbers! Houseboats, bikes, parks and markets – impressive. How much time do you still have left in studying in Amsterdam?
June 29th is my deadline for the thesis :)!!!
Love Amsterdam must be such a fun place to live!
Yes, definitely Becky!
The art alone would be enough to allow me reason to visit Amsterdam let alone live there, I wouldnt have guessed about the houseboats though, that’s some impressive stat work there. I love visiting art museums and Rembrandt remains one of my favourites, as are nearly any statues. It never ceases to amaze me what mankind is capable of in the name of art.