The village of Volendam, part of the commune of Edam, lies on the IJsselmeer. As with other ports on the IJsselmeer, the local fisheries have suffered from the dyking of the Zuiderzee.
Volendam is a well-known tourist attraction featuring traditional clothing and old fishing boats. The women's clothing include a pointed bonnet, a noted piece of attire that is even included on Dutch postcards.
Apart from the harbor (boat trips to Marken and Monnickendam) and the picturesque old houses a feature of interest in Volendam is the wooden church of 1685 (restored 1985).
At Slobbeland visitors can see how the houses used to be built on piles.
Volendam - the Roman Catholic counterpart to Marken - is famed for its traditional costumes. Not surprisingly, therefore, the tourist trade has become the principal source of income. The older inhabitants are still proud to wear the local costumes - for men baggy woolen trousers, for women a flowered dress, a striped pinafore, a coral necklace and, when appropriate to the weather, a blue and white striped scarf. On Sundays and holidays the women wear the famous winged lace cap, which during the week is often replaced by a simpler cotton cap.
At a house at Oude Draaipad 8, De Gouden Kamer, the walls are papered with millions of cigar bands, arranged to form pictures (e.g. of New York's Statue of Liberty).
The Volendam Museum at Zeestraat 37 has displays of traditional costumes and models of fishing boats.
Traditional costumes from this region is what most non-Dutch associate with Holland. The baggy, wool breeches of the men and the elaborately starched lace caps of the women conjure up fields of tulips and sledges of round cheese.
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Volendam, Edam
