The man is suspected of having wounded five random people, using multiple knives, during a stabbing rampage near the busy Dam Square on Thursday afternoon.

He was arrested quickly after the incident with the help of bystanders, sustaining an injury to his leg.

The man, who police said had checked in to an Amsterdam hotel on Wednesday, will be brought before a judge on April 1 to decide on his further detention.

Police on Saturday were still unclear about the motive for the stabbing and said investigations were ongoing.

The victims were a 26-year-old man from Poland, a 73-year-old Belgian woman, a 19-year-old woman from Amsterdam as well as a 67-year-old woman and 69-year-old man, both American nationals.

The Polish man had been released from hospital by Friday, while the other victims were still in hospital but in a stable condition, police said.