Dam Square

You are on Dam Square, the heart of Amsterdam. Here, around 1270, the dam across the Amstel was built that gave the city its name. Since then it has been a market, a place of executions, a stage for demonstrations and the meeting point for everyone who comes into the centre.

1A palace and a church

The great stone building is the Royal Palace, built in the 17th century as the town hall and turned into a palace in 1808. Beside it is the Nieuwe Kerk, the 'New Church', which despite its name goes back to the 15th century. It is where Dutch monarchs take their oath: the most recent, King Willem-Alexander, in 2013. The Netherlands does not crown its kings; they are inaugurated before Parliament.

2The National Monument

The white obelisk opposite you is the National Monument, unveiled on 4 May 1956 in memory of the victims of the Second World War. It was designed by the architect J. J. P. Oud, with sculptures by John Rädecker. Inside are urns holding soil from the Dutch provinces and the former East Indies.

Every 4 May at eight in the evening, the whole country observes two minutes of silence, and the national ceremony is held here.

The square also recalls a tragic episode: on 7 May 1945, two days after the liberation, German soldiers opened fire on the crowd waiting for the Allied troops, killing more than twenty people.

3What to look out for

• The reliefs on the obelisk: chained human figures and howling dogs.
• The Nieuwe Kerk, with its Gothic front and no tall tower.
• The ship-shaped weathervane on the palace dome.