History of Amstelveen

During the French occupation between 1810 and 1814, it was the capital of a canton in the French department Zuyderzée, and until 1964 the municipality of Amstelveen was called Nieuwer-Amstel. It is 'technically a large dorp (village), because it was never walled. The symbol adopted for Amstelveen was based on the Amsterdam symbol of three crosses, with one additional cross for distinction. The Thijssepark (in full the Dr Jac. P. Thijssepark), was the first heempark in the Netherlands and is one of sixteen heemparks or heemgroen in Amstelveen. Designed by landscape architect C.P.Broerse; following the ideas of the great Dutch naturalist and conservationist Jac. P. Thijsse, it was developed between 1940 and 1972 and covers an area of 5 hectares, and is situated just south of the Amsterdamse Bos. Amstelveen was chosen as an unlikely host of a match in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, for which the Netherlands had not qualified. South Africa played Kenya in the match. Former Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende started his political career as member of the council for Amstelveen. As a result of the vicinity of Schiphol (Amsterdam Airport), and its links to Amsterdam, Amstelveen has grown and become a cosmopolitan mix of many cultures living in Amstelveen.

In the early 20th century Amstelveen was a small rural village. The turf industry had collapsed, so the revenues of it were gone. The village was somewhat isolated, because no major rail and waterway were connected. The main source of income was livestockfarming with some arable, but the horticulture and floriculture were already emerging.

In 1852 the Haarlemmermeer polder was reclaimed and the "Fort at the Schiphol" was created as a defense for the capital Amsterdam. Forts were in those days more often named after rivers. "Fort at the Schiphol" was a separating ditch betweenAalsmeer and Amstelveen,and named after a piece of land from Amstelveen. Fort Schiphol, became a military airport in 1916. Four