Extraordinary Oostzaan
Wondering what makes Oostzaan so special? Then cycle this special audio tour. Among other things, you will cycle past the unique peat meadow area of the Oostzanerveld and recreation area Het Twiske.
The Oostzanerveld is an ancient area that is of great significance for the history of the Zaan region because of its unique plot structure and wide openness. Next to it is the recreation area Het Twiske, where you can enjoy the peace and space around you while walking, cycling or sailing. You will also learn more about the colourful history of Oostzaan, in which especially the rise and flowering of a number of special industries played a role. For instance, many Oostzaners once earned their money on the bleaching fields, in tear ducts or in starch factories. They also sailed for shipping and whaling, and there was even a notorious pirate among them! Moreover, you will get to know some special and successful inhabitants a little better, such as Albert Heijn or the painter Jacob Cornelisz van Oostzanen. In short, experience it for yourself in this tour of special Oostzaan!
You are going to see this
Listen | Cheese Market
Purmerend is a bustling town with a historic centre, situated on the former River De Where and in the middle of three reclaimed major lakes of North Holland: the Purmer Lake, Beemster Lake and Wormermeer.
Listen | Cheese Market
Purmerend is a bustling town with a historic centre, situated on the former River De Where and in the middle of three reclaimed major lakes of North Holland: the Purmer Lake, Beemster Lake and Wormermeer.
Purmerend was also located at the junction of ancient trade routes between the trading regions of Amsterdam, Hoorn, Edam and Alkmaar. This strategic location allowed Purmerend to grow into a rich trading town, with beautiful buildings and a lot of economic activity. This was reflected in the town's many markets, where all kinds of goods from the surrounding area were traded from fish to vegetables and cattle. The markets are central to the town's prosperity and form a thread through Purmerend's history.
You are now walking onto the Cheese Market. Purmerend's first weekly market took place here over five hundred years ago. First the weekly market was on Saturdays but from 1572 on Tuesdays. The spot where we are standing now was then called the Marktveld, a more appropriate name. After all, the square was not so big then and not demarcated by houses as it is today. It was an open field at the junction of roads. A place where many buyers and traders passed by. That made it the ideal location for the first Purmerend market.
This market initially traded all kinds of goods-cows, grain, fish and also cheese. But why then the name cheese market? This name was given to the square only later, when over the centuries the various commodities were given their own market, spread across the town. Like the cattle market, the rag market and the fruit market. Only cheese continued to be sold here. Hence, we now know this place as the Cheese Market.
The market's heyday was from 1800 to 1900. Back then, up to four million kilos of cheese were traded here in one year. That amounts to about 4,800 large, round cheeses per market day. That made Purmerend the second largest cheese market in the country after Alkmaar.
As cheeses were increasingly produced and sold at dairies, supplies declined further and further, and the Cheese Market was ended shortly before 1940. But even though this market no longer exists, its success contributed to Purmerend's status as d market town of North Holland.
If you want to see images of the Cheese Market, check the location menu. Continue right after the church and walk towards the Purmerends museum.
Listen | Bleaching And Starch Factories
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Oostzaan experienced an industrial heyday. Many inhabitants found work in the bleaching and starch mills spread across the area. At this first point in the tour, we would like to tell you a bit more about these special trades.
Listen | Bleaching And Starch Factories
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Oostzaan experienced an industrial heyday. Many inhabitants found work in the bleaching and starch mills spread across the area. At this first point in the tour, we would like to tell you a bit more about these special trades.
In the bleachers, white laundry from the pasture surroundings was restored to a bright and fresh colour. After washing, rinsing and a special treatment with lye, the laundry was spread out on the surrounding bleaching fields to 'bleach' in the sun. Can you see the fields full of laundry in front of you? Then followed another milk bath as well as a wash with bleaching soap, after which the laundry was finally dried in the sheds.
Nowadays, it is hard to imagine so many operations to do the laundry! In the starch mills, some pieces were then also treated with starch. Rinsing the textiles in starch produced a transparent layer on top. This layer made the fabric less likely to wear or get dirty, and also protected the colour.
Starch mills could be found along streams where the water flowed well and was clear. This was necessary for washing the starch. The starch itself was made from wheat. This process left a protein-rich water, which was used as food in pig and poultry fattening. For there were many of these in Oostzaan as well. A final unique industry formed the tear-distilleries, which we will tell you more about in the next section.
Listen | Traankokeries
You will shortly cycle through recreation area 't Twiske, much of which belongs to the municipality of Oostzaan. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the river Twiske, from which the area takes its name, served as a supply and drainage route for the tearpipe farms south of the village.
Listen | Traankokeries
You will shortly cycle through recreation area 't Twiske, much of which belongs to the municipality of Oostzaan. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the river Twiske, from which the area takes its name, served as a supply and drainage route for the tearpipe farms south of the village.
Indeed, many Oostzaan boatmen earned their living catching whales off Spitsbergen and the North Cape. Once they returned to Oostzaan, the whale crane, which was very popular at the time, was processed in the whale distilleries. For this purpose, the fatty tissue of captured baleen whales was boiled out under pressure. Because of the resulting stench, the distilleries were located in the open field, as far away from the village centre as possible.
Tears were used for many things. As lamp oil and lubricant and also in making soap and candles. An important stuff, in other words! That importance only declined with the advent of patent oil and gas lighting. Moreover, there were also fewer and fewer whales left. After World War II, however, there was a temporary revival of whaling from the Zaan area. This was due to the severe shortage of food fats in our country. When the livestock recovered and catches again became smaller and smaller due to overfishing, this came to an end in the 1960s. Want to know what whale products were sold at this time? Then play the quiz in the menu.
At the next point we will tell you more about the origins of the current layout of recreation area 't Twiske.
Listen | Twiskemolen en ontstaan Twiske
You are now at the Twiskemolen. This is an old Dutch windmill, but it has only stood on this spot since 1974. How that came about we will explain to you.
Listen | Twiskemolen en ontstaan Twiske
You are now at the Twiskemolen. This is an old Dutch windmill, but it has only stood on this spot since 1974. How that came about we will explain to you.
As early as the 19th century, there were plans to reclaim De Veen or The Fens, as the area is also known. The order finally came through in the 1930s as part of the labour supply, and reclamation and reclamation began. Unfortunately, reclamation turned out to be a failure. The soil was too salty for horticulture, and a trial for farming also failed.
When a lot of sand was needed for the construction of the Coen tunnel in the 1960s, a deep sand pool was dredged in the Twiske. This created the present-day Stootersplas, and with it the idea for the Twiske as a recreational area. There was a lot of demand for it from Amsterdam. But because drainage had already stopped in the 1950s, the structure had to be restored first.
The auxiliary pumping station, dating back to the 1940s, was no longer suitable for this purpose, and so the idea for the mill was born. An electric auxiliary drive was installed to ensure that the mill could do its job even when there was no wind.
Both along the Twiske and in Oostzaan itself, dykes have been constructed over the centuries to protect the area from high water. Oostzaan's coat of arms would be a reminder of this, but more on that in the next section.
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.
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 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.
Listen | First AH shop
If you get off your bike here for a moment, you can get a good look at the coat of arms of Oostzaan on the facade of the town hall. It is also on the facade of the old town hall at number 14, a little further down the road. Across here, on the corner, stood the very first Albert Heijn shop.
Listen | First AH shop
If you get off your bike here for a moment, you can get a good look at the coat of arms of Oostzaan on the facade of the town hall. It is also on the facade of the old town hall at number 14, a little further down the road. Across here, on the corner, stood the very first Albert Heijn shop.
In 1887, young Albert took over his father Jan's grocery shop. In doing so, he decided to rearrange the shop and sell more products there. "Poor and rich should be able to do their shopping with me!" was his motto. That this was a good idea was shown by the fact that after eight years he was able to open a second branch in Purmerend.
He also started being the first grocer in the country to produce items himself, such as biscuits and coffee. This again became a great success. A final golden touch was to also start selling other people's items under its own name. So the chain of shops continued to grow, each time coming up with an even greater range of products and service.
Unfortunately, Albert died in 1945 at the age of 80, so he did not live to see his company's IPO. At the next point on the route, we'll tell you about another well-known and successful resident of Oostzaan, who still lives here today. Contemporary designer Piet Boon.
If you want to see an old advertising video of the Alber Heijn. Then watch the video in the menu screen. And do you want to know which other surnames are typically Oostzonian? Then play the quiz in the menu screen.
But you might want to have a drink on the terrace first. We are now about halfway through the bike ride.
Listen | Piet Boon
You are now at the intersection of Stationsstraat and Haal. We will cycle straight ahead in a moment, but if you like architecture, it is definitely worth taking a little trip here.
Listen | Piet Boon
You are now at the intersection of Stationsstraat and Haal. We will cycle straight ahead in a moment, but if you like architecture, it is definitely worth taking a little trip here.
At number 57 of the Haal, on your left, is a house designed by Piet Boon. If you turn right, you will pass his own house on the right side of the road.
Piet Boon is a very well-known contemporary designer from Oostzaan. Together with his wife Karin, he runs an international and renowned design studio here. His portfolio includes everything. From luxury private houses to hotels and resorts, and villas on Bonaire's beach. And how about the Booneiland? That's a floating design village on the open water in the Noorderplassen near Almere. His style can best be described as understated chic.Timeless designs that stand out with elegant detailing and a very clear artisanal character as he himself describes it.
If you want to know more about Oostzaan's creative industry, watch the video in the menu.
His furniture line is also popular and is sold in 46 countries under Piet Boon's signature, so this typical Oostzaan name has caused a furore worldwide. His inspiration comes from the nature surrounding him, such as the Oostzanerveld, which you will cycle through in a moment. Would you like to know which other family names are typically Oostzagan? Then play the Quiz in the menu screen.
Listen | Oostzanerveld and Vaarboeren
You now cycle through the Oostzanerveld. This is a so-called peat meadow area consisting mainly of islets and ditches. In the past, the islets were used as grazing land for cattle.
Listen | Oostzanerveld and Vaarboeren
You now cycle through the Oostzanerveld. This is a so-called peat meadow area consisting mainly of islets and ditches. In the past, the islets were used as grazing land for cattle.
The farmer would then take the gig to milk the cows, or move them between the islets. That is why these farmers were called sailing farmers. A small number of them are still active, but that won't last long. In fact, it is not profitable enough these days.
This is a pity because the peat meadow area is a unique and very special landscape. You can also find rare meadow birds here, such as the bittern and the redshank. But the land has to be maintained. For instance, the vegetation in the ditches has to be removed regularly to prevent the ditches from overgrowing.
Because there are so few farmers now, the field would soon become overgrown. Together with the farmers and a number of agencies, Laag Holland has therefore drawn up a plan to preserve the field. This will ensure that it stays that way in the future and that no houses or business premises are established there.
If you want to see a boating farmer at work, watch the video in the menu screen. A notorious resident of Oostzaan who also liked boating a lot is Claes Compaen. But he earned his money in a very different way. We'll tell you more at the next point!
Listen | Claes Compaen
Besides the whaling mentioned earlier, there were more ways to earn your money at sea in the Golden Age. With trade, for example.
Listen | Claes Compaen
Besides the whaling mentioned earlier, there were more ways to earn your money at sea in the Golden Age. With trade, for example.
But the most lucrative way was privateering. With a privateer's letter on board, issued by the government, a ship had the right to attack and loot enemy ships. Legitimised piracy under the guise of economic warfare.
In practice, the big money went to the high bosses and the crew did not keep much. Claes Compaen disagreed. He bought a ship with 17 guns and room for 80 men, called the Walte. And instead of keeping everything for himself, he simply divided the booty among the crew. At first it was mostly Spanish ships that Compaen looted but later he also robbed ships from other countries and even Dutch ones. This way, he robbed himself wealthy in four years, because there was no one who could compete with his loyal crew.
After those four years, he did want to return to his wife and children in Oostzaan. But because he had also robbed Dutch people, he would be arrested immediately. Nevertheless, he was granted a pardon by the States General if he promised never to rob again. After all, they were long happy if he would stop. After he had done so, he lived quietly in Oostzaan until his death.
Legend has it that Claes Compaen buried his immense amount of loot somewhere in Oostzaan. Today, people are still looking for this treasure. At the next point in this route, we will tell you about a famous resident who did move out of Oostzaan.
Listen | Jacob Cornelisz Van Oostsanen
At the last point of the route, we go back in time for a famous Oostzaner. Around 1470, the painter and woodcarver Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen was born. Because he moved to Amsterdam in his later life, he is also called Jacob Cornelisz of Amsterdam.
Listen | Jacob Cornelisz Van Oostsanen
At the last point of the route, we go back in time for a famous Oostzaner. Around 1470, the painter and woodcarver Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen was born. Because he moved to Amsterdam in his later life, he is also called Jacob Cornelisz of Amsterdam.
Some 40 paintings are known to have come from him. We also know what he looked like as he was the first Dutch artist to create a self-portrait. He did this in 1533, the year he died. He was also the first Dutch painter to make a harbour scene, as the background scene of The Birth of Christ in Naples.
His early work is still dominated by Gothic, but after 1524 he made a U-turn to the Renaissance and his work can increasingly be placed in this style. He is therefore mainly known as a painter who represents this transition from Gothic to Renaissance.
As many as 126 works by him can be found in the Rijksmuseum's collection, including four very well-known paintings. The rest of the work consists of woodcuts. Because he left so much beauty behind, Jacob was perhaps the most special resident of special Oostzaan. We therefore also like to conclude this tour with him. The last part of this tour brings you back to the starting point in Purmerend.
