The great focus of life is the Darn. Here stands the former Stadthuis converted in 1808 into a palace for King Louis Bonaparte, and still retained by the reigning family. Built by Van Kempen in 1648-55, and raised upon 13,659 piles, it extends 262 feet in length by 207 feet in breadth, and is sur mounted by a round tower rising 182 feet from the base. It is adorned on the exterior and in the interior with sculptures by Artus Quellinus, and has a hall 120 feet long, 57 wide and 90 high, lined with white Italian marble — an apartment of great splendor. The Nteuwe A erk (New Church), a Gothic edifice of 1408, is the finest ecclesiastical structure in the city, with a splendidly carved pulpit, and the tombs of Ad miral de Ruyter, the great Dutch \* and various other worthies. The via t..nurch (Oude Kerk), built in the 14th century, is rich in painted glass, has a grand organ and con tains several monuments of naval heroes. Lit erature and science are represented by a univer sity supported by the municipality (till 1876 known as the Athenwum Illustre), with a library of 148,000 volumes, including the Rosen thal collection of over 8,000 books on Jewish literature; by academics of arts and sciences, by museums and picture galleries, a palace of national industry, one of the finest botanical gardens in Europe, six theatres, etc. The new
Rijksmuseum contains a truly national collec tion of paintings, its choicest treasure being Rembrandt's (Night-guard.) The Six Gallery contains a small but priceless collection of Dutch masters. Modern art is represented in the Municipal and Fodor museums. Rembrandt (q.v.) made Amsterdam his home, and his statue (1852) now fronts the house he occupied. Spinoza was a native. There are many hospi tals and benevolent institutions, well supported and managed on good principles, including the celebrated Society for Public Welfare, with branches over all Holland, and various orphan asylums. A water supply was introduced in 1853. The exports from the Amsterdam dis trict to the United States attained the value of $30,183,706 in the first nine months of 1916, which is larger than the total for any corre sponding period. The increase was due chiefly to the transfer to Amsterdam of the business done at Antwerp before the war. Area 18% square miles. Pop. (1909) 566,131; (1913) est. 595,258.