Ursem is a village in the Dutch 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 ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Koggenland Koggenland () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in North Holland province and the region of West Friesland (region), West-Frisia of the Netherlands. It came into existence on 1 January 2007 upon the merger of the two former mun ...

, and lies about east of

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

and 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 ...

and west from

Hoorn Hoorn () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. It is the largest town an ...

. A part of the village is located in the municipality of

History

The village was first mentioned in the first half of the 11th century as Urisheim, and means "settlement of Uri (person)". Ursem developed in the 11th century as a

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

excavation settlement. It used to be concentrated around the church, but moved southwards towards the dike. The Dutch Reformed church is an aisleless church with wooden ridge turret. It was built between 1846 and 1847 to replace a 1659 church. The Catholic St Bavo church is a three aisled church with a lean tower and was built between 1920 and 1921 to replace its 1856 predecessor. Ursem was home to 268 people in 1840. Ursem was a separate municipality until 1979, when the new municipality of

Wester-Koggenland Wester-Koggenland () is a former municipality of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland and the region of West Friesland (region), West-Frisia. The municipality ceased to exist on 1 January 2007 when it merged with Obdam to for ...

was created.

Gallery

File:Kerkpad 4 Ned. Herv. Kerk 25-2-12 .1.JPG, Dutch Reformed Church File:1645 Ursem, Netherlands - panoramio.jpg, Canal view File:Ursum - Ondermolen O.jpg, Windmill Ondermolen O File:Houten dijkwoning met platte Friese dakpannen - Ursem - 20405841 - RCE.jpg, Wooden dike house

References

Former municipalities of North Holland Populated places in North Holland Koggenland Alkmaar {{NorthHolland-geo-stub