Resourceful beginnings
When the last millennium was still quite young, a handful of adventurers came floating down the river Amstel in hollowed-out logs. Out of the marshlands and swamps surrounding the Amstel River, a structure of dams and dikes was forged - the first of which is marked by the Dam square at the heart of the city today. These canny "Aemstelledammers" began exacting toll money from the passing beer and herring traders of the roaring Eastern Sea Trade of the Baltics. They quickly became expert boat builders and brewers; attracting more interest in the emerging town. In 1275, Count Floris of Holland formalised these activities by granting special toll privileges to the merchant town and in 1300 the town got its first charter.