Amsterdam (help·info) is the capital city of the Netherlands, located in the south of the province North Holland. The name Amsterdam literally means Amstel dam[4]. The city was founded in the late 12th century as a small fishing village. The historical centre with its concentric canals was largely built during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century. As of January 1, 2006 the city of Amsterdam has a population of 743,027 inhabitants and is by population size the largest city in the Netherlands. The urban area has a population of 1,209,419 inhabitants and is part of the conglomerate metropolitan area Randstad, with a population of 6,659,300 inhabitants.