Westzaan monument trail

For example, cycle past 't Reght Huys (former town hall), the big church, flourmill 'het Prinsenhof', several wooden houses and many more beautiful monuments. It promises to be a great bike ride! The Monuments Route Westzaan is a round trip of about 15 km, allowing you to decide where to start and end.

Nature
Water and meadows dominate this peat meadow area. This is ideal for meadow birds, such as the black-tailed godwit. Duck and heron species are abundant here. Among the reeds, you can hear many species of reed birds. Several species of birds of prey fly above it. They mainly prey on the small mammals that live here, such as mice, hares and mustelids.

History
The history is very rich. Thousands of years ago, the Zaan region was a swamp forest where there were almost no people. Around the year 650 BC, the first farmers started planting fields and clearing the forests. The rise of the water made habitation impossible at some point. Only in the 10th century was this possible again. Trees were felled and ditches dug. The resulting land was used for arable farming. This is when Westzaan came into being. Later rises in the water made arable farming expensive, so the land was turned into pasture and residents were forced to build dykes. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the dykes became more densely populated and mills were built against the still rising water. After the battle against the Spaniards between 1572 and 1575, various types of mills, such as sawmills, rose up and shipbuilding flourished. During this time, the typical Zaanse building style developed, characterised by green-painted wooden houses with sometimes exuberant carvings. Some of these old buildings are still largely intact. This cycle route takes you past these old monuments and places of interest in and around Westzaan.

Culture
Culture is dominated by genuine Dutch antiquity which is man-made.

Important information:

• Download the PDF file for the cycle route.
• The route is not signposted.
• This is a route of recreation authority Alkmaarder- and Uitgeestermeer.