Industrial Heritage
Just imagine: smoking chimneys, revolving sail arms on the windmills and the smell of freshly made produce such as biscuits and chocolate. Along the River Zaan it was a hotbed of industry in the 19th century. The Zaan region was the world's first industrial estate and has left us a magnificent piece of industrial heritage with old storehouses, factories and windmills.
Tsar Peter House
In the 15th and 16th centuries the region was given a substantial boost by the invention of the sawmill. This made sawing timber for shipbuilding much quicker and cheaper than sawing it by hand. In the space of twenty years, the small, astute country shipyards from the Zaan region had ousted the large shipyards from the city through competition. The result: Zaan shipbuilding became world-famous. This prompted the Russian Tsar Peter the Great to spend a study week here in 1697. He stayed in the cramped box bed of his friend Gerrit Kist, whose house from 1632 still stands here. It is now called the ‘Tsar Peter House’, and it is one of the oldest extant examples of Dutch timber constructions. Naturally it is open to the public.
Zaanse Schans
After the woodworking industry, the food industry sprang up. Sawmills were replaced by rice-husking plants, paper mills and cocoa factories. And in this way one of the most important industrial monuments in the Netherlands was born: the Zaanwand (‘Zaan Wall’) in Wormer, a row of old factories and storehouses. A must see, as is the Zaanse Schans (‘Zaan Redoubt’) with its traditional Dutch wooden houses, mills and little shops. Here you will see how workers in the 17th and 18th centuries lived and worked. You’ll get an even better impression if you visit the Zaans Museum and the Molenmuseum too, a museum on the rise of industry. A special pavilion has been set up for what is perhaps the symbol of Dutch industrial heritage – biscuit and chocolate factory Verkade, where authentic machines are still fully operational and all those sweet things are brought back to life.
It has also created a number of exciting routes through the Zaan region’s industrial history. A tough time of blood, sweat and tears, which has had a significant impact on how people live today.
Tourist Information
VVV Agency Wormerveer
Faunastraat 123
tel: (+31) (0)20-2018800
www.vvvzaanstreek.nl
VVV Agency Zaandam Inntel Hotels
Provincialeweg 102
tel: (+31) (0)20-2018800
www.vvvzaanstreek.nl
VVV Agency Oostzaan
Kerkbuurt 14
tel: (+31) (0) 20-2018800
www.vvvzaanstreek.nl
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