Listen | The Coopery Bridge
Kuiperijbrug, located over Roemersloot on Kerkbuurt, is a reminder of Oostzaan's industrial past.
This ditch used to play an important role for the village's bleaching and starch mills. In those days, the region had a lively industry, including starch factories, cooperages, tear ducts, weaving mills and smithies. Clean water was essential for these businesses and cooperages, where wooden tubs, barrels and barrels were manufactured, provided the necessary means of storage. The bridge takes its name from the Schaft family's cooperage, which stood here.
The Kuiperijbrug was originally a drawbridge, like many bridges in Oostzaan, to provide passage for farmers with flatboats full of cattle or hay. Today, the Kuiperijbrug is a fixed bridge. In 1898, Oostzaan still had 35 bridges, but due to the drainage of many ditches, many of them have since disappeared.
