The old city of Amersfoort developed at the confluence of the Lunterse, Barneveldse, and other smaller streams from the Veluwe. Together, these streams make up the river Eem (Amer). Here there was a ford which provided a useful crossing place and attracted shipping.

Situated in the centre of The Netherlands, Amersfoort was a geographically attractive spot on the way to the north and east of the country and, as such, became an important trading settlement.

In 1259, Amersfoort was granted city status and the building of the city wall started. Within another one hundred years, the city had grown to such an extent that another city wall was built, this time with gates.

The old town of Amersfoort has remained intact to a large degree and has been declared a protected area. The streets and canals today are almost as they were in the Middle Ages. You can see this if you compare a map of then and now.

In addition to a number of important gates such as the Koppel Gate, Kamperbinnen Gate, and the Monnikendam Water Gate, there are about 350 monuments in Amersfoort. For example, the unique Muurhuizen (wall houses) were built on the foundations of the old inner city wall.

Flehite was, in about 800 AD, the name of the district around Amersfoort. The museum collection focuses on the arts, crafts, and history of the area. The many bones (and a reconstructed mammoth) give an idea of animal life in prehistoric times. Artifacts, drawings, and texts give an idea of the life and work of the people of East Utrecht in prehistory, and in the Roman, Carolingian, and Merovingian eras.

One entire floor of the museum concentrates on the history of Amersfoort between 1200-1815 and includes a large model of the old city centre with an explanation of how the city developed, part of the old city gallows, and silver implements.

Beer brewing used to be one of the most important industries in Amersfoort, often just as a cottage industry but, is some cases, in larger breweries. In the Middle Ages there were 300 breweries in Amersfoort. The Drie Ringen was one of the larger establishments and, between 1600 and 1700 was located in the Drie Ringen-Steeg. The brewery still makes beer in the traditional manner.

The combination of land and water gate makes the Koppel Gate unique. The gate dates from around 1400 and is part of the second city wall. It has remained more or less intact in its original state. In the part of the gate that crosses the river Eem, the treadmills have been restored. The water gate used to serve as a city defence by preventing any access to the city by water. It was also used to regulate the water level in the city. Next to the land gate is the so-called fulling mill, where cloth was made. This required considerable amounts of water and urine (for degreasing).

The Netherlands School for Carilloneurs in Amersfoort is one of only two schools in the world that instructs carilloneurs. The schools two buildings date from the Middle Ages and house, amongst other things, a permanent campanological exhibition. There are numerous documents, practice keyboards, and model belfries. The different techniques of playing this unique instrument are shown, as is the way the bells are cast.

The St Aegtenkapel was built between 1408 and 1410 next to the convent founded in 1379 by Geert Grote, founder of the Modern Devotion Movement. The chapel was conceived as a double chapel - the ground floor for the laity, the upper floor for the sisters of the convent.

The complex flourished until early March, 1580 when the chapel fell prey to the Beeldenstorm (the iconoclastic riots). The city took possession of the building and, from the 16th to the 19th century, it was used for a wide range of different purposes - as a storehouse, peat warehouse, drapery, and tobacco warehouse.

Restoration work started in 1969 based on old pictures. The aim was to rebuild the chapel as it was in the 15th century and restoration was complete in 1972. The chapel is now used for a wide range of cultural events.

The Old Catholic Church on 't Zand dates from 1928. Around 1700, there was a serious conflict in the Catholic Church between a number of Utrecht clerics and Rome. Unlike Rome, the former wanted to restore the old bishopric. In 1723, Cornelius Steenhoven, who had been a priest in Amersfoort, was appointed Archbishop of Utrecht by the Utrecht clerics and created a schism. There are now Roman Catholics and Old Catholics. The Old Catholic Church is in full communion with the Church of England and the Lutheran Churches in Scandinavia.

The church houses the remains of the statuette of the Virgin Mary, which is a legend in Amersfoort. The miracles surrounding the statuette are recorded in a book kept in the church. The church also contains the oldest picture of Amersfoort.

The Havik used to be an inland harbour in the oldest merchant and artisan area of Amersfoort. It is assumed that it was on the Havik that the name of Amersfoort arose because it is a place to cross the Amer.

De Hof is so called because the governing and administrative centre of the Bishop of Utrecht for the episcopal territory in Eemland was located here. In 1536, a second Town Hall was built between the Vijver and Lavendelstraat, although it was demolished in 1824. Excavations in 1991 exposed parts of this Town Hall, as well as a water mill from the latter half of the 14th century which has recently been rebuilt. The most important monument on the square is the St Joriskerk (St George's Church).

St Joriskerk was consecrated in the 13th century. Only the tower has remained from the original period. Over the years the church has been altered many times and even enlarged. In 1340, a large part of the town centre within the old canals, including an important part of St Joriskerk, caught fire. It took a long time to rebuild what had been destroyed. The church was also enlarged, and built around the tower that originally stood next to the church, forming a cruciform church.

The current church dates from 1534. There were three iconoclastic riots - in April and June 1579 and in March 1580. According to some, the rubble came up as far one's knees.

The church was very important in the life of the city. After 1579, when the church was used for Protestant services, many old customs continued. The church remained open every day from sunrise to sunset, so that loiterers, merchants, and children could walk in.

The wall houses in Amersfoort are unique. Originally, it was assumed that the houses themselves formed the city defences. This assumption now appears to be incorrect. Apart from a few details, no remains of the old town wall can be found. Some time in the 15th century it must have been demolished once its true function was lost. After the demolition, the old bricks were used for houses that were built inline with the course of the wall. The innermost canal (there were two) dried up and was filled in. It was subsequently added on to the back of the houses.

Building work on the houses has been going on ever since. They have been altered, demolished, and rebuilt so that they now form a fine patchwork of masonry and plasterwork of different architectural styles.

The name of Everard Meyster, the 17th century of the Nimmerdor estate, is inextricably linked to the Amersfoort Boulder. He presented the city with a rather serious joke which led to years of fun and ridicule - the Amersfoort Boulder.

Meyster discovered the enormous boulder on the heath near the city and bet his friends that he could persuade the population of Amersfoort to drag the boulder in to the city with their bare hands. It worked. Fortified by beer and fresh pretzels, he managed to get 400 citizens to drag the boulder to the Varkensmarkt with great enthusiasm.

However, this enthusiasm was short lived. People started to make fun of the "boulder carriers" on posters and in texts. In desperation, the people of Amersfoort buried the boulder in the Varkensmarkt in 1672. It was only in 1903 that it was dug up again and put on show.

Once Amersfoort had managed to get over the shame of the whole history of the boulder, it was decided to make the best of a bad job. Now, every year, Keistadfeesten or "Boulder Town Celebrations" are organised. These are done under the motto "Amersfoort, Kei van een stad", a pun which, in English, amounts to "Amersfoort - a brick of a city".