Nowadays, trains pass through a tunnel that was dug under the Binnenrotte. During medieval times, however, the small river Rotte flowed through the town.
Eight hundred years ago, the land flooded on a regular basis with water from the river Meuse. Through the construction of dikes the land was protected from flooding and could be cultivated safely.
In approximately 1270 AD it was decided to build a dam in the river Rotte. So, it was in this spot exactly, at the crossroads of the Hoogstraat and the Binnenrotte, that our city of Rotterdam came into existence.
The construction plan of the Railway Tunnel went straight through the dam in the Rotte and opened up medieval Rotterdam, like a zip!
During the excavation of the tunnel, municipal archaeologists discovered a great many things about the towns origins. They found dwellings, a wooden sluice, boats, tools, a wooden shoe… and much, much more.
