Diemen

Diemen is a metropolis and municipality inside the Dutch province of Noord-Holland. Diemen takes its name from the river Diem, which inside the Middle Ages formed a connection between the Bijlmermeer, the Gaasp and the Zuiderzee. The peat meadow region changed into reclaimed approximately 1000 years in the past and the first inhabitants settled down. They were probable from the Utrecht vicinity. Excavations have shown that from the 11th century there was occupation close to the Diem.

The oldest mention dates from 1033, making Diemen one of the first settlements in this vicinity and approximately centuries older than Amsterdam. In the 13th century the Diem changed into dammed with the Diemerdam in the Diemerzeedijk. In Oud-Diemen, the citizens lived on an about 3-meter high mound, near the contemporary new-build district of Diemen Noord, wherein a wood church and houses stood. Remains of a stone church from the 15th century had been determined throughout archaeological excavations. The foundations of the church on the 'Gedenk te Sterven' cemetery were made seen once more.