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Edam - History 

Edam, famous for its cheese, is a very small old town a few miles north of Amsterdam, facing East across the lonely grey waters of the old Zuider Zee. It stands at the point the rising waters finally reached in the 16th century — almost surrounding Amsterdam at one time — before the late mediaeval technology of the windmill allowed reclamation to begin in earnest.

Edam is a city with a rich history. It began in the 12th century, when farmers and fishermen settled along the little Ye river. With that 'Yedam' was a fact.

This primitive settlement developed into an increasingly prosperous town well into the 17th century. Shipbuilding played an important role in this growth Edam had a great number of ship yards building many famous ships. A good example is the 'Halve Maan' (Half Moon), the ship that the Englishman Henry Hudson sailed in 1609 when attempting to discover a northern route to the East Indies.

There are three or four intersecting canals, in turn threaded through with three or four streets, also intersecting. Canals and roads alike are bordered with narrow fronted houses built of local dark red brick, most of them old or ancient. There are bridges cross the canals, some hump-backed of brick, and some lifting bridges in timber. A handful of more prominent old buildings are peppered round the tiny market place. On dry ground to the north of the town, perhaps a foot or two higher than the surrounding fields, is the town's great church, dedicated to St. Nicholas.

A futile attempt in fact, because he stranded on the island of Manhattan! Beside shipbuilding, commerce was a major contributor to the thriving development of Edam.
 
Together with Amsterdam, Hoorn and Enkhuizen, Edam was one of the most important commercial towns in Holland.

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