Zaandam
Zaandam | |
---|---|
City | |
![]() Windmills at the Zaanse Schans in 2007 | |
![]() ![]() Zaandam | |
Coordinates: 52°26′N 4°50′E / 52.433°N 4.833°ECoordinates: 52°26′N 4°50′E / 52.433°N 4.833°E | |
Country | Netherlands |
Province | North Holland |
Municipality | Zaanstad |
Population (2017)[1] | |
• Total | 76,804 |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Zaandam (Dutch pronunciation: [zaːnˈdɑm] (listen)) is a city in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan, just north of Amsterdam.
The statistical district Zaandam, which covers the city and the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 76,804.[1] Zaandam was a separate municipality until 1974, when it became a part of the new municipality of Zaanstad.[2]
History[]
The history of Zaandam (formerly called Saenredam) and the surrounding Zaan River region (the Zaanstreek) is intimately tied to industry. In the Dutch Golden Age, Zaandam served as a large milling centre. Thousands of windmills powered saws that processed Scandinavian wood for the shipbuilding and paper industries. A statue that commemorates this industry was commissioned from sculptor Slavomir Miletić, and the statue, De houtwerker ("The Woodworker"), was installed on 20 June 2004.
Zaandam was a leading city in the first Industrial Revolution but then begins a steady decline. Zaandam is also historically linked with the whaling industry.[citation needed]
In 1697, Czar Peter I of Russia spent some time in Zaandam, where he studied shipbuilding. He stayed in a little wooden house built in 1632, but was soon forced to leave because he attracted too much attention from the local population; he moved to Amsterdam, where he studied at one of the wharves of the Dutch East India Company. The wooden house he stayed was preserved and turned into a museum, the Czar Peter House.[3] A statue honoring him was placed on the nearby Dam Square in 1911,[4] and was declared a Rijksmonument.[5]
In 1871, the impressionist painter Claude Monet lived in Zaandam for approximately half a year. During that time, he made 25 paintings of the area, including Houses on the Achterzaan, Bateaux en Hollande pres de Zaandam and A windmill at Zaandam.
Economy[]
The first European McDonald's restaurant opened in Zaandam in 1971.[6] The Albert Heijn supermarket chain (founded in nearby Oostzaan in 1887), now grown into the Ahold Delhaize retail company, is headquartered in Zaandam. Chocolate manufacturer Verkade also hails from Zaandam. There were 6,910 business establishments in Zaandam in 2019.[7]
Football club AZ (Alkmaar Zaanstreek) was founded in Zaandam on May 10, 1967.
Transport[]
There are two railway stations in Zaandam: Zaandam railway station and Zaandam Kogerveld railway station. Plans exist by the province of North Holland to extend the Amsterdam Metro to Zaandam.[8]
Gallery[]
Zaandam City Hall
De Oostzijderkerk
Zaandam, sluice
De Sint Bonifatiuskerk
Zaandam downtown
A windmill near Zaandam painted in 1871 by Claude Monet
Zaandam circa 1889. Etching by James McNeill Whistler
Albert Heijn headquarters in Zaandam
Notable people[]
- Jan Saenredam (1565–1607), copperplate engraver
- Anton Mauve (1838–1888), painter
- Jan Verkade (1868–1946), painter
- Kees Bruynzeel (1900–1980), wood merchant
- Arie Smit (born 1916–2016), painter
- Piet Kee (born 1927–2018), organist and composer
- Han Bennink (born 1942), jazz musician
- Hendrik Lenstra (born 1947), mathematician
- Johnny Rep (born 1951), football player
- Elisabeth van Houts (born 1952), historian
- Kathinka Pasveer (born 1959), flautist
- Erwin Koeman (born 1961), football player and football coach
- Ronald Koeman (born 1963), football player and football coach
- Robert Molenaar (born 1969), football player
- Ali Bouali (born 1981), rapper
- Harm van den Dorpel (born 1981), conceptual artist
- Patricia van der Vliet (born 1989), model
- Oğuzhan Özyakup (born 1992), football player
- Melissa Venema (born 1995), musician
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Municipality of Zaanstad, Zaanstad in cijfers [1]. As of 1 January 2017.
- ^ Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten, KNAW, 2011.
- ^ Koppenrade, Liza. "11 dingen die je nog niet wist over Tsaar Peter de Grote". Oneindig Noord-Holland (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ "Czaar Peterroute". Wandelrouteboek Nederland (in Dutch). ANWB Media. 2005. p. 54.
- ^ "Czaar Peter Monument in Zaandam" (in Dutch). Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
- ^ McDonald's International (Press Release), "Fascinating McFacts about McDonald's International", 1996.
- ^ "Héél véél informatie over Zaandam (update 2021!)". AlleCijfers.nl (in Dutch). 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
- ^ "Provincie wil metro naar Zaandam, Purmerend, Hoofddorp en Schiphol". NH Nieuws (in Dutch). 12 June 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zaandam. |
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Zaandam. |
- J. Kuyper, Gemeente Atlas van Nederland, 1865-1870, "Zaandam". Map of the former municipality, around 1868.
- Zaandam
- Cities in the Netherlands
- Former municipalities of North Holland
- Populated places in North Holland
- Zaanstad