Zaanstad Attractions

Broek in Waterland is one of the prettiest villages in Holland, with 18th century wooden houses set round a large pond. It still has two cheese-makers and a clog-maker.

The local church in Broek was rebuilt in 1628 and received extensive renovations in 1989. It features a special sermon chair made of ebony and rosewood as well as a church organ from 1832.

Graft is the oldest village on Schermer island, first mentioned in the records in 1325. It has a handsome Town Hall (Stadhuis) of 1613.

A visit to Het Pink, an old oil mill of 1610 in Pinkstraat, will complete the picture of windmill history.

Krommenie has a watermill dating from 1640, De Woudaap.

Other features of interest in Zaanstad are the Oud-Katholieke Kerk (Old Catholic Church; 1695) at Papenpad 12; an old sawmill, Held Josua, behind the station; and a watermill of 1650, De Ooievaar, on the south side of the Juliabrug. Near the locks on the Zaan are the two Accijnshuisjes (early 18th C.), where tolls were levied on ships entering and leaving the port.

Purmerend has been an important market town since 1484. Also of interest is the domed church, with a famous Garrels organ.

Purmerend has become a popular commuter town.

The Kaasmarkt is just one of the many markets held by cheese-producing towns in the Netherlands. This market is held on Thursdays in July and August near the Town Hall. Stalls sell everything from cheese to local crafts, including hand-made straw hats.

It was at Zaandam that Tsar Peter the Great of Russia spent four months in 1697 under the name of Peter Mikhailov in order to learn the crafts of carpentry and shipbuilding - a visit which provided the theme for Albert Lortzing's opera "Zar und Zimmermann" ("Tsar and Carpenter"). His stay is commemorated by the Czaar-Peterhuisje at Krimp 24 and the Tsar Peter Monument in the Damplein.

The main sights of Westzaan are the Grote Kerk in Torenstraat (periodic exhibitions in July and August); the Prinsenhof mill (1722) in Weelsloot; the Schoolmeester mill (1695) in Guisweg, the only papermill in the world which is still working; the Town Hall (Stadhuis) in Kerkbuurt, a former courthouse in Louis XIV style, with a domed tower (1781); and the Zuidervermaning church (1731) at Zuideinde 231, which has a particularly beautiful interior.

The Windmill Museum (Molenmuseum) in Koog aan de Zaan presents a very informative picture of the windmills of the 17th and 18th centuries with the help of scale models and documents.

The Zaanlandse Oudheidkamer contains costumes, toys, model ships and other 17th and 18th C. objects and is well worth a visit. There is also the Weefhuis (weaving house) or "house with the picture garden" (39 Lagedijk), the "Death" corn mill (29 Lagedijk), built in 1656, and the Town Hall (104 Lagedijk), an old merchant's house, with antique furniture, frescoes and a collection of stoves.

Zaandijk is a small village. Of interest here is the Zaanlandse Oudheidkamer.