Inaugurated on July 2, 1952, it is named after George Maduro, a war hero and leftinent of II world war.

His parents wanted to commemorate a memorial in his remembrance and Mrs. Boon van der Starp, a member of society for the support of Dutch Sanatorium co-ordinated and their vision came true in the form of Madurodam. The profit gained out of this monument in the form of donations, entrance fees, other charges etc is used to develop the students' sanatorium.

Queen Beatrix of Holland was one of the chief patrons for this. Students and youth have been given prime importance for the development of this city- Madurodam. This is the reason Queen Beatrix when she was princess served as the first mayor of this city. Later many students of Hague have been elected as mayor. The youth city council of Madurodam has 25student members and they elect the mayor whose role is to take care of all activities of Madurodam.

Madurodam, the smallest city of Holland has largest collection of models of all types of structures and objects are made in 1:25 scale. It reflects the rich character of Dutch City and displays the most important and impressive examples of Dutch architecture. It can be called as a heritage city. There are about 1148 models in this miniature city comprising famous buildings from all over Holland. It includes both historical monuments as well as modern buildings.

All the scaled models are numbered and you can get the details of those buildings through the booklet supplied to you. The models, railway system, etc were done in Madurodam itself and some models have taken about 4 years to complete. The railway and tram system in this model city runs for a length of 4000m. Can you imagine that there are miniature model trains which even run over these tracks!! There are about 14 trains and trams running as miniature toy trains amusing children as well as elders.

The care taken for preparation of models of monuments is very interesting. Before commencing any model detailed photographs of the required buildings are taken and carefully studied. Then the model making process begins. The material used was wood in the initial days and as the days progressed, metals and synthetic materials are also used.

Enough care has been taken to landscape the whole city; the plants are carefully grown and trimmed to suit the scale. There are about 5000 miniature trees in and around the buildings, roads.

If any building exists, naturally it should have human figures, vehicles, vegetation etc to make it realistic and to get human scale. To achieve this there are as many as 13000 human figures in the form of pedestrians, spectators, inhabitants of the building etc. The roads in front of these buildings contain scaled models of the vehicle that is, cars, lorries, buses etc, which are 2389 in number. These roads also contain 50000 lighting fixtures/ system to make it more realistic and to give the true appearance of a city.

Everyone imagine Holland is nothing but a place full of canals and bridges. This imagination has been kept up and naturally one finds number of bridges, ships and canals. Some bridges also open up to give way for ships. Some huge modern vehicular bridges in reality have become pedestrian bridges when converted to miniature scale. There are 27 bridges and 58 ships precisely. These ships moving in canals amuse the visitors.

Madurodam also has an airport of its own which does not actually exist. There are 32 aeroplane models, which belong to different countries. The architecture of the airport building and the aeroplane models are worth watching.

The maintenance plays very important role here. At any given time at least 35 experts will be at work for new models or maintenance. Extreme care is taken for detailed imitation of building surrounding like roads, rail tracks, scenarios, cityscapes etc. If coin currencies are used the objects will move (there are 63 moving objects) and look more realistic.

This miniature model city also contains many other buildings of course not models. In the two modern restaurants with splendid view of the whole miniature city one can enjoy delicious food too. It also has two multi-functional halls with a capacity of 400 people that can be used for business meetings, symposiums, product release functions, social events etc. Lunch and dinner will be provided if the group participating in the event is large in number.

The gift shop (not model) contains very good collection of souvenirs and attractive gifts. Some collection of model making books helps to create a fantastic building model just by cutting and folding. Children can also enjoy with a memorable journey in the toy train.

It is a worth experience especially to architects as they get a glimpse of the Holland in one stretch and enjoy. The beautiful buildings, models, miniature gardens, miniature moving trains, ships etc remains in our memory forever. A slogan at Madurodam says " all of Holland in just one city" and we came out with unforgettable memories thinking, "when all of my country will be in one city".

Our city is very family oriented. The children and the parents dress up in Dutch costumes every year and have an official scrubbing of the streets to show our cleanliness. The “Dutch” cleanser company actually come to our city took pictures of our dancing Dutch girls and put it on their cleanser can for everyone to see.

We are proud of the fact that over the years, we have had many Presidents and Presidential campaigners come to be in our Saturday Parades. We have often had guest celebrities over the years as well as Royalty. The Queen of The Netherlands paid us a visit along with her court.

Many times the citizens join together to clean up the city before the festivities starts as they like putting on a clean face. The children practice marching in the Children's parade and you can listen to the music of the marching bands long before the tourists arrive.

The uniqueness of our city helped us to win an award for being one of the beautiful cities in America today. The whole community noted for working together in times of crisis as well as helping each other on a daily basis. We have many churches in our town some are large and others are small. Our city founded by Van Raalte and his followers are instrumental in keeping our ecosystem.

Holland, Michigan is located by the lake shore and has many factories for those who desire to relocate and move in our community. Heinz's major American pickle-processing plant is located in our city and one of the oldest manufacturers in the area. We have other factories such as Request Foods, Perrigo, Herman Miller, Prince Corp, Howard Miller (Clock Company known around the world) and many more manufacturers. We are proud of our manufacturers, as they have paid an important part in keeping with the environment and recycling.

We have shopping malls, major department stores, and other large chain stores just like other cities. We have in our downtown area very nice unique shops that are family owned and many times, you can find things that you never thought existed. The streets lined with red brick and have a melting system underneath to keep the snow away in the winter.

Our local restaurants pride themselves in excellent Dutch foods and Hispanic foods. The Russ Restaurant is famous for their foods all made at their own commissary and in the Dutch style.

The winter months in Holland are beautiful you may catch the waves as they freeze in a certain pattern or go ice-skating. We have cross-country skiing and ice fishing. We have places that you can visit and watch the artisans create beautiful candles, wooden shoes, and other things that depict our city.

Our children are robust and healthy. They walk to school or playing outside on their sleds all of them enjoy the hearty winter climate. Our city has many people of many races that work together as a team. We have many Hispanics besides the Dutch population. We have many other smaller minorities that co-exist in our city and take great pride in being a part of our celebration during our Tulip Festival.

The Hispanic people of our city have help to build the community culture into part of what it is today. The Cinco De Mayo festival starts the Tulip Festival off with a flare. The food and the hospitality that the Hispanic people in our community are an outstanding feature that adds to our Dutch heritage. The Cinco de Mayo festival has many dancers and singers who portray the culture of their native country just as the Dutch present the culture of their native country.

Our sister city in Mexico brought us a beautiful fountain that we keep in Kollens park which is beside lake Macatawa a subsidiary of Lake Michigan. Along side the beautiful fountain, you will find a statute of three Dutch people as they are landing in our community.

The diversity that our community has together is part of what makes our city the beautiful city it is today. I would like to invite all of you to visit us anytime but especially in May during the Cinco de Mayo and the Tulip Festival. You will get very good culture awareness and share with us our hope for the future, our children living, working, and praying together.

Today in our city, many people fill our market places and enjoy our beaches all summer long. The winter months are great for winter sports and we still enjoy the company of many visitors.

The city is always growing and changing with the modern times but it seems to maintain the early era of our Dutch and Spanish settlers. We have museums and art shops that many who enjoy our culture like to visit.

We also have several colleges that are Hope College, Davenport, and Grand Valley University, where many come to get their higher education. The city noted for its work with the disabled as well. The residents are very helpful with workshops, taking food to the elderly, day camps and a beautiful center for the seniors called Evergreen Commons.

Welcome to Holland, Michigan, U.S.A.

If you're the sort who plans ahead, you'll have booked a hotel room or hostel for the first night at least. If you're more adventurous, you'll just rock up with a bag and your savings. If you're the trusting kind, you'll have left the reservations to a mate. Your mate will mess up and you'll be stuck looking for a room anyway; whatever happens, be prepared to wander the streets of Amsterdam with little or no idea where you're going to sleep that night. Do not worry, this is normal; there are plenty of hotels and unless you are really unlucky or totally skint, you will eventually find somewhere. The streets of Amsterdam are generally safe, even at night, provided you remember two rules; Never buy weed offered to you on the street and never take photos or brandish cameras in the Red Light District. There are no legitimate dealers on the streets of Amsterdam; if you came for green shopping, use only licensed bars and cafes. Anyone offering a deal on the street is a mugger; decline and walk on by. Photography in the RLD is a serious faux pas that will see offenders thrown in the nearest canal; avoid upsetting the locals and restrain your holiday snaps to the tourist district, neighboring the RLD.

Amsterdam is a very friendly place; so long as you have money, there will always be someone willing to talk to you. If you're out alone, there are lots of other tourists about and its easy to join a wandering party. If you're with friends, be aware that your group is likely if not certain to get separated during your stay; make sure that everyone knows their way to certain major landmarks; Dam Square and Central. Central is where you came into town, assuming you arrived by train. Most of the cash points in the tourist area are at Central, so you'll be returning here at least once a day until you return home. The main street from Dam Square is Damrak; this main strip runs all the way to Dam Square. From Central, the tourist area of Amsterdam is on the right of Damrak; the RLD is to your left. Walk up and down Damrak until you get this basic geography; knowing this, you are then free to wander Amsterdam at will. If you get lost, head for Damrak, which will bring you back to Central.

To make navigation easier, you can get a room on Damrak; Hotel Neutral is a two-star joint above bureaux de change. There's not a lot to choose between two-star hotels in Amsterdam; expect tall, meandering stairs and generally revolting European toilets. Most hotel rooms have TVs and most hotels serve breakfast and tea in the mornings. The cheapest option is always a hostel, but these tend to be pre-booked long in advance; the upside of hotels is more privacy and a secure place to leave your bags.

The best bar in Amsterdam, by far, is The Other Place. Overlooking the canals in the heart of the RLD, formerly a Chinese Takeaway and hosting a tattoo parlor in the basement, The Other Place is themed on 70's cult-comic Fat Freddie's Cat. The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers stare from the walls. Walk up to the bar, buy a beer (there is only one beer in Amsterdam), and ask to see the menu. Watch as the surly barman open a secret compartment in the bar and produces a folder. Inside the folder are sample baggies. Read the menu and laugh. When you're done, bring a mate up to the bar and ask for him to see the menu; watch as he bursts out laughing too. The Other Place fills up, so arrive early and settle in a corner. The regulars lurk at the back of the bar; right at the front, the windows look out on the aforementioned view.

The best restaurant has to be La Cana, a place well documented in other tourist sources. It's the biggest restaurant in the city, comprising several floors each with a different vibe. The top floor is the bar and pool room. Downstairs, coffee shops, gift shops, a cafe and the main restaurant are an excellent one-stop fix for any tourist. The food is reasonably priced, hot, and considerably better than most Dutch Cuisine. Breakfast in Amsterdam is coffee and crisp bread with chocolate spread. Be warned that Tea can be an expensive vice in Amsterdam; tea is served in coffee cups, and any serious tea drinker will find they can spend more money on tea than on beer.

Amsterdam is a city that barely sleeps; if you should find yourself stuck for a hotel or hostel, just keep on going until dawn. The RLD shuts down around 0300 hours, but even then there are kebab shops open until 0500 and even a few all-night bars and cafes. At worst, you'll be twiddling your thumbs for a couple of hours in Dam Square, waiting for the city to wake up around dawn.