Edam, Netherlands Tourism

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industry, agriculture, stock-farming and fishing.

Edam grew up around a dam on the Ee, which linked the little river Purmer with the Zuiderzee. When the damming of the rivers flowing into the Zuiderzee began in 1230 a settlement was established for the transshipment of goods, and when tolls began to be levied it developed into a trading town. Edam received its municipal charter in 1357. Its heyday was in the 16th century, when shipbuilding, herring fishing and the cheese trade brought the town prosperity. The warships with which Admiral de Ruyter defeated the British fleet were built in the Edam shipyards. In 1573 William of Orange granted the town the right to have a weigh-house in recognition of its valor and the part it played during the siege of Alkmaar.