Purmerend () is a city and municipality in the west of 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 city is surrounded by

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 ...

s, such as the

Purmer Purmer is a polder and reclaimed lake in the Netherlands province of North Holland, located between the towns of Purmerend and Edam-Volendam. It is also a village located in the municipalities of Waterland and Edam-Volendam. Purmer polder Wi ...

Beemster Beemster () is a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The Beemster is the first polder in the Netherlands land reclamation, reclaimed from a lake, the water extracted by windmi ...

and the

Wormer Wormer is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wormerland, and lies about 13 km northwest of Amsterdam. The town is situated in the Zaan district, on the eastern side of the river Zaan, across ...

. Purmerend's population grew relatively slowly until the 1960s, when it increased from around 10,000 to over 80,000 by 2020. This expansion has turned Purmerend into a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

; many inhabitants (14,200 in 2011) work, go to school or spend leisure time in

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 ...

. Purmerend is part of the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or Circular arc, arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that includes almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Net ...

, one of the largest

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

s in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The municipality of

merged into the municipality of Purmerend on 1 January 2022. The extended municipality has a population of about 92,000.

History

Early history

Purmerend was created out of the small

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, ...

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Purmer, which was situated on the land between the Purmermeer (''Purmer Lake''), the Beemstermeer (''Beemster Lake'') and the Wormermeer (''Wormer Lake'') on the south bank of the river , which used to connect the former Purmermeer and Beemstermeer. Purmerend was founded by a rich banker and landowner from

, Willem Eggert.

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

William VI of Holland (''Willem VI van Holland'') gave him permission to build a fortified

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

, Slot Purmerstein, in 1410. The castle was completed in 1413.Waterlandziekenhuis
This led to the foundation of the town of Purmerend. The castle was demolished in 1741, after it had fallen into decline. In 1434 Purmerend was given

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 ...

and in 1484 “ marktrechten”, (the right to organise two “''jaarmarkten''” annual markets and a “''weekmarkt''” weekly market) by Count Jan van Egmond. This meant merchants from outside of Purmerend could sell in the market. Before 1484 only food for its own population could be sold.

17th century

By 1500 Purmerend had grown considerably, as can be seen on maps from this period. The town had a rectangular shape and was crossed by two roads: one leading north–south, the other east–west. The draining of the Beemster Lake in 1612 and the Purmer Lake in 1622 resulted in a great loss in

grounds to Purmerend. However, the new and fertile soil favoured

agriculture 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

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

, making Purmerend prosperous again. Purmerend now became the centre of an agricultural region, the

produce In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, vegetables intended to be Eating, eaten by humans, although other food products such as Dairy product, dairy products or Nut (foo ...

of which was sold on the markets of Purmerend.

19th century

From 1819 till 1824 the Noordhollandsch Kanaal was constructed. It was dug along existing waterways like the Oude Vaart, which connected Purmerend to the IJ opposite Amsterdam, and along canals that connected Purmerend to Alkmaar. On 20 July 1821 the large (Purmerend Lock) was completed just west of the city center. The Noordhollandsch Kanaal brought increased prosperity to Purmerend. In 1840 the company Brantjes en Comp, trading in wood, was founded. The Firma Dirk Bakker also started to import wood. Meanwhile, Firma Pont from Edam diverted her imports over Purmerend via the river. Ships from Norway, Sweden, Russia and America then started to make direct trips to Purmerend to bring wood. Sometimes 12 of these were present at the same time. The increased commerce and shipping led to the creation of an industry that catered for ships. In turn Purmerend merchants started to equip

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

s. In 1866 the establishment of a tow service with 7 tugboats by Gebroeders Goedkoop was one of the last highlights of this period. By about 1880 this boom period for Purmerend was ending, because the new

North Sea Canal The North Sea Canal () is a Dutch ship canal from Amsterdam to the North Sea at IJmuiden, constructed between 1865 and 1876 to enable seafaring vessels to reach the port of Amsterdam. This man-made channel terminates at Amsterdam in the closed- ...

diverted traffic elsewhere.

20th century

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Purmerend was occupied by German forces on 14 May 1940. After five years of occupation, the city was liberated by Canadian and other allied forces on Wednesday 9 May 1945.

21st century

Purmerend was named Kermisstad van Nederland (''

Funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

City of the Netherlands'') in 2003. The city is also well known for its cattle market, the so-called ''koemarkt'' (“cow market”), where cattle are sold and traded, mostly

cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

and

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

. () After the outbreak of many cattle diseases between 1995 and 2001 the cattle market was closed, but reinstated on a smaller scale in January 2002.Purmerend.nl
After 400 years in a location in central Purmerender, in 2008 the cattle market was moved to the "Baanstee Oost" industrial area, on the north side of Purmerend. This was done for various reasons, including reduced traffic congestion and more parking space in the city centre, as well as more room for auction grounds and ease of moving trucks at the new site.

Geography and climate

Geography

Purmerend lies on a

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

y and watery area known as

Waterland Waterland () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. It is situated north of Amsterdam, on the western shore of the Markermeer. It includes t ...

. When the first settlers began cultivating the land, it consisted mostly of turf (''veen''), they dug

ditch A ditch is a small to moderate trench created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ...

es that run parallel to each other to drain excess water. As a side effect of this process, the land began to sink. This resulted in a never-ending battle against the water, and made

near impossible at the time. It also meant that any

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

needed to be built on an artificial

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 ...

or natural

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

. This applied to Purmerend which was built on the bank of the river De Where, that linked the former

and

lakes.

Topography

Districts

Purmerend is made up of the following districts. The municipality of Purmerend also contains the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

of Purmerbuurt and partially the

. (The Purmer is shared with Edam-Volendam and

)

Climate

Public transport

Public transportation is mainly focused on Amsterdam, with several bus services and a train service via

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan ...

. There are 3 train stations in Purmerend, in the north, centre and south. These are: * Purmerend Overwhere (North) *

Purmerend Purmerend () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster and the Wormer. Purmerend's population grew relatively slowly until the 1960s ...

(Centre) * Purmerend Weidevenne (South) The

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

in Purmerend is called "Tramplein" (or, Tram Square). Historically, a tram ("'t Boemeltje") ran from Amsterdam Centraal to Purmerend, ending at the Tramplein. The end stop retained the name even after the tram service was discontinued. In 1951

The Ramblers The Ramblers' Association, branded simply as the Ramblers, is Great Britain's walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path network. T ...

had a hit commemorating the tram service "’t Boemeltje van Purmerend". In 2019, the province of North Holland revealed plans to extend the Amsterdam Metro's Noord-Zuidlijn from Noord station to Purmerend.

Local government

The municipal council of Purmerend consists of 37 seats, which divided as follows in the elections of November 2021: These were the first elections for the new enlarged municipality that included Beemster. It commenced work on 1 January 2012. Since 22 September 2022 the mayor of Purmerend has been Ellen van Selm.

Born in Purmerend

Notable people born in Purmerend: * Jan Stuyt (1868–1934), a Dutch architect *

Pieter Oud Pieter Jacobus Oud (5 December 1886 – 12 August 1968) was a Dutch politician of the Free-thinking Democratic League (VDB) and later co-founder of the Labour Party (PvdA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and historian. ...

(1886–1968), a Dutch politician, Minister of finance and Mayor of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

* Jacobus Oud (1890–1963), a Dutch architect, follower of the

De Stijl De Stijl (, ; 'The Style') was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 by a group of artists and architects based in Leiden (Theo van Doesburg, Jacobus Oud, J.J.P. Oud), Voorburg (Vilmos Huszár, Jan Wils) and Laren, North Holland, Laren (Piet Mo ...

movement * Mart Stam (1899–1986), architect, urban planner and chair designer * Hendrik de Wit (1909–1999), a Dutch systematic botanist * Leen Verbeek (born 1954), a Dutch politician, Mayor of Purmerend from 2003 to 2008 *

Jan van Zanen Jan Hendrikus Cornelis van Zanen (born 4 September 1961) is a Dutch politician who has served as Mayor of The Hague since 1 July 2020. A member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), he previously served as Mayor of Utrecht (201 ...

(born 1961), a Dutch politician, Mayor of Utrecht from 2014 to 2020 * Hans Klok (born 1969), a Dutch magician, illusionist and actor * Duncan Stutterheim (born 1971), a Dutch entrepreneur, founded of the event company ID&T * Kim van Kooten (born 1974), a Dutch actress and screenwriter * Fleur Agema (born 1976), a Dutch politician and former spatial designer * Janey Jacké (born 1992), a Dutch drag performer who competed in Drag Race Holland (season 1) and RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World.

Sport

* Martin Koeman (1938–2013), a Dutch footballer, a defender, with over 550 club caps * Kees Nierop (born 1958), a former Dutch racing driver * Edwin Zoetebier (born 1970), a former football goalkeeper with 358 club caps * Olaf Lindenbergh (born 1974), a former Dutch footballer with over 450 club caps * Vincent van der Voort (born 1975), a Dutch professional darts player * Yuri Rose (born 1979), a Dutch former midfielder with over 400 club caps, currently a manager * Kees Kwakman (born 1983), a Dutch former professional footballer with over 400 club caps * Mitchell Dijks (born 1993), football player, about 150 club caps * Jay Gorter (born 2000), a Dutch goalkeeper for Ajax born in Purmerend * Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro (born 2004), a Dutch-Ghanaian football goalkeeper.

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Until 2017, Purmerend was twinned with:

Gallery

References

Notes

External links

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