The Dam Square lies in the historical center of Amsterdam, approximately 750 meters south of the main transportation hub, Central Station, at the original location of the dam in the river Amstel.
It is roughly rectangular in shape, stretching about 200 meters from west to east and about 100 meters from north to south. It links the streets Damrak and Rokin, which run along the original course of the Amstel River from Centraal Station to Muntplein and the Mutton.
The Dam marks the endpoint of other well-traveled streets Nieuwendijk, Kalverstraat, and Damstraat. Visible the neoclassical Royal Palace, which served as the city hall from 1655 until its conversion to a royal residence in 1808. Beside it is the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk, Madame Tussauds Amsterdam Wax Museum, and the upscale department store De Bijenkorf. The National Monument, the white stone pillar was designed by J.J.P. Oud in 1956 to memorialize the victims of World War II.
