Hoorn Attractions

In 1573 a naval battle took place off the coast here between a Spanish fleet and the combined fleets of Enkhuizen, Edam, Monnickendam and Hoorn, in which the Spanish admiral was taken prisoner. In the 17th century the town began to decline, and many merchants moved to Amsterdam. The construction of the Afsluitdijk cut its harbor off from the open sea. Hoorn was the birthplace of the navigator Willem Schouten (1580-1625), who in 1616 rounded the southern tip of America and gave the name of his home town to Cape Horn. Other natives of the town were Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1587- 1629), who established Dutch colonial authority in the East Indies, and Abel Tasman (1603-59), discoverer of New Zealand and Tasmania.

Today Hoorn is a pleasant city with boutiques and shopping plazas, museums and cultural events, and a beautiful harbour area.