Listen | (Wapen van) Oostzaan
You have now arrived in the village. Over the centuries, dykes were built to protect Oostzaan and its inhabitants from high water. Unfortunately, the area was nevertheless hit by a flood disaster several times over the centuries. The last of these was in 1916.
The three fragments in Oostzaan's coat of arms could possibly be a reference to the sods of the dike. If a farmer had a piece of land adjacent to a dike, it was his duty to maintain that piece of dike. If he failed to do so because he had no money, the so-called Spade- or fork-stitch law came into effect. This meant that the farmer had to hand over his land to the count of the area, or it was sold to someone who could maintain the dike. The farmer declared under oath that he was no longer capable of the obligatory maintenance.
He then solemnly crossed his me...
The three fragments in Oostzaan's coat of arms could possibly be a reference to the sod of the dike. If a farmer had a piece of land adjacent to a dike, it was his duty to maintain that piece of dike. If he failed to do so because he had no money, the so-called Spade- or fork-stitch law came into effect. This meant that the farmer had to hand over his land to the count of the area, or it was sold to someone who could maintain the dike. The farmer declared under oath that he was no longer capable of the obligatory maintenance.
He then solemnly stuck his dung fork into the dike, after which he held up the fork with three sods. Those sods would be the three green lumps on the teeth of the handle in the coat of arms of Oostzaan. At the next point in the route, you can admire the coat of arms for yourself on the façade of the town hall.
