The heart of Amsterdam is de Dam Square. The name comes from the dam on the Amstel River, which laid the foundation for the development of the city and the center of the capital of the Netherlands.
The construction of the dam dates back to around 1270. She connected two small fishing villages. It is from this moment that the city begins its growth and development, it becomes the center of crafts and trade.
The dam was constantly fortified and expanded. It has grown to such an extent that it gradually turned into two fairly wide squares, Middelldam and Platse. Since the squares adjoined the place of mooring of fishing vessels, one of the largest fish markets was formed a few meters from the original pier, where you could buy the gifts of the rivers and the sea in any quantity.
In addition, the squares are gradually turning into the center of the city's political and economic life. The town hall was also erected there. In addition to the administrative building, the following were also built on the square:
- Weighing, which had to be demolished in 1808. by the will of the first ruler of Amsterdam, Louis Bonoparte (the building prevented him from admiring his possessions from the royal balcony).
- Zocher Stock Exchange (1837), built on the territory that was reclaimed from the water and allowed to significantly expand the area. But it did not last even a century - with the development of the Stock Market, trading in shares was firmly entrenched on the Berlage Stock Exchange, and the building itself was demolished.
- In 1914, this place was already dominated by one of the largest department stores of the time, De Bijenkorf.
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, an area of about 11,500 sq. m. becomes not only the center of the city, but actually turns into the heart of the Netherlands, where the most significant events and events take place - fairs, festivals, ceremonies, as well as demonstrations and protests.
sights
Dam Square is a mecca for tourists. Anyone who has visited the capital of the Netherlands at least once will definitely bring some wonderful photos, capturing himself and his friends against the background of sights.
The modern Dam Square is:
- Royal Palace towering in the western part of the square. The building is the personification of neoclassicism, from the 17th to the early 19th centuries it housed the city hall, then it became the seat of the ruling dynasty. Today King Willem - Alexander is in charge of the palace. In 2009, the building was reconstructed, and today, when members of the royal family are absent, anyone can see most of the apartments.
- New church , built in the 15th century, to replace the Old, which by this time did not accommodate all the parishioners. The building is built in the Gothic style and is one of the oldest architectural monuments. Since 1979, it has lost its main theological function. It hosts traveling exhibitions of artists and organ plays. If you want to visit one of the organ concerts so beloved by the Dutch, then you should take care of the tickets in advance.
- , one of the brightest and most famous museums in the world. The building itself fits organically into architectural ensemble square and is its decoration.
- National monument, located in the center of the square, was erected in 1956 in honor of the Dutch soldiers of the Second World War. The author of the project is the architect Jacobus Oud. Every spring, on the Day of Remembrance of the Dead, members of the royal family and leaders of the state, as well as guests and residents of the country, lay flowers and wreaths on it. The square itself is a symbol of cruelty: on May 8, 1945, on the day of the overthrow of the fascist regime, a cheering crowd filled the square. But the fun was interrupted by a burst of machine-gun fire. The Nazis put a machine gun on the roof of one of the houses and opened fire on the residents celebrating the victory. Sources say 22 people died and 120 were seriously injured that evening.
- Attractions that also work at night: Ferris wheel, shooting gallery for children, carousel.
Webcam
A webcam is installed on Dam Square, which broadcasts online 24 hours a day.
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"Heart" of the capital of the Netherlands, the main square of the city - Dam. It was Dam Square that, in fact, marked the beginning of the centuries-old history of Amsterdam.
A bit of history
This story is quite interesting and far from the most commonplace. Dam Square is a dam on the Amstel River. By the way, the name "Amsterdam" was formed precisely from these two derivatives: "Dam" and "Amstel". Until the 13th century, several fishing villages were located on the territory of the city. This place was located in a lowland, in a swamp, and was constantly exposed to floods. In this regard, it was decided to build a protective dam. It happened around 1270-1275. In the future, the dam was constantly strengthened and expanded. So gradually, in its place, a square was formed, which united all nearby settlements and laid the foundation for the development of the city.
Today, Dam Square is the center of political, commercial and cultural life not only Amsterdam, but the Netherlands as a whole.
The square is about 200 meters long and almost rectangular in shape. Such a scale and spaciousness is very atypical for Amsterdam. When you get to the square after narrow canals and cramped sidewalks, houses that are picking up each other, your eyes immediately start to scatter. But soon your attention will definitely focus on the majestic Royal Palace - the main architectural dominant of Dam Square.
A huge palace rises right in the center of the square. Its height is 90 meters. The Royal Palace was built in 1648, during the so-called "Golden Age" of Holland - the economic flourishing of the state.
All buildings in historic center Amsterdam stands on powerful piles of many meters, buried in swampy ground. The Royal Palace is no exception, its foundation required a record 13,659 piles 12 meters long! The architecture of the palace belongs to the style of Dutch classicism.
The name of this attraction fully justifies itself - the palace is at the disposal of the Dutch monarch. But not for permanent residence. Various ceremonial events are held here: reception of foreign guests, the ceremony of transferring the throne, weddings of the family of monarchs, etc. This happens, of course, not so often. Therefore, it was decided to make the Royal Palace accessible to tourists.
Inside you will find a huge hall measuring 36 by 18 meters and 27 meters high, as well as several smaller rooms decorated with paintings by the famous Rembrandt, Bol and other outstanding Dutch artists.
You can visit the Royal Palace every day from 10 am to 5 pm.
The entrance ticket costs 10 euros.
As mentioned above, sometimes royal ceremonies are held in the palace and on these days it is closed. Information about the work of the palace can be obtained on the official website, where you can also buy tickets online.
Other attractions of Dam Square
The Royal Palace is far from the only attraction of Dam Square.
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
On the left side (if you stand in the square facing the Royal Palace) is the building of a branch of the famous London Wax Museum Madame Tussauds. In total, there are about 20 such branches around the world, the Amsterdam one is one of the most famous. There are about 50 figures in the museum. Here you can take a photo with Lenin, Einstein, Barack Obama.
A unique opportunity: to look under the skirt of Merlin Monroe :) The famous Dutch artist Van Gogh is also here, and many, many others.
Buying a ticket at the entrance will cost 23.5 euros, and on the site € 19.5- good economy.
New Church (Nieuwe Kerk)
On the right side is the New Church. It is noteworthy that it is rather difficult to call it "new", because it was erected in the 15th century - just a few decades later than the Old Church :) Since then, Nieuwe Kerk has been repeatedly destroyed, rebuilt and reconstructed and only in the 17th century acquired its Gothic look , and at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century it was supplemented with neo-Gothic elements.
In fact, the building of this church is incredibly unique, because even after severe fires and destruction, there was some surviving part of it that has survived to this day. The modern appearance of the church contains a small part of each era - a real find for architecture lovers.
On this moment the church does not fulfill its original functions, but is used as showroom... The cost of visiting depends on the exhibition, on average it is 8-10 euros. You can find out the topic of the exhibition and the cost of a ticket for it on the official website of the New Church.
National monument
On Dam Square, there was a place for a memorial in memory of the victims of the Second World War. It is located right at the entrance to the square, on the opposite side from the Royal Palace. Netherlands like most European states, did not resist Hitler for long - only 5 days, after which a pro-German government was established here with all the ensuing consequences. The 22-meter column was installed in 1956. Every year on May 4, on the Day of Remembrance, a ceremony is held here in memory of those killed in this terrible war.
Traditionally, on Saturdays, we publish for you the answers to the quiz in the "Question - Answer" format. Our questions are very different, both simple and quite complex. The quiz is very interesting and quite popular, but we just help you test your knowledge and make sure that you have chosen the correct answer from the four offered. And we have another question in the quiz - What is the name of the central square of Amsterdam, on which the Royal Palace is located.
- A. Amster
- B. Ladies
- C. Nieder
- D. Land
The correct answer is V. LADIES
Dam Square (netherl. De Dam) is the central square of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, where famous buildings and numerous events are held, making it one of the most famous and important places in the city.
The name of the square, like the whole city, is associated with a dam, which was built on the Amstel River in the 13th century. The dam was gradually fortified and, as a result, became wide enough for the emergence of a city square, which later became the center of the city formed around it. Dam Square was formed from two squares - Middeldam and Platse. Gradually the area became the center of commercial and political life.
Dam Square is considered the heart of Amsterdam. You have probably already imagined the fair sex leisurely strolling along the cobblestones? Not worth it, they have nothing to do with it at all - the name of the square appeared thanks to the dam on which it is located. The dam was built on the Amstel River in the 13th century, it connected its banks and was an important social and economic site of the Netherlands.
The busiest and largest streets of the city adjoin the square - Demrak Boulevard, Rokin, Nievendijk, Dam Street and others, and the main transport hub of the capital is only 700 meters from here. The square itself is a rectangle of 20,000 m², and this space, of course, is not empty - exhibitions, fairs, festivals and various performances are held there every year. Centuries ago, fishing vessels were unloaded here, and one of the largest seafood markets in Europe was located, but Napoleon did not like the specific local spirit, and he ordered to liquidate all the trading rows, fill the mouth of the river, so the square became a separate place, cut off from the waters Amstel. Since the beginning of the 19th century, a stock exchange functioned here, which existed here for exactly one hundred years. Later, a fashionable Benkorf store was opened in its place, offering wealthy customers expensive outfits, gourmet food and luxury furniture. But in the last century, rallies, processions, parades and other events of national status began to be held on Dam Square.
So, what are the attractions on Dam Square? First of all, attention should be paid to the neoclassical building of the Royal Palace, which inspires respect and admiration - gray walls dotted with lace bas-reliefs, long windows, a characteristic dome in the center - who else but the royal couple live here? Despite all this luxury, once the city hall was located in this house, but in the 19th century it was decided to give the building to the king. Now every curious tourist can visit the palace on one condition - the royal family must be away at this time.
Next to neoclassicism there is a Gothic style - New Church. It is new not because it was built recently, but because in the Middle Ages there existed in Amsterdam Old church, but the number of parishioners grew and a new building was erected for all who were hungry for the faith. Now there are no services here, and the building is of a purely cultural nature - organ concerts and exhibitions are held here.
Not a single square is complete without monuments, and Dam is also home to the National Monument, created by Jacobus Oud in 1956 in memory of those who fell in World War II. It is a snow-white column, surrounded on one side by a wall, into which sculptures of people-martyrs are mounted.
In addition to these epic buildings and structures on Dam Square, there is the Madame Tussauds wax museum with "heroes of our time": artists, politicians, movie stars - all of them are gathered under one roof. Each avid tourist by all means comes here to replenish his collection of photos with celebrities. Well, after a walk, it's nice to sit in a restaurant or cafe, which are abundant here, drink wine and watch the ideal European life outside the windows.
In the very heart of Amsterdam there is a square with an intriguing name for any Russian tourist - Dam Square. Nevertheless, she has absolutely nothing to do with graceful female creatures. Dam is Dutch for dam. And it is no coincidence that the square (and the whole city too) retained the memory of this building - 8 centuries ago, here, on the Amstel River, a dam was actually built, which initially became a place of communication for settlements that arose along the banks of the river, and over time it grew and turned into the central city square.
But this does not exhaust its historical and tourist value. Here is the "quintet" of the Dutch capital attractions:
Attractions in Dam Square
Royal Palace
It is located in the western part of Dam Square. This is one of the three Dutch palaces at the disposal of the monarch. The building itself was originally used as a city hall, in the 19th century it belonged to the Orange Royal House, in the 20th it was bought by the state, and finally, at the beginning of the 21st century, after a significant reconstruction, the palace was opened to tourists. And although the royal family does not use it, official receptions and even royal weddings are held here.
Madame Tussauds museum
How to get to Dam Square?
Ladies are easy to find. Many streets and lanes flock to this square. And the easiest way to get there is from the central Amsterdam railway station: just walk for 10 minutes directly from its main entrance. It is possible and on public transport drive to the stop, which is called "Dam", if you are too lazy to go. But in a city that can be walked in half an hour, this is probably strange.
Is it worth living near Dam Square?
The decision to settle in the very center can also become a not very pleasant event - after all, it is quite noisy here. But if you like funny travel companies and souvenir shops, the hotels located here will help you to stay with the necessary amenities. Swissotel Amsterdam Hotel will cost about 190-200 euros per day and more, NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky - 170 euros, Best Western Dam SquareInn - 150 per day, and average 120 euros.
Where to eat in Dam Square?
There are also several good cafes nearby: Steak house on Damstraat 38 (it costs an average of 13-15 euros to visit), Green woods on Singel 103 (11-13 euros), and Cafe Zwart on Dam 15 or Restaurant De Roode Leeuw on Damrak 93-94 your average check can be 35-45 euros.
Have a nice trip!
