Most tourist guides say that Amsterdam developed around a dam built in the river Amstel around 1270 AD, and that this dam which was located at present-day Dam Square — gave the city its name.

But historians say that decades earlier the small settlement in the Amstel delta was already known as ‘Aemsterdam’ or, alternatively, ‘Amstelredam.’ »

Built on 13,659 wooden piles, Amsterdam’s Royal Palace on Dam Square — which started life as the city’s Town Hall — was once described as the world’s Eight Wonder. »