Ons Amsterdam

Ons Amsterdam is an illustrated Dutch monthly magazine devoted to the history of Amsterdam and to news and features about the city and its inhabitants. It was first published in January 1949 as an initiative of the Gemeentelijke Commissie Heemkennis Amsterdam (the municipal commission for local history and heritage awareness). The magazine covers every aspect of urban life: neighbourhoods, monuments, politics, art, sport, architecture, social movements, nature, archaeology, theatre, the economy, transport, music, notable Amsterdammers and much more. Its readership organised itself early on: in the same year the first issue appeared, readers founded the Heemkenniskring Ons Amsterdam, a local-history circle that in 2014 renamed itself Vereniging Ons Amsterdam. The title was privatised in 1992 and today operates as an independent publication. According to figures reported for 2022, it has a print run of about 13,000 copies, of which roughly 12,000 are sent to paying subscribers, and its website attracts around 20,000 visitors per month. The magazine has maintained a close, occasionally playful relationship with the city's public life: on the occasion of its 60th anniversary in September 2009, then-mayor Job Cohen served as guest editor-in-chief, and his successor Eberhard van der Laan took on the same honorary role in 2013. In 2010 it established the Ons Amsterdam Scriptieprijs, an annual prize for the best thesis on a piece of Amsterdam history. The publication remains active, offering subscriptions, a monthly print edition and a website with articles and an events agenda.

Ons Amsterdam began in January 1949 as a monthly illustrated magazine about the history of Amsterdam, launched on the initiative of the Gemeentelijke Commissie Heemkennis Amsterdam, a municipal commission for local history and heritage awareness. From the outset it combined historical articles with news and features about the city and its inhabitants, and it treated the whole of urban life as its subject: neighbourhoods, monuments, politics, art, sport, architecture, social movements, nature, archaeology, theatre, the economy, transport, music and notable Amsterdammers. The magazine's readership was organised almost immediately. In 1949, the same year the first issue appeared, readers founded the Heemkenniskring Ons Amsterdam, a local-history circle; in 2014 this body renamed itself Vereniging Ons Amsterdam. For its first decades the title was associated with the municipal heritage-education effort that had created it. A major turning point came in 1992, when the monthly was privatised, becoming an independent publication rather than a municipal initiative. It continued to appear monthly and to serve a dedicated subscriber base. In September 2009, for the magazine's 60th anniversary, Amsterdam's mayor Job Cohen appeared as guest editor-in-chief; his successor as mayor, Eberhard van der Laan, took on the same honorary task in 2013. On 30 September 2010 the magazine awarded the Ons Amsterdam Scriptieprijs for the first time, recognising the best thesis on a piece of Amsterdam history; the first winner was history student Hilde van Stelten of the University of Amsterdam (UvA), for a study of Amsterdam men's choirs in the 19th century. As of 2022 the magazine reported a print run of about 13,000 copies, around 12,000 of them going to paying subscribers, and roughly 20,000 monthly visitors to its website. The publication remains active, with a monthly print edition, a subscription model and a website carrying articles and an events agenda.

• 2014

  The Heemkenniskring Ons Amsterdam renames itself Vereniging Ons Amsterdam.

• 2013

  Mayor Eberhard van der Laan takes on the honorary role of guest editor-in-chief.

• 2010

  On 30 September the magazine awards the Ons Amsterdam Scriptieprijs for the first time; the first winner is UvA history student Hilde van Stelten.

• 2009

  For the 60th anniversary, Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen appears as guest editor-in-chief in September.

• 1992

  The monthly magazine is privatised.

• 1949

  First issue of the monthly magazine Ons Amsterdam published in January, on the initiative of the Gemeentelijke Commissie Heemkennis Amsterdam.

• 1949

  Readers found the Heemkenniskring Ons Amsterdam local-history circle in the same year the first issue appeared.

A long-running, locally rooted illustrated monthly for readers interested in Amsterdam's history, heritage and city life.

• Monthly print magazine (illustrated)

• Website with articles and events agenda

• Subscriptions (print and digital access)

1. 1Ons Amsterdam | Homeonsamsterdam.nl
2. 2Ons Amsterdamwikidata.org
3. 3Ons Amsterdamde.wikipedia.org