Listen | Chicken Market
One of the markets that got its own place, separate from the later Cheese Market, was the Chicken Market. In 1880, this poultry market was moved to the Slotplein, the spot where we stand today.
Unlike other Purmerend market squares, this square does not owe its name to the products that were traded there. Slotplein is so called because a castle stood here until the year 1741. This Purmersteijn castle was demolished because it had fallen into disrepair. This created a new square in the town. A nice place for a new market, the people of Purmeren must have thought. In the middle of the car park you can still see old remnants of Purmersteijn castle's walls.
At the new chicken market, chickens were not only sold to the m...
Unlike other Purmerend market squares, this square does not owe its name to the products traded there. Slotplein is so called because a castle stood here until the year 1741. This Purmersteijn castle was demolished because it had fallen into disrepair. This created a new square in town. A nice place for a new market, the people of Purmeren must have thought. In the middle of the car park you can still see old remnants of Purmersteijn castle's walls.
The new chicken market did not only sell chickens. Geese, swans, ducks, pigeons and game were also for sale here. Slaughtered or live, mostly transported and displayed in special baskets. And the market did well. So well, in fact, that Purmerend made the market square even bigger by filling in the moat that ran alongside the chicken market. This created an even larger market square. This is where the name Gedempte Singelgracht comes from, the major road that runs alongside it.
Are you curious to know what it looked like here when the Chicken Market took place? Or what the castle looked like? In the location menu, you'll find photos of the market and the old castle. Continue your route by standing with your back to the Purmersteijn castle and then walk into the little street Padjedijk, which is located diagonally left in front of you.
