The Watergraafsmeer is a polder

Polder

A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...

 in The Netherlands. It was reclaimed in 1629. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were many buitenplaats

Buitenplaats

A buitenplaats was a summer residence for rich townspeople in the Netherlands. During the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, many traders and city administrators in Dutch towns became very wealthy...

en in the Watergraafsmeer, though nowadays only one, Frankendael, remains.

Since 1921, the Watergraafsmeer is part of the city of Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 and its rural character has all but disappeared. It is located in the stadsdeel

Stadsdeel

A stadsdeel is the name used for city districts in some of the larger municipalities of the Netherlands.Amsterdam calls 7 of its 8 deelgemeenten stadsdeel...

 Oost/Watergraafsmeer

Oost/Watergraafsmeer

Oost-Watergraafsmeer is a stadsdeel of Amsterdam. It borders to Diemen, Duivendrecht, and the boroughs Amsterdam-Centrum, Oud-Zuid, Zeeburg, and Zuideramstel. The Watergraafsmeer part of the borough is a polder.Located in Oost/Watergraafsmeer:...

.
The most important streets in the Watergraafsmeer are the Middenweg and the Kruislaan.

Famous persons

• Johan Cruyff
  Johan Cruyff
  Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...
  
   (footballplayer)
• Gerard Reve
  Gerard Reve
  Gerard Kornelis van het Reve was a Dutch writer. He adopted a shortened version of his name, Gerard Reve in 1973, and that is how he is known today. Together with Willem Frederik Hermans and Harry Mulisch, he is considered one of the "Great Three" of Dutch post-war literature...
  
   (Dutch writer)
• Karel van het Reve
  Karel van het Reve
  Karel van het Reve was a Dutch writer, translator and literary historian, teaching and writing on Russian literature....
  
  (Dutch writer, translator, literary historian)

They grow up in Betondorp a neighbourhood in the Watergraafsmeer.

External links

Map of the former municipality, around 1868.