National Monument, Dam Square - details and images

Dam Square is the most famous markets around the Netherlands and an important tourist attraction in Amsterdam. Fishing village that later turned into Amsterdam was founded in 1270 right in the area around the Dam Square there today. In this market place where there are inhabitants of this fishing village built a dam (in Dutch "we"), to block the river Amstel. Dam Square eventually became the place that encompassed the entire community for the most important ceremonies and events of the city. In the Middle Ages, Dam Square was landlocked and here vessels sailing in the North Sea. Today, the market is not out of town, but has become a kind of center of Amsterdam.

National Monument on the Dam Square, is dedicated to freedom and consists of a towering white obelisk decorated with allegorical figures. This monument was erected in 1956 in memory of dead heroes Dutch in the Second World War. The monument houses the 12 polls, each of which contains a handful of dust from the 11 regions of the Netherlands and one from Indonesia, the former Dutch colony.

Every year on May 4, Queen Beatrix of the fallen victims to participate in the commemoration of the war by sending a wreath at the obelisk. Natural stone from which it is built, there is very strong and so in 1997, there was a drastic restoration.

Nowadays Dam Square is the place where you can meet a wide variety of people, probably due to proximity to the Red Quarter and the famous cafes in Amsterdam.
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