My name is Dominika and I am in love with Amsterdam. I moved here over 8 years ago, you will never meet anyone more obsessed with the city than I am. I am a language teacher, a content creator and a podcaster. I've been showing the life in Amsterdam in my social media, for years. My podcast about Amsterdam is loved by my Polish audience. Now I want to show you around the city.
This walk will take you along the medieval city walls of Amsterdam. It also happens to be one of the most beautiful canals in the city - Kloveniersburgwal.
Our tour will cover topics such as the origin of Amsterdam, the medieval city walls - with the defensive towers, Dutch expeditions, the Golden Age, the East India Company, the West India Company.
I will tell you about Rembrandt and his most important works, the social system in Amsterdam in the XVII century, religion then and now, and a few other interesting things.
Mind you the walk is slightly off the beaten path (still in the centre however).
Let's meet in front of the Central Station (the city side, not the waterfront), outside the main entrance (that's where the writing is, between the two towers). I will be holding a white umbrella with hearts on it.
We will talk about the origin of the city.
There is a very interesting story connected to the building of the hotel.
Here I will tell you about religion in the city - in the past and now. We will talk about the most important churches (and a synagogue), the reformation and tolerance.
This is the beginning of the mediëval city walls. We will cover the construction of the wall in the XV century, the Dutch expeditions that departed from here. You will hear about the East and West India companies - how they were founded and what their activity was about.
De Waag was originally a city gate. Later it served as headquarters for several guilds. This is where anatomy lessons took place. It was also a site of executions.
The biggest residential house in the XVII century Amsterdam.
The smallest house in Amsterdam, built in 1738.
The first building dedicated to the East India company.
One of the most interesting churches in Amsterdam. During WW2 it served as a morgue.
Here we will talk about the social system in the XVII century Amsterdam.
This hotel was built in place of a medieval defensive tower, that was also a training ground for Kloveniers - the militia painted in Rembrandt’s “Night Watch”.
Munttoren was another city gate. Originally two towers and a guardhouse. Unfortunately, only one tower survived city fires.
Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end of the tour the amount that he or she considers appropriate (these usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).