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Dam Square or the Dam () is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital and most populated city of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country.
On the west end of the square is the neoclassical Royal Palace, which served as the city hall from 1655 until its conversion to a royal residence in 1808. Beside it are the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and the Madame Tussauds Amsterdam Wax Museum. The National Monument, a white stone pillar designed by J.J.P. Oud and erected in 1956 to memorialize the victims of World War II, dominates the opposite side of the square. Also overlooking the plaza are the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky and the upscale department store De Bijenkorf. These various attractions have turned the Dam into a tourist zone.
As the dam was gradually built up it became wide enough for a town square, which remained the core of the town developing around it. Dam Square as it exists today grew out of what was originally two squares: the actual dam, called Middeldam, on which was located a large fish market ( vismarkt) where ships moored at the dam to load and unload goods; and Plaetse, an adjacent plaza to the west. The area became a centre not only of commercial activity but also of the government, as the site of Amsterdam's town hall.
As a market square, the Dam had a weigh house that can be seen in some old paintings. It was demolished in 1808 by order of Louis Bonaparte who, upon taking up residence in the newly converted Royal Palace, complained that his view was obstructed.
The Damrak, or the former mouth of the Amstel River, was partially filled in the 19th century; since then, the Dam square has been surrounded by land on all sides. The new land made room for the Beurs van Zocher, a stock exchange that was built in 1837. After the stock trade moved to the Beurs van Berlage in 1903, the Zocher building was demolished. In its place, De Bijenkorf department store has stood since 1914.
In 1856, a war memorial named De Eendracht (The Unity) was unveiled inside the square before King William III. A stone column with a female statue on top, the monument acquired the nickname "Naatje of the Dam". It was taken down in 1914.
The shooting finally came to an end after a member of the Dutch resistance climbed into the tower of the royal palace and started shooting onto the balcony and into the club. At that moment, a German officer together with a Resistance commander found their way into the club and convinced the men to surrender. At the brink of peace, 120 people were badly injured and 22 pronounced dead. In 2013, evidence was brought to light that suggested the number may have been higher: possibly 33 people died, and there were 10 more unconfirmed possible victims. List of the victims of the shooting
Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, Amsterdam's main square became a "national" square well known to nearly everyone in the Netherlands. It has frequently been the location of demonstrations and events of all kinds, and a meeting place for many people. On 4 May every year, the Dutch celebrate National Memorial Day ( Nationale Dodenherdenking), in observance of which the last addition to the square, the National Monument, was set up in 1956.
A funfair was held on Dam Square for several years.
On 6 December 2003, Bulgarian mobster Konstantin "Samokovetsa" Dimitrov was shot dead on Dam Square.
On 7 November 2024, a series of attacks occurred by fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. at Dam Square during their UEFA Europa League match against AFC Ajax.
On 27 March 2025, a 30-year old Ukraine citizen from Donetsk used knives to attack a 67-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man with American nationality, a 26-year-old man with Polish nationality, a 73-year-old Belgian woman and a 19-year-old Dutch woman in the Sint Nicolaasstraat area in the vicinity of Dam Square.
On 3 April 2025, a 50-year-old man Self-immolation inside of his car, near the National Monument, causing a small explosion and injuring himself. No bystanders were injured.
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