Amstelpark
The Amstelpark is a park in Amsterdam-Zuid. The park includes a labyrinth, a café, a restaurant, two galleries, an orangery, a petting zoo and a mini-golf course. The Amstelpark attracts between 800 000 and one million visitors a year.
Background
The Amstelpark was built and opened for the 1972 Floriade gardening exhibition. The park has its own train line, the Amstel train, which runs through the Rosarium, the rhododendron valley and the Riekermolen.
The park contains a variety of plant species from around the world, including a "rhododendron valley" with about 139 species of rhododendrons, blooming in April and May. At one point, the park lost about 30 percent of its larger trees due to disease.
The park contains a Japanese Garden, which was renovated in 2001 at the time of the celebration of the 400-year relationship between the Netherlands and Japan.
The Riekermolen windmill lies south of the Amstelpark. The windmill was situated here in 1636, was active until 1932, and was removed in 1956. The city council decided to rebuild the mill on the west side of the Amstel in 1961. Rembrandt sketched the windmill.
External links
Coordinates: 52°19′44″N 4°53′38″E / 52.329°N 4.894°E