Settlements in the Amersfoort area from around 1000 BC have been found, but the name Amersfoort (named after a ford in the Amer river, now the Eem) did not appear until the 11th century. The city grew around what is now known as the central square, the "Hof", where the Bishops of Utrecht estblished a court, in order to control the "Gelderse vallei", and was granted city rights in 1259 by the bishop of Utrecht Hendrik van Vianden. A first defensive wall, made out of brick, was finished around 1300. Soon after, the need for enlargement of the city became apparent and around 1380 the construction of a new wall was begun and completed around 1450. The famous Koppelpoort, a combined land and water gate, is part of this second wall. The first wall was demolished and houses were built in its place. Today's Muurhuizen (wallhouses) Street is at the exact location of the first wall; the fronts of the houses are built on top of the first city wall’s foundations.
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