On October 27, 1275 Floris V, Count of Holland, granted the inhabitants of ‘Amestelledamme’ the right not to pay toll fees on goods moved throughout the county.
It is in part thanks to this toll concession that the small village quickly grew into a major commercial center.
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.’
Until 1578 Amsterdam was largely Cathlolic, with two large parish churches — the Oude Kerk (Old Church) and the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) — as well as six chapels along with numerous monasteries and convents.
But in 1578 Calvinists seized power and Amsterdam became the Protestant capital of an infant Dutch republic.