Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia.

History

Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade with the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

was conducted. It received city rights in 1355. On June 24, 1572 during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

, in Enkhuizen five

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

from

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

were hanged: known as the martyrs of Alkmaar. In the mid-17th century, Enkhuizen was at the peak of its power and was one of the most important harbour cities in the Netherlands. However, due to a variety of reasons, notably the silting up of the harbours, Enkhuizen lost its position to Amsterdam.

Tourism

Enkhuizen has one of the largest marinas in the Netherlands. The Zuiderzee Museum is located in Enkhuizen. The Drommedaris is the oldest building in Enkhuizen, dating from 1540. Tourists can take boat trips to and from the port to Medemblik.

Industry

Industrially, Enkhuizen is home to a number of seed production companies, Enza Zaden, Syngenta, Bayer Crop Science, as well as a

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

s factory. Tourism is also a large part of the economy.

Population centres

The municipality of Enkhuizen consists of the city of Enkhuizen and the settlements of Oosterdijk and Westeinde.

Local government

After the 2022 local election, the 17 seats of Enkhuizen municipal council divided as follows:

Transport

Enkhuizen station offers direct rail service to Hoorn,

and

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

/ Heerlen, with the journey to Amsterdam Centraal of around an hour. During the summer, ferries for pedestrians and cyclists operate between Enkhuizen and Stavoren, Medemblik and Urk. It is also possible to drive or cycle across the Houtribdijk to Lelystad, passing under a naviduct near the Krabbersgat lock.

Notable buildings

* Evangelical Lutheran Church (Enkhuizen) * St Francis Xavier Church, Enkhuizen

Notable residents

Public thought and public service

* Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer (ca.1534–1606) nautical cartographer * Franciscus Maelson (1538–1601) Dutch physician and statesman * Dirck Gerritsz Pomp (1544–ca.1608) sailor, the first known Dutch visitor to China and Japan * Jan Huyghen van Linschoten (1563–1611) merchant, trader and historian * Joris Carolus (ca.1566–ca.1636) Dutch cartographer and explorer * Johannes Antonides van der Linden (1609–1664) Dutch physician, botanist and author * Hermann Witsius (1636–1708) Dutch theologian * Cornelis Jan Simonsz (ca.1661–ca.1727) Governor of Dutch Ceylon 1703/1707 * Jacob Mossel (1704– 1761) sailor and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies 1750/1761 * Jan Baas (born 1950) Dutch politician and Mayor of Enkhuizen *

Gerrit Zalm Gerrit Zalm (; born 6 May 1952) is a retired Dutch people, Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman. Zalm studied Economics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, obtaining a Master of Economics degree ...

(born 1952) banker, former Minister of Finance * Stef Blok (born 1964) Dutch politician and

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

The arts

* Pieter Symonsz Potter (1597–1652) Dutch Golden Age painter * Willem Bartsius (1612–1657) Dutch Golden Age painter. * Jacob Steendam (1615– ca.1672) Dutch poet and minister. * Paulus Potter (1625–1654) painter * Pieter Gallis (1633–1697) Dutch Golden Age painter * Dirck Ferreris (1639–1693) Dutch Golden Age painter * Jos Lussenburg (1889–1975) Dutch painter and musician * Matthijs Verschoor (born 1955) Dutch classical pianist and academic

Science and business

* Jan Verbruggen (1712–1781) Dutch master gun-founder and an artist * David de Gorter (1717–1783) Dutch physician, botanist and academic * Gerbrand Bakker (1771–1828) physician, professor at the University of Groningen * Harm Bart (born 1942) Dutch mathematician, economist and academic

Sport

* Corry Vreeken (1928-2025) Dutch chess Women's Grandmaster * Nel Zwier (1936–2001) Dutch high jumper, competed at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

* Eljo Kuiler (born 1946) former diver, competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics * Wijda Mazereeuw (born 1953) Dutch swimmer, competed in the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Gallery

File:Enkhuizen, het stationsgebouw RM507064 IMG 4145 2024-07-28 10.19.jpg, Enkhuizen, train station File:Enkhuizen, de Koepoort foto5 2010-06-05 10.03.JPG, Enkhuizen, gate: de Koepoort File:Enkhuizen, de Drommedaris RM464878 foto4 2015-10-11 10.53.jpg, Enkhuizen, town gate: de Drommedaris File:Drommedaris met de Bocht.jpg, Enkhuizen in winter

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of North Holland Populated places in North Holland