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Amstelland is the area along the river Amstel, a river running north towards Amsterdam in southern North Holland.〔This is an adaptation of a translation of an unfootnoted article by the same name on the Dutch version of Wikipedia.〕 ==History== Amstelland's history is inextricably linked with the Amstel river and the growth of Amsterdam. Its history is essentially the history of Amstelveen, Aalsmeer, Ouderkerk aan de Amstel and the other towns. The river was important in medieval times as a waterway leading to the south and to Utrecht. The oldest settlement in the area was Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, which dated from the 11th century (and thus is older than Amsterdam). Amsterdam at this time was a small fishing village at the mouth of the Amstel. A part of Utrecht, this area was part of the seigniory (heerlijkheid) of the Van Aemstel family. At one point the right bank of the Amstel was being referred to as the "Old Amstel" (Ouder-Amstel), the left bank as the "New Amstel" (Nieuwer-Amstel). Peat was an important source of fuel at the time. The fens around the river were dredged for their peat. By the 13th century there was a small community of peat workers in the fens west of the Amstel -- the "Amstel fen" (Amstelveen) in Nieuwer-Amstel. Meanwhile, when a dam was constructed at the mouth of the Amstel, the now strategically located fishing hamlet in the north of Nieuwer-Amstel grew quickly. The settlement on the Amstel dam became "Amstellerdam" (or something similar), which became "Amsterdam". Amsterdam acquired city rights around 1300 and quickly dominated the entire region. After the Napoleonic occupation of the Netherlands, the French created new administrative divisions in the Netherlands and named them (as they did in France) after major rivers. From 1807 to 1810, there was a ''département'' called "Amstelland". The ''landdrost'' (''préfet'') was Jan van Styrum. On 1 January 1811 Amstelland was integrated into a new ''département'' called Zuyderzee (Zuyderzée), with van Styrum remaining in office until 11 February 1811. "Amstelland" was no longer used as the name. In 1896 and 1921 Amsterdam annexed parts of Nieuwer Amstel and built suburbs (e.g. Rivierenbuurt) along the Amstel. Today Amsterdam and Amstelveen have grown extensively, including large parts of land on both sides of the river. However, much of Amstelland has remained undeveloped and has retained its green, rural character. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Amstelland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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