Listen | Fish auction
Diagonally left in front of you at the end of the bridge, you see a small square stone building. This is 'De Steg', the old fish market. This is where fishermen traded their fresh catch.
To moor their boats there, they first had to pass the low bridge you just crossed. Very inconvenient because ships with long masts could not pass under it. As a solution, the Monnickendammers made an opening in the bridge deck. This created a narrow opening, also known as an'oorgat'. By manoeuvring precisely through this, sailing ships could still pass under the bridge without having to open it. The oorgat is still in use, this being the wooden bridge section with gravel layer.
Interestingly, Monnickendam itself never had a fishing fleet. All fish traded at the fish auction came from other places along the Zuiderzee. For example, from Marken, Huizen, Volendam and Spakenburg. These Zuiderzee fishermen came specially to Monnickendam to sell their fish. This was what Landlord Philips the Good had decided and had it recorded in a law.
D...
To moor their boat there, they first had to pass under the low bridge you’ve just walked over. This was rather inconvenient, as ships with long masts couldn’t pass underneath it. As a solution, the people of Monnickendam created a section of the bridge deck that could be folded open. This created a narrow opening, also known as an oorgat’. By manoeuvring precisely through this, sailing ships could still pass under the bridge without it needing to be opened. The oorgat is still in use today; it is the wooden section of the bridge with a layer of gravel.
It is striking that Monnickendam itself never had a fishing fleet. All the fish traded at the fish auction came from other towns on the Zuiderzee, such as Marken, Huizen, Volendam and Spakenburg. These Zuiderzee fishermen came specifically to Monnickendam to sell their catch. This had been decided by Landheer Philips de Goede and enshrined in law.
Thanks to the popular fish auction, a large fish-processing industry developed here. You can find out more about this at one of the following locations.
Continue straight ahead, then cross the bridge to the Stegh.
