Zaandam () is a city in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan, just north of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. The statistical district Zaandam, which covers the city and the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 76,804.Municipality of Zaanstad, ''Zaanstad in cijfers'

As of 1 January 2017. Zaandam was a separate municipality until 1974, when it became a part of the new municipality of Zaanstad.

History

The history of Zaandam (formerly called ''Saenredam'') and the surrounding Zaan River region (the Zaanstreek) is intimately tied to industry. In the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and art and ...

, Zaandam served as a large milling centre. Thousands of

windmills A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some par ...

powered saws that processed Scandinavian wood for the shipbuilding and paper industries. A statue that commemorates this industry was commissioned from sculptor Slavomir Miletić, and the statue, ''De houtwerker'' ("The Woodworker"), was installed on 20 June 2004. Zaandam was a leading city in the first

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

but then begins a steady decline. Zaandam is also historically linked with the

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

industry. In 1697, Tsar

Peter I of Russia Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from ...

spent some time in Zaandam, where he studied shipbuilding. He stayed in a little wooden house built in 1632, but was soon forced to leave because he attracted too much attention from the local population; he moved to Amsterdam, where he studied at one of the wharves of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

. The wooden house he stayed was preserved and turned into a museum, the Czar Peter House. A statue honoring him was placed on the nearby Dam Square in 1911, and was declared a

Rijksmonument A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...

. In 1871, the impressionist painter

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

lived in Zaandam for approximately half a year. During that time, he made 25 paintings of the area, including ''

Houses on the Achterzaan ''Houses on the Achterzaan'' is an 1871 painting by French artist Claude Monet. Done in oil on canvas, the work depicts riverside garden houses on the west shore of the Achterzaan river in Zaandam, the Netherlands. He painted it from the dam in ...

'', ''Bateaux en Hollande pres de Zaandam'' and ''A windmill at Zaandam''.

Economy

The first European

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

restaurant opened in Zaandam in 1971.McDonald's International (Press Release), "Fascinating McFacts about McDonald's International", 1996. The

Albert Heijn Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands with a market share of 34.8% in 2020. It was founded in 1887, and has been part of Ahold Delhaize since 2016. History The chain was founded on 27 May 1887, when Albert Heijn boug ...

supermarket chain (founded in nearby

Oostzaan Oostzaan () is a municipality and a town in the Zaanstreek, Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The municipality had a population of in . Oostzaan has a total area of of which is water. Oostzaan—together with Westzaan and As ...

in 1887), now grown into the

Ahold Delhaize Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (in Dutch literally "Royal Ahold Delhaize"), commonly known as Ahold Delhaize, is a Dutch multinational retail and wholesaling company. Its name comes from a merger between Ahold (Dutch) and Delhaize Group (Belg ...

retail company, is headquartered in Zaandam. Chocolate manufacturer

Verkade Royal Verkade (Dutch: Koninklijke Verkade) is a Dutch manufacturing company, owned by a Turkish conglomerate. The company is headquartered in Zaandam and was one of the oldest existing family companies in the Netherlands. In November 2014 the co ...

also hails from Zaandam. There were 6,910 business establishments in Zaandam in 2019. Football club AZ (Alkmaar Zaanstreek) was founded in Zaandam on May 10, 1967.

Transport

There are two railway stations in Zaandam: Zaandam railway station and Zaandam Kogerveld railway station. Plans exist by the province of North Holland to extend the

Amsterdam Metro The Amsterdam Metro ( nl, Amsterdamse metro) is a rapid transit system serving Amsterdam, Netherlands, and extending to the surrounding municipalities of Diemen and Ouder-Amstel. Until 2019 it also served the municipality of Amstelveen but thi ...

to Zaandam.

Gallery

File:Zaandam stadhuis.JPG, Zaandam City Hall File:Zaandam, kerk1 in straatzicht foto1 2011-04-17 16.02.JPG, ''De Oostzijderkerk'' File:Zaandam, sluis foto3 2011-04-17 16.05.JPG, Zaandam, sluice File:Zaandam, de Sint Bonifactuskerk foto6 2011-*04-17 16.14.JPG, ''De Sint Bonifatiuskerk'' File:Zaanstad Bahnhofsbrücke 09.jpg, Zaandam downtown File:Monet Claude A Windmill at Zaandam.jpg, A windmill near Zaandam painted in 1871 by

File:Zaandam2.jpg, Zaandam circa 1889. Etching by

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

Image:Albert Heijn Headquarters by Niels Kim.jpg, Albert Heijn headquarters in Zaandam

Notable people

* Han Bennink (born 1942), jazz musician *

Pieter Bleeker Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on the fishes of East Asia ...

(1819–1878), ichthyologist *

Kees Bruynzeel Cornelis ("Kees") Bruynzeel Jr. (February 19, 1900 in Rotterdam – August 1. 1980 in Greece) was a Dutch businessman, timber merchant and yachtsman. Early years Bruynzeel was the son of Cornelis Bruynzeel Sr., who founded a timber factory in 18 ...

(1900–1980), wood merchant * Ali Bouali (born 1981), rapper *

Dirk Andries Flentrop Dirk Andries Flentrop (1 May 1910 – 30 November 2003) was a Dutch organ builder. He built or restored many major organs in the United States and in Europe. He was noted for his 1977 restoration of two organs from the 17th and 18th centuries ...

(1910—2003), organ builder *

Piet Kee Pieter William Kee (30 August 1927 – 25 May 2018) was a Dutch organist and composer. Biography Born in Zaandam, Netherlands, Kee studied organ, piano and composition at the Amsterdam Conservatory, obtaining the Prix d'Excellence, and won first ...

(born 1927–2018), organist and composer *

Erwin Koeman Erwin Koeman (born 20 September 1961) is a Dutch retired professional football player and retired football manager. Personal life He is the son of Dutch international footballer Martin Koeman, and, alongside his younger brother Ronald, has also ...

(born 1961), football player and football coach *

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was capab ...

(born 1963), football player and football coach *

Hendrik Lenstra Hendrik Willem Lenstra Jr. (born 16 April 1949, Zaandam) is a Dutch mathematician. Biography Lenstra received his doctorate from the University of Amsterdam in 1977 and became a professor there in 1978. In 1987 he was appointed to the faculty o ...

(born 1947), mathematician * Anton Mauve (1838–1888), painter *

Robert Molenaar Robert Molenaar (born 27 February 1969) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Eerste Divisie club NAC Breda. He played as a centre-back for FC Volendam, Leeds United, Bradford City and RBC Roosendaal ...

(born 1969), football player *

Oğuzhan Özyakup Oğuzhan Özyakup (born 23 September 1992), also known as Ozzie or Ozzy, is a Turkish-Dutch professional footballer who plays for Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard as a midfielder. Born in Zaandam, the Netherlands, Özyakup has previously featured ...

(born 1992), football player * Kathinka Pasveer (born 1959), flautist * Johnny Rep (born 1951), football player * Jan Saenredam (1565–1607), copperplate engraver * Harm van den Dorpel (born 1981), conceptual artist *

Patricia van der Vliet Patricia van der Vliet (born 14 July 1989) is a Dutch fashion model, who placed fourth in the fourth cycle of the reality television series ''Holland's Next Top Model''. Biography Early life Van der Vliet was born in Zaandam, North Holland. P ...

(born 1989), model *

Elisabeth van Houts Elisabeth Maria Cornelia van Houts, Lady Baker (born 1952) is a Dutch-born British historian specializing in medieval European history. Van Houts was born in Zaandam in the Netherlands. She married historian Sir John Baker in 2010. She is an H ...

(born 1952), historian *

Jan Verkade Johannes Sixtus Gerhardus (Jan) Verkade (18 September 1868 - 19 July 1946), afterwards Willibrord Verkade O.S.B., was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter. A disciple of Paul Gauguin and friend of Paul S ...

(1868–1946), painter *

Arie Smit Adrianus Wilhelmus "Arie" Smit (15 April 1916 – 23 March 2016) was a Dutch-born Indonesian painter who lived on Bali. Early life Smit was the third of eight children of a trader in cheese and confectionery in Zaandam. His family moved in ...

(born 1916–2016), painter *

Melissa Venema Melissa Venema (born April 12, 1995, in Alkmaar) is a Dutch trumpeter. Life Melissa started playing recorder at age 6 and moved to trumpet by age 8. When she was 10, she auditioned successfully at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, training under ...

(born 1995), musician *

Owen Wijndal Owen Wijndal (born 28 November 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Netherlands national team. Club career AZ Born in Paramaribo, Wijndal joined the AZ youth academy at the age of ...

(born 1999), professional footballer

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Former municipalities of North Holland Populated places in North Holland Zaanstad