{"id":49311,"date":"2025-01-26T20:08:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T20:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/amsterdam\/amsterdam-750-what-it-is-and-what-it-means-for-you-amsterdamian\/"},"modified":"2025-01-26T20:08:55","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T20:08:55","slug":"amsterdam-750-what-it-is-and-what-it-means-for-you-amsterdamian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=49311","title":{"rendered":"Amsterdam 750: What It Is and What It Means for You | Amsterdamian"},"content":{"rendered":"


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On 27 October 2025, the city of Amsterdam<\/a> celebrates its 750th birthday<\/strong>, and it wanted to be sure this special event won\u2019t go unnoticed! The festivities began in October<\/a> 2024 and will last a full year, with many events planned to mark this remarkable milestone. It\u2019s a well-rounded number, after all; the city is getting older, even though is still young compared to others. The slogan of the celebration is \u201cAmsterdam. Forever (Voor altijd)\u2026\u201d inviting you to fill in whatever Amsterdam means for you. Many people, born here, moving here or simply visiting, have a special place in their heart for this city. For me, Amsterdam will forever be a city like no other<\/strong>; a city that had my heart since the first time I rolled my troller from Central Station towards Rembrandtplein, not knowing that only a few years later it will become my home.<\/p>\n

Summary of this article:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Why is Amsterdam\u2019s birthday on 27 October?<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. What does Amsterdam 750 means for you<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Special events for Amsterdam 750<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Books to read about Amsterdam<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Amsterdamian\u2019s special celebration<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Changes in Amsterdam in the last few years<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. A special gift for Amsterdam lovers<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Why is Amsterdam\u2019s birthday on 27 October?<\/h2>\n

    Amsterdam, on its original name Amestelledamme, marks its birthday based on the first official document to mention its name<\/strong> (and not based on when it received city rights<\/strong>, which was in 1306). This document, called the Tolprivilege<\/a><\/em> (Toll Privilege), from 27 October 1275, is kept in the Treasury of the Amsterdam City Archives (Stadsarchief Amsterdam). It is a piece of parchment signed by Count Floris V of Holland, who grants to \u201cthe people who live near the dam in the Amstel\u201d, or \u201cthe inhabitants of Amsterdam\u201d (\u201chomines manentes apud Amestelledamme\u201d) toll-freedom within his seigneury, as compensation for the damage which they suffered from him and his subjects. The Tolprivilege is brought up from the storage and shown to the public a few days each year, on the city\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n

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    \n\t\t\"Tolprivilege\"
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    Photo from Stadsarchief Amsterdam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    But the settlement mentioned in this paper existed in the area since around 1170 (as far as we know), even though not mentioned by name in other documents.<\/p>\n

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    \u201d The people who lived through Amsterdam\u2019s history have vanished. Nobody can tell their stories; nevertheless, dumb witnesses to what happened still exist in their thousands. Time and again small fragments are released from the silent archive. Beneath the foundation of an old house in the Warmoesstraat, next to the red-light district of the Oudekerksplein, building workers found a barely deteriorated layer of fourteenth-century cow dung and straw, and a pair of bone skates, remnants of the time when the Warmoesstraat was still a dyke, and Amsterdam a little village on the IJ. [\u2026] By the Herengracht, close to the Leidsestraat, excavations for a new bank laid bare a bizarre combination of objects: the lower beams of an old mill; a silver medallion bearing a rose-shaped cameo; several skeletons; a horn ointment press; smelling bottles; a medieval stone wall lamp; a single lady\u2019s shoe. [\u2026] Dig deeper still, however, and all of a sudden one encounters little but silence and the murmur of reeds along the banks of the Amstel. Where, around 1325, there was a solid city complete with harbour and fleet, houses and churches, workers, whores and burgomasters, only one and a half centuries earlier there had been nothing at all.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u2013 writes Geert Mak in his \u201cAmsterdam. A brief life of the city\u201d.<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    There are two legends about the city\u2019s birth<\/strong>: one speaks of a Norwegian prince who founded the settlement in gratitude for having his life saved by the gods, while the other credits a hunter and a fisherman, who were advised by a heron to build here as a solution to their worries about the future. There are also many stories, some more or less real, that we get from the 750 years of the city\u2019s existence, and it\u2019s a pleasure to read about them if you are interested in Amsterdam\u2019s history. I\u2019ll recommend a couple of resources below.<\/p>\n


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    \n\t\t\"October
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    \n\t<\/a><\/figure>\n

    What does Amsterdam 750 means for you<\/h2>\n

    If you live in Amsterdam, or you plan on visiting this year, there are many events, big and small<\/strong>, that you can attend. From museum exhibitions to neighbourhood parties and from quizzes to a party on a highway, there\u2019s a lot going on this year.<\/p>\n

    However, this celebration is for everyone, not only for those living in Amsterdam<\/strong>; everyone who had their heart touched at some point by this amazing city can celebrate even from afar. The Amsterdam 750 platform started a project called 750 stories<\/a> \u201cfor and by Amsterdammers, Weespers and everyone who carries the city in their hearts\u201d, which you can read on their website.<\/p>\n

    If you can\u2019t attend the events in person, you can still read about them on the various platforms, including this blog, where I will share as much as possible. You could read books about Amsterdam and its people, fiction or not. You could listen to its music, watch movies about it, and so on and so forth.<\/p>\n

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    Special events for Amsterdam 750<\/h2>\n