NEITHERLAND KEY RING

Amsterdam (help·info) is the capital city of the Netherlands, located in the south of the province North Holland. The name Amsterdam literally means Amstel dam.[5] The city was founded in the late 12th century as a small fishing village. The historical centre is renowned for its concentric canals, largely built during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century.[6][7][8][9] The city has been compared with Venice. Beyond the canals, the similaraties have a basis in the cities' long histories of overseas trading, translating in openess and tolerance. As of January 1, 2006 the city of Amsterdam has a population of 743,027 inhabitants and is by population size the largest city in the Netherlands. The urban area has a population of 1,021,870 inhabitants and is part of the conglomerate metropolitan area Randstad, with a population of 6,659,300 inhabitants.