Why go
The period clarifies details that survive in the old city. The Houten Huis at Begijnhof recalls rebuilding after fire, while the annual Stille Omgang preserves the memory of a medieval pilgrimage tradition. These are small but useful clues to a town before the canal belt.
The full story
In 1275, Count Floris V granted toll exemptions to traders, sailors and fishers near Aemstelredamme. The right to move goods without paying at bridges, locks and dams helped the settlement compete with other ports. Amsterdam received city rights in 1306 and became part of the County of Holland after 1317. Trade in beer, grain and timber strengthened its links with northern European ports during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Religious life also drew people into the town. According to tradition, the Miracle of Amsterdam of 1345 made it a pilgrimage destination; the Stille Omgang still commemorates that event. Two major fires in 1421 and 1452 showed the danger of a dense wooden town. After the second, new houses were ordered to be built in stone. The Houten Huis at Begijnhof is therefore exceptional: it is one of the few wooden buildings left from that earlier world. Notice it alongside the later brick and stone façades to grasp how disaster changed the city fabric.