Plantage

Plantage is a neighbourhood located in the Centrum district of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is bordered by Entrepotdok to the north, Plantage Muidergracht to the east and south, and Nieuwe Herengracht to the west. In the centre of the neighbourhood lies Artis zoo.HistoryThe area came within Amsterdam city limits after the completion of the fourth large urban expansion of 1663. Due to an economic crisis caused by the Disaster Year, the city government couldn't find enough buyers for the land. Construction in the area, which was then called Plantagie or Plantaadje, stagnated as a result. Instead, pleasure gardens and orchards were built where Amsterdam's citizens could go and relax in green surroundings.The plots of land in the neighbourhood were leased by the city for a period of 20 years (with the possibility of a 10-year extension). This was because the city council intended to sell the parcels later on; permanent buildings were therefore not allowed. Temporary buildings, however, were tolerated.In 1682, Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, opened its doors across from Wertheimpark, currently the only public park in the Centrum district of Amsterdam.The Royal Zoological Society "Natura Artis Magistra" opened Artis Zoo in 1838, making it the oldest zoo in The Netherlands. Of the three main canals of the Canal Belt, Prinsengracht initially extended across Plantage Muidergracht through Plantage towards Entrepotdok. Before it was filled in in 1866, this section of the canal ran through the centre of Artis, dividing it in two. The three ponds within the zoo complex are still reminders of this former part of the canal.