Her Name is Rotterdam

Above is a summary of all the beauty Rotterdam has to offer, both in culture and in architecture. However, her history shows us that it took a lot before it became the way we know it today. Below is a brief summary of that history, including sights that are still visitable to this date. We hope you will take the time to look up some of it while you are here!
Around the year 925, some people decided to build houses on TERPEN (safe hills) in the vicinity of the river "De Rotte" where it collides with the river "De Maas". Already recorded in papers from around 1028 where the village "Rotta" is named in The church of Rotta (that is when you write in Latin instead of Dutch. They were mostly farmers with cattle. (we all know that due to the building of De willemsspoortunnel and the Markthal) You find some remainings of those houses in the basement of the markthal.

During the next centuries the village grew and created a name for itself. Artifacts from England, Germany and France underline the trading community of/in Rotterdam. This changed in the year 1170 when an all destroying flood named the "Allerheiligenvloed" wiped the entire city away.

Because of this flood, the church and locals decided to build a dam to keep the flood outside and allowing themselves to rebuild this thriving trading city. Thus the ´Dam´ was built in De Rotte in the year 1270. The Dam is still visible (and present). To view it, enter the train station ´Blaak´ at the ´oude haven´. Take the stairs down there and it will be on your right-hand side. The Dam was how Rotterdam received its name (The dam of Rotte).

In those times, the first harbours were dug because of fishery and trading with
It was also in that period, the year 1299, when the city was granted city-rights and had a major (Count Jan of Holland).

In 1360 the first walls were built to protect the city and its inhabitants as it became all the more prosperous and wealthy. A church was built between 1449 and 1525, named the ´Sint Laurenskerk´ or ´Grote Kerk´. This too is visitable, in the same area as the ´Markthal´ is located. During that time Rotterdam had grown to about 1.200 households.
Points of interest & usefull websites

- Rotterdam Tourist Information
- Rotterdam Pages


- Hotel 1
- Hotel 2

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