RIPE 44 Meeting Website

The RIPE 44 Meeting took place from 27 to 31 January 2003 at the Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The meeting venue was located in the centre of Amsterdam opposite the Royal Palace.

RIPE 44 Meeting Report

webcasting trials (audio and video)

About 20,000 buildings make up the historical city centre (800 hectares) of Amsterdam. One third was built before 1850. Approximately 6,700 "national monuments" (i.e. historic buildings preserved by the national government authority) are located in this area, whereas another 290 "municipal monuments" are preserved by the Amsterdam council. A further 1,160 buildings fall outside these categories. They are labelled "original premises" because of their intrinsic cultural historical interest.

Amsterdam is the proud owner of one of the most important intact historical city centres of the world. Amsterdam is not a city of churches and palaces, but of monumental mansions. The only two houses in Amsterdam worthy of the name palace are the Royal Palace in the Dam Square and the Trippenhuis, Kloveniersburgwal 29. And even these two were not commissioned by royalty or aristocratic patrons. Originally, the Royal Palace was designed to serve as Amsterdam’s town hall and the Trippenhuis was built for wealthy citizens.

History:

C. 1270 Amsterdam is founded
Amsterdam is granted exemption from paying tolls on Dutch waterways, enabling it to focus on trade and fishing
1287 Storm breaches sand dunes, creating Zuiderzee and giving Amsterdam direct access to the sea
1300 Amsterdam is acknowledged as a city
1317 Amsterdam becomes part of Holland
1323 The city obtains exclusive rights for importing beer from Hamburg
1368 Amsterdam joins the Hanseatic League
1400s Amsterdam is governed by Philip of Burgundy
1519 Amsterdam comes under Spanish rule
1543 The political union of the Netherlands is created by Charles V, a descendant of Philip of Burgundy, with Brussels as the capital
1568 Start of the 80-year war – Holland revolts against the religious persecution of Spain, but Amsterdam remains loyal
1578 Amsterdam, isolated, signs a peace treaty with the rest of The Netherlands
1580 Portugal is conquered by Spain; the Dutch are forced to travel further afield in their search for trade; Amsterdam gains importance as a port
1585 Antwerp falls to the Spanish; Amsterdam experiences economic boom
1600s The Golden Age: Amsterdam emerges as Europe’s leading trade centre and culture flourishes; the age of Rembrandt etc
1602 Dutch East Indian Company is established
1609 Construction of Amsterdam’s three central canals
1648 Spain recognises Dutch independence
1672 The Netherlands is at war with France and is attacked by England
1689 William of Orange succeeds to the English throne as William III following the Glorious Revolution
1747 Willem IV of Orange assumes royal status
1795 Holland is occupied by the French and renamed the Batavian Republic; Lodewijk Napoleon, brother of the French emperor, is made head of the republic
1815 Willem I of Orange accepts the throne; although Amsterdam remains the formal capital – while the Government takes residence in The Hague – the city’s commercial and maritime glory has declined
1839 Belgium gains independence and The Netherlands is established within its modern-day frontiers
late 1800s Suez Canal opens; trade with Indonesia intensifies and the first diamonds arrive in Amsterdam

Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky
Dam 9
1012 JS Amsterdam
the Netherlands
tel: +31 20 554 9111
fax: +31 20 622 8607