Monnickendam () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the Dutch province of

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 ...

. It is a part of the municipality of Waterland, and lies on the coast of the

Markermeer The Markermeer () is a lake in the central Netherlands in between North Holland, Flevoland, and its smaller and larger neighbors, the IJmeer and IJsselmeer. A shallow lake at 3 to 5 m in depth, matching the reclaimed land to its west, n ...

, about southeast of Purmerend. It 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 tradition ...

in 1355 and was damaged by the fires of 1500 and 1513.

History

Monnikendam was also the name of a number of warships built at the port of the same name during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. The town was founded by monks, the name Monnickendam translates as 'Monk's dam'. Monnickendam was a separate municipality until 1991, when it was merged into Waterland. Although it is a small fishing village today, it was an important port in earlier centuries. It possesses a seventeenth-century weigh house, once used by merchants and port officials, and a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell t ...

that dates from 1591. The fourteenth century church of St. Nicholas, renovated in 1602, is particularly notable. The

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

was built in 1894. Jewish families named Monnikendam trace their roots to this town. The town was the site of an artist's colony in the early twentieth century.

Economy

Monnickendam hosts a number of industries, many related to its history and proximity to the Markermeer. Notably, the city is home to the

Royal Hakvoort Shipyards Royal Hakvoort Shipyards is a shipbuilding company specialized in building large luxury motor yachts. It is located in the municipality of Monnickendam in the Netherlands. History The shipyard was established in 1919 by Albert Hakvoort Sr. when ...

that has operated for over a century, first catering to the local fishing industry by building vessels for their purpose, and later moving into luxury and pleasure crafts. Other notable organisations include Leguit + Roos, specialising in the renovation and restoration of historical buildings that are plenty in the Waterland area. In recent developments, the derelict business quarter of Galgeriet was demolished in order to make space for the development of new residential buildings. The Dutch government has

subsidised A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

this development with € 6,420,240, with the hope of creating 700 homes as well as additional commercial spaces to both alleviate the ailing demography and provide an impetus for further economic growth.

Demographics

In 2001, the town of Monnickendam had 9,546 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was , and contained 3,766 residences.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001'

Statistics are for the continuous built-up area. The wider statistical area of Monnickendam has a population of around 9,680.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Gemeente Op Maat 2004: Waterland'

Notable people

Wendelmoet Claesdochter Wendelmoet Claesdochter ( – 20 November 1527) was a Dutch Lutheran who was executed for heresy by strangulation followed by burning, and is known as the first woman victim to the religious persecutions in the Netherlands during the reig ...

, first female martyr during the Reformation, killed in a 1527 in The Hague * Cornelis Dirkszoon, mayor of Monnickendam during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

* Hermann Jung (1608–1678), prominent Lutheran theologian and preacher * Simon Lambrechtszoon Mau, captain of the ''Duyfken'' who led the first expedition to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, wh ...

using a route around Africa * Marlou van Rhijn, two-time

200 metre The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightly ...

gold medal winner at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and 2016 Paralymics

Gallery

File:Monnickendam, sculptuur van een monnik op de brug bij de Waag foto8 2014-05-25 11.09.jpg, Monk sculpture at the bridge near de Waag File:Sint-Nicolaaskerk1 Monnickendam.jpg, Church: de Grote of Sint Nicolaaskerk File:Waag en Speeltoren Monnickendam.jpg, Tower (de Speeltoren) and de Waag File:Monnickendam, zicht op de Haven foto1 2014-05-25 10.52.jpg, View to the port File:Monnickendam, straatzicht Noordeinde met monumentaal pand RM29996 en kerk op achtergrond foto2 2014-05-25 11.18.jpg, View to a street (het Noordeinde) File:Monnickendam (4).jpg, View to the grachten

References

External links

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