Spaarndam () is a village 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

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 ...

, on the Spaarne river and the IJ lake. The oldest part of the village, on the western side of the Spaarne, belongs to the municipality of

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

; the newer part on the eastern side is a part of the municipality of

Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The ...

. The village is built around a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

in the river, which is also the division line of the two municipalities. Spaarndam was created around a dam where the river Spaarne flows into the IJ. This dam was built here by count Floris V of Holland in 1285. The village collected tolls at this dam, and people made their living from fishing. From 1812 to 1927, the western part of Spaarndam was an independent municipality. The village has some tourism, and many people commute to

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 ...

and

. Spaarndam has always been strongly connected to water. Besides the river and the fishing, it is also famous because of a story within the 1865 American novel, ''

Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates ''Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates'' (full title: ''Hans Brinker; or, the Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland'') is a children's novel by American author Mary Mapes Dodge, first published in 1865. The novel takes place in the Netherlands ...

'', about a Dutch boy, "The Hero of Haarlem," who stuck his finger in a dike to prevent the town from flooding. The story became a popular legend in America, and in 1950 the local tourist bureau put a statue of this character in Spaarndam. Woerdersluis

References

Former municipalities of North Holland Populated places in North Holland Haarlem Haarlemmermeer {{NorthHolland-geo-stub