Schellingwoude is a neighbourhood of

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 ...

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 ...

. A former village located on the northern shore of the IJ, 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 ...

, it was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1857, when it was merged with

Ransdorp Ransdorp is a village in the province of North Holland, Netherlands, part of the municipality of Amsterdam. It lies about 7 km northeast of the city centre, in the Landelijk Noord district. Ransdorp is a part of the borough ( Dutch: ''stad ...

; the latter merged with Amsterdam in 1921. Nowadays it is part of the

Amsterdam-Noord Amsterdam-Noord (; ) is a Boroughs of Amsterdam, borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands with a population of about 90,000. The IJ (Amsterdam), IJ, the body of water which separates it from Amsterdam-Centrum and the rest of the city, is situated southwes ...

borough and the

Landelijk Noord Landelijk Noord is a neighborhood of Amsterdam, 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 ...

district.

History

In order to stop the

land loss Land loss is the term typically used to refer to the conversion of coastal land to open water by natural processes and human activities. The term ''land loss'' includes coastal erosion. It is a much broader term than coastal erosion because land l ...

caused by the

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee''), historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km (60 miles) inla ...

, farmers began around 1200 to build the Waterlandse Zeedijk. On this dike the village Schellingwoude was founded. Sources of income were

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. During the 14th century

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

began to flourish, and took on greater importance in the 16th century, owing to the growth in

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

in this part of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. Competition with Amsterdam was enormous, however, so commerce around shipping declined. In those days Schellingwoude was a village of distinction. For the surrounding villages the administration of justice took place in Schellingwoude. Schellingwoude1

In 1622 the population of Schellingwoude was 1,048; by 1809 this number had fallen to 684. The decline in the trade and shipping activities was the main cause of this reduction. Activities that remained were farming, fishing and some industrial activity. In 1800 Schellingwoude had two mills. An important complex of

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

s, the Oranje Locks, together with a steam pumping station, was ready in 1872. King Willem III had laid the first stone on 29 April 1870. The Oranjesluizen and the Schellingwouder Bridge, built in 1957 over the Buiten-IJ, are two landmarks at the east side of the village. With the arrival of the Oranjesluizen, Schellingwoude got a boost. The lock created new jobs and new houses were built. The village supported around five

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

at that time. The villages at the Waterlandse Zeedijk were extremely stricken by the

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

of 1916 and could not recover on their own: in 1921 Amsterdam incorporated the villages

Buiksloot Buiksloot is a former village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is now a neighbourhood of Amsterdam-Noord. Buiksloot was a separate municipality from 1811 until 1921, when it was merged with Amsterdam. From 1888 to 1956, Buiksloot had ...

Nieuwendam Nieuwendam (literal translation: "new dam") is a neighbourhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands, best known for its marina (Dutch language, Dutch: ''jachthaven''). A former village in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Nieuwend ...

(with Zunderdorp) and

(with Schellingwoude,

Durgerdam Durgerdam is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Amsterdam, and lies about 7 km east of the city centre, along the dyke of the IJmeer. Durgerdam is a part of the ''deelgemeente'' (sub-munici ...

and Holysloot).The Schellingwouderdijk
on iamsterdam.com.

Church

Since the 14th century the village has a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

. The Schellingwouder church was built on a

terp A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and ...

behind the dyke. The current church is dated from 1866. The church chest from 1659 has survived; important documents were once kept in it. The chest has a text engraved in memory of the people of Schellingwoude who stood up for their rights at that time. Other villages required Schellingwoude to pay more money for the upkeep of the Waterlandse Zeedijk. The resistance of Schellingwoude was successful. ''Schellinghwoud heeft over vijftigh jaer gestreden''
''Tegen ses dorpen en twee steden''
''De gemeendijck versocht en van dat hof verkreghen''
''In 't jaer sestien hondert vijftigh en negen'' Nowadays the church does not serve as a house of worship, but remains a popular wedding location.

References

{{Neighborhoods of Amsterdam Former municipalities of North Holland Amsterdam-Noord Neighbourhoods of Amsterdam