DAM SQUARE, Introduction

Hi, my name’s Scott, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: Dam Square.

Dominated by the massive Royal Palace, Dam Square is the heart of the Dutch capital.

The name Amsterdam is derived from a dam along the Amstel, the waterway that ran around the settlement that gradually developed into the city. The capital’s main square also takes its name from the dam.

Originally a marketplace in the 14th century, Dam Square is always bustling with tourists and locals heading towards the large department stores, the many restaurants and cafés, the Central Station, the shopping streets or the monuments in the vicinity.

The square is divided into two roughly equal parts by the National Monument, an obelisk erected in 1956 and surrounded by statues recalling the victims of the Second World War, the Nazi occupation and the liberation of the Netherlands....