Description
A walk around the beautiful old town of Amersfoort, the Netherlands, which still preserves much of its medieval history.
According to Wikipedia, the name Amersfoort comes from a ford in the river Amer, now called Eem. Its foundation goes back to the 11th century, and it was granted city rights in 1259. A first city wall was built around 1300. A new and larger one was completed around 1450.
However, apparently most of this “history” is plain wrong, or at least questionable. The oldest archaeological traces date back to the 13th century, or occasionally to the end of the 12th century at the earliest. Furthermore, there is no historical evidence that the Eem river was ever called Amer, or archaeological evidence that a ford ever existed in or near Amersfoort. Finally, the original document from 1259 that supposedly gave Amersfoort city rights does not exist anymore. There are only later copies (the earliest one from 1344), and even those are questionable in terms of their legality and interpretation.
Regardless, it is clear that Amersfoort, once it was established, quickly became an important trading town. It developed economically, culturally, and religiously into a thriving medieval city. And much of that history can still be experienced and admired in the city’s old town.