Schermer () is a former municipality 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 North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

. The name comes from "''skir mere''", which means "bright lake". Since 2015 it has been a part of the municipality of

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 ...

. The

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Schermer included not only the Schermer

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

, but also the polders of Oterleek, Mijzenpolder and Eilandspolder.

History

Around 800 AD, the area that was the municipality of Schermer was covered in

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

, and a small river called the Schermer flowed through it. Because of peat-digging and storm floods, this small river had by 1250 developed into an inland lake with an open connection with the Zuyderzee. In the 17th century private investors started draining the largest part of the lake, leaving the southern part, the Alkmaardermeer, intact. In 1635, of polder was drained, whereupon the land was divided among the shareholders. In 1970, the village of Zuid- en Noord-Schermer was merged into Schermer.

Population centres

The municipality of Schermer included the following small towns and villages: Driehuizen, Grootschermer, Oterleek, Schermerhorn, Stompetoren, Zuidschermer. The latter two are located in the Schermer polder.

Topography

''Map of the municipality of Schermer, 2013.''

Local government

The municipal council of Schermer consisted of eleven seats, which were divided as follows at the 2010 local elections: * Schermer Belang - 4 seats * CDA - 3 seats * VVD - 2 seats * PvdA - 2 seats There was an election in November 2014 for the council of the new merged Alkmaar municipality that commenced work on 1 January 2015, replacing Schermer council.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline
Official website
Alkmaar Polders of North Holland Former municipalities of North Holland Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2015