Zaandam () is a city in the

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

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 ...

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 ...

. It is the main city of the municipality of

Zaanstad Zaanstad () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, Dutch municipality in the province of North Holland, situated northwest of Amsterdam. Its main city is Zaandam. It is part of the conurbation and Amsterdam metropolitan area, metropolitan area of ...

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 tradition ...

in 1811. It is located on the river

Zaan The Zaan () is a small river in the province of North Holland in the northwestern Netherlands and the name of a district through which it runs. The river was originally a side arm of the IJ bay and travels 13.5 kilometers (8½ miles) through the m ...

, just north 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 ...

. The statistical district Zaandam, which encompasses both the city and the surrounding countryside, has about 76,804 residents.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 The Zaan () is a small river in the province of North Holland in the northwestern Netherlands and the name of a district through which it runs. The river was originally a side arm of the IJ bay and travels 13.5 kilometers (8½ miles) through the m ...

) is intimately tied to industry. In the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

, Zaandam served as a large milling centre. Thousands of

windmills A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern periods; ...

powered saws that processed Scandinavian wood for the shipbuilding and paper industries. A statue that commemorates this industry was commissioned from sculptor

Slavomir Miletić Slavomir Miletić (Serbian Cyrillic: Славомир Милетић; 1930–2022) was a Serbian sculptor, who lived in the Netherlands. He attended the Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France. He was noted for his sometimes large wo ...

, and the statue, ''De houtwerker'' ("The Woodworker"), was installed on 20 June 2004. Zaandam is historically linked with the

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

industry. In 1697, Tsar

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

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 ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

. His home in Zaandam 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 (, ) 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 had 61,822 l ...

. In 1871, the impressionist painter

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

lived in Zaandam for approximately half a year. During that time, he made 25 paintings of the area, including '' Houses on the Achterzaan'', ''Bateaux en Hollande pres de Zaandam'' and ''A windmill at Zaandam''.

Economy

The first European

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

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

Albert Heijn Albert Heijn (), often abbreviated to AH () and informally to Appie (), is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands with a market share of 37.7% in 2024. It was founded in 1887, and has been part of Ahold Delhaize since 2016. History Th ...

supermarket chain (founded in nearby

Oostzaan Oostzaan () is a municipality and a town in the Zaanstreek, Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is ...

in 1887), now grown into the

Ahold Delhaize Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (in Dutch language, Dutch literally "Royal Ahold Delhaize"), commonly known as Ahold Delhaize, is a Dutch-Belgian multinational retail and wholesale holding company. Its name comes from the 2016 merger of two comp ...

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 com ...

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 Zaandam is the main railway station of Zaandam, near Amsterdam, Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. ...

and

Zaandam Kogerveld railway station Zaandam Kogerveld is a railway station located in Zaandam, Netherlands. The station opened in 1989 on the Zaandam–Enkhuizen railway. The station is 2 km north of Zaandam railway station, and is in the Kogerveld neighbourhood. This station ...

. Plans exist by the province of North Holland to extend the

Amsterdam Metro The Amsterdam Metro () is a rapid transit system serving Amsterdam, Netherlands, and extending to the surrounding List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipalities of Diemen and Ouder-Amstel. Until 2019, it also served the municipality o ...

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 in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

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

Historical flags

File:Zaandam vlag 1667.svg, Zaandam flag (1667) File:Zaandam vlag 1938.svg, Zaandam flag (1938) File:Zaandam vlag 1938-1974.svg, Zaandam flag since 1938

Notable people

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal figu ...

(born 1942), jazz musician *

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

(1819–1878), ichthyologist * Kees Bruynzeel (1900–1980), wood merchant * Ali Bouali (born 1981), rapper * Dirk Andries Flentrop (1910—2003), organ builder * Niels Heithuis (born 1972), journalist and radio presenter * Piet Kee (born 1927–2018), organist and composer *

Erwin Koeman Erwin Koeman (born 20 September 1961) is a Dutch former professional football player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Netherlands national team. As a midfielder, he played in three spells at Groningen and two at PSV Eindhoven, ...

(born 1961), football player and football coach *

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the manager of the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team. Koeman scor ...

(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 * Germaine Levant (born 1978), footballer * Jos van Manen Pieters (1930-2015), writer * Anton Mauve (1838–1888), painter * Robert Molenaar (born 1969), football player * Oğuzhan Özyakup (born 1992), football player * Kathinka Pasveer (born 1959), flautist *

Johnny Rep John Nicholaas Rep (born 25 November 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He holds the all-time record for FIFA World Cup goals for the Netherlands with 7. Playing career Rep played as a right-footed ...

(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 and real estate salesperson. She competed on the Holland's Next Top Model, Cycle 4, fourth cycle of the reality television series ''Holland's Next Top Model'', where she came fou ...

(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 (1868–1946), painter * Arie Smit (born 1916–2016), painter * Melissa Venema (born 1995), musician *

Owen Wijndal Owen Wijndal (born 28 November 1999) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, left-back for club AFC Ajax, Ajax. He also plays for the Netherlands national football team, ...

(born 1999), professional footballer * Justin Kluivert (born 1999), professional footballer * Rens van der Wacht (born 1999), professional footballer

References

External links

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