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In the hall of the Amsterdam City Archives you will find the World Heritage Podium. Here you will learn more about the Dutch World Heritage areas. In the Treasury of the Archives, located in the former vaults, you can view special archival treasures of the city.

Pay a visit to this museum and learn more about the canal belt of Amsterdam. The museum is located in a building from 1663. In the eighteenth century, this building was decorated with a few period rooms. The back room, for example, has wall paintings with Dutch landscapes. The wealthy banker Jan Willink lived here for some time at the end of the eighteenth century.

The Torensluisbrug is at 42 meters one of the widest bridges in Amsterdam. The Jan Roodenpoortstoren once stood on this bridge. You can still see the contours of this tower on the road surface. Originally this was a passage in the city wall. The city wall was eventually demolished in order to build the canal belt. The tower itself was not demolished until later.

This district was built in 1613 over existing farm paths and ditches, at the same time as the Canal Belt was built. This puts the street pattern with an acute angle on the Prinsengracht. The district was intended for craftsmen, workers, shopkeepers and immigrants, among others. The name 'Jordaan' originated at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

This charming little building with a double stepped gable on the corner of Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht is one of the most photographed places in Amsterdam. Both canals used to be in direct connection with the IJ and therefore they were important for water transport and storage of goods. Residential houses and warehouses were built around the canals.

This strip along the IJ was known until the end of the eighteenth century as the gallows field. The bodies of criminals sentenced to death dangled here from gallows. Chopped off heads and other body parts were displayed on stakes and boards.

Around 1660 a canal system was constructed here between Amsterdam and Hoorn. At this spot near 't Schouw there was a junction where one could choose to travel further to Monnickendam and Edam or to Purmerend and the Beemster.

Here you can see the remainder of the peat river Ilp. This river used to flow into the Purmermeer. In the Middle Ages, a dam was built here to protect the area behind against flooding. This is where Ilpendam owes its name.

Where the square is now, an impressive castle was demolished in 1941: Slot Purmersteyn. During their visit to the newly drained Beemster in 1612, the Orange princes Maurits and Frederik Hendrik stayed in the castle. In 1608 the tenders were held at the castle by digging the ring canal and the construction of a surrounding dyke for the drainage of the Beemster.

In the 17th century there was a palace here that was a lot more beautiful than the fifty other country estates in the Beemster. This palace with the name 'Vredenburg' was owned by the wealthy Amsterdam silk merchant Frederik Alewijn. The house was designed by Pieter Post. This house was demolished in 1819 and you can now see nothing of this beautiful building.

Part of the Beemster could be flooded during war, as part of the Defense Line of Amsterdam. This special defense line of 42 fortresses and a large number of dikes and locks was constructed between 1880 and 1920. This made it possible to create an impenetrable circle of water (inundations) around the capital. To prevent the village of Zuideoostbeemster from being flooded during the inundation, both the Nekkerweg and the Volgerweg were raised. Close by is an inlet sluice in the Zuiddijk of the Beemsterringvaart. After removing the bulkhead beams from the lock, the water could flow into the Beemsterpolder.

Exactly one hundred years after construction in the Northern Front, Fort aan de Nekkerweg started a new life as a hotel and wellness resort. The sleeping quarters where the soldiers' bunks stood a century ago have been transformed into luxurious hotel rooms. The contrast with history could hardly be greater. In 1918, conscientious objectors were held in the same rooms and shortly after World War II, NSB members and other collaborators were imprisoned here under appalling conditions. Despite this radical change in function, the history is still visible in many places. By preserving all original materials and details you still imagine yourself in a robust military defense.

Originally this location was the large country estate Jupiter with a country house, gardens and farmlands. The first owner of the land was Willem Usselinkcx, who lived in Amsterdam. He was one of the largest investors in the Beemster reclaimed land, but had to sell his property due to bankruptcy.

This historic farm was built in 1682 as a homestead for a wealthy Amsterdammer. The stately front house was occupied by the owners in the summer. The farm section behind it was inhabited by a tenant farmer and his family.

Start your visit to the Beemster UNESCO World Heritage Site at the Beemster Visitor Center. VVV Beemster is located in the stately mansion from 1878. Here you can buy cycling and walking routes, postcards, cups, books, flags and pennants, but also handmade Beemster soaps, beautiful hand and tea towels with exclusive design, VVV gift certificates and World Heritage stamps. Agricultural Museum Westerhem is located in the farmhouse behind the front house. The bell jar and its special construction are more than worth admiring. Get acquainted with the agricultural life in Beemster around 1920. The servants' room is unique. In the classically furnished farm garden there is an orchard with various old varieties of standard fruit and a source gas installation such as was previously present in many places in the Beemster. For more information, visit www.visitbeemster.nl

The Middenbeemster was founded in 1612 as the main village of the polder De Beemster. The seventeenth-century layout of Middenbeemster's market square has been preserved, which is why the square has been given the status of protected townscape.

Molen De Os is a former oil mill on the Zaanse Schans that was built before 1663. This mill is located between the sawmills 'het Jonge Schaap' and the 'Klaverblad'. De Os is one of the oldest industrial mills in the Zaan region and that says a lot. There are many different mills in this area. The mill was operated on wind power until 1916. In that year the hood, the blades and the scaffolding were removed, after which the mill was only used on engine power. From 1931, De Os was only used as a warehouse. The barns of the mill are now inhabited. The interior of the mill is still there, so the mill can always be restored and used again if needed.

Het Jonge Schaap is a sawmill that was built between 2006 and 2007 in the Zaanse Schans. This mill is a replica of a mill that was built in Zaandam in 1680. The original mill was demolished in 1942. Once in the Zaan region you could find more than a hundred working saw mills in the Bovenkruier, but now Het Jonge Schaap is the only one of its kind. The mill has been operational since the summer of 2007 and the mill will be officially used from September. The crankshaft of the mill has been broken several times, so that the mill could not turn for a while. When the mill is open you can take a look in the middle of the mill for a small fee. You can also watch a film about the construction of Het Jonge Schaap in the building next to the mill and an exhibition about sawmill life under the mill.

The Searcher is an oil mill on Zaanse Schans that was originally built in Zaandijk in 1676. In 1968 the mill was moved to Zaanse Schans.

Oliemolen dezoeker is a windmill that was built in 1672 in Zaandijk. In 1891 the mill was converted into a paint mill, but ten years later the mill was converted into an oil mill again. After that, cocoa waste was processed with the mill for a while. Until 1968 this mill was located south of the Sluissloot, after which the mill was moved to the Zaanse Schans. The mill had to be lifted at night over the overhead wires of the track. Not an everyday displacement and this event was therefore big news at this time. Aan de Zaan was a place for the mill on the site where the De Wind oil mill used to be. The mill is kept running in the summer on a professional basis. It is the only oil mill still operating regularly and it is also one of the five remaining oil mills in the Zaanstreek.

If you are walking or cycling through this area you would not think that this is man-made nature. When the plans for the first Coentunnel became concrete in the 1960s, this area was designated as a recreational area. The sand needed to build the Coentunnelweg turned the Stootersplas into a very deep lake, where marsh, reed and water birds quickly found their home. So massive that the area has been designated a protected nature reserve, as part of the Natura 2000 area. For walkers and cyclists, the Twiske is a 360-day green experience. In addition, the Twiske has a large and diverse range of activities and good restaurants on the water for the active visitor.

This area near the Twiske was created in 1589 as 'lazy dike'. Until the 19th century ships were put over the dike at the lock. Today the lock is fully automated.

D 'Admiraal is a chalk and trash mill from 1792. This mill is the last example of this type of mill. From 1900 onwards, chalk was ground here for the paint industry.