Wormer is a town 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 Wormerland, and lies about 13 km northwest 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 town is situated in the

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 ...

district, on the eastern side of the river Zaan, across from

Wormerveer Wormerveer is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zaanstad, and lies about 13 km (8 miles) northwest of Amsterdam. Wormerveer developed in the 15th century on the west bank of the Zaan river. ...

. The town is surrounded by the nature area Wormer- en Jisperveld. The village of Oostknollendam, the

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 ...

Schaalsmeer (reclaimed in 1631), the polder Enge Wormer (reclaimed in 1634) and a part of the Markerpolder also historically belong to the area of Wormer. Wormer, together with Engewormer (Wormer c.a.), was a separate municipality until 1991, when it became a part of the new municipality of Wormerland.

History

The inhabitants of Wormer repulsed several attacks of the

Frisians The Frisians () are an ethnic group indigenous to the German Bight, coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland an ...

and West Frisians in 1280. Floris V, Count of Holland rewarded this with an exemption from paying toll in Holland, an important privilege at that time. Important skirmishes between Spanish troops and the

Geuzen ''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...

took place in Wormer during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

. At Whitsunday (

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

) 30 May 1574, 1400 Spanish soldiers tried to capture Wormer and Jisp. They were crushingly defeated by a combined force of locals, Geuzen and filibusters, bringing an end to the Spanish tyranny in the

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 ...

area. In the following century Wormer became very prosperous from the production of beschuit (

rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the ...

). At least 130 bakeries in the town were once supplying the countless ships of the Dutch East India Company. Other important industrial activities in the town during this period were the production of starch and the processing of whale blubber. At least 66 windmills were once built in Wormer, but nowadays only one windmill (de Koker) has been preserved.C. Mol, ''Uit de geschiedenis van Wormer'', Meyer Pers N.V., Wormerveer.

Famous (former) residents of Wormer

* Geertruid Adriaansdochter, Catholic martyr * Thijs Al, mountain biker and

cyclo-cross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...

racer * George Baker (Hans Bouwens, 1944), singer and songwriter of the George Baker Selection * Rop Gonggrijp (1968), hacker, internet pioneer * Pieter Jan Leeuwerink (1962), Dutch international volleyball player († 2004) * G.W. Sok, vocalist of anarcho-punk band The Ex * Terrie, guitarist of anarcho-punk band The Ex * Micky van de Ven (2001), professional footballer * Thorwald Veneberg, professional road bicycle racer * Piet de Wit (1946), track bicycle racer, world champion stayering in 1966 and 1967 * Marcel van Roosmalen, Dutch Journalist, Columnist and writer

References

External links

Website of the municipality of Wormerland
{{Authority control Former municipalities of North Holland Populated places in North Holland Wormerland