Routes.

With a population of over 834,700, Amsterdam is the most densely populated city in the Netherlands. Amsterdam has been the capital of the Netherlands since 1808. It was built on the Amstel estuary, on what used to be marshland. To protect the town against the sea, a dam with a sluice gate was built in the river and the area was shielded by dikes, the Nieuwendijk and Zeedijk. This area formed the heart of what would ultimately become the city of Amsterdam. The city’s name was first recorded in a document signed by the Dutch Count Floris V in 1275.