Gold of Amsterdam

Many a town in the Netherlands ogles Amsterdam for its seemingly magnetic pull on tourists. Amsterdam, on the other hand, is having mixed feelings about the ever increasing influx of people, drawn to its inner city. One of the most famous streets, the Kalverstraat, had to be closed down temporarily twice already, because of overcrowding. This unprecedented measure was taken once shop visitors were unable to leave, not because exits were locked, but simply because too many people were walking the street.

To lure foreign tourists out of Amsterdam, neighbouring towns are resorting to marketing tricks by ‘Amsterdamming’ their attractions. Amsterdam has no beaches, so now Zandvoort likes to call itself Amsterdam Beach. The Muiderslot at Muiden sees nothing wrong with naming it Amsterdam Castle. And although every Dutch child remembers being dragged along thousands and thousands of stupid tulips on a rainy day at the Keukenhof near Lisse, that now is promoted as Flowers of Amsterdam.

It is not just tourists the rest of the Netherlands is after, apparently also bankrobbers. The central bank of the Netherlands, DNB, has announced its plans to move its gold reserves and banknotes to Camp New Amsterdam, located at the former military air base Soesterberg. Hold your horses (and your guns), though, for it is not until 2022 that the new Cash Centre will have been finalised. In the meantime, there is this other New Amsterdam, better known as New York, where 31.3 percent of the Dutch gold is stored.