Things To Do in The Zaanstreek
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The Zaanstreek Attractions
The Zaanstreek (Zaan District) was historically a shipbuilding area and its backstory is told in the contemporary, glass-and-brick Zaans Museum & Verkade Pavilion, Schansend 7 (www.zaansmuseum.nl; tel. 075/681-0000), at the entrance to the site. The museum is open April to September daily 9am to 5pm and October to March daily 10am to 5 pm (closed Jan 1 and Dec 25). Admission is 12€ adult, 6€ children aged 4 to 17. Pick up a brochure here to identify all the buildings outside and enjoy a self-guided tour of the area.
At one time, the Zaanstreek had more than 600 windmills; of those only 15 have survived. You’ll discover ten here, including a sawmill, and mills specializing in producing paint, vegetable oil, and Zaanse mustard, all prettily located on the Zaan riverside.
Tucked among the gabled wooden houses are several excellent museums exhibiting traditional crafts, including the Bakkerijmuseum (Bakery Museum), Zeilenmakerspad 4, where cookies and candy are made from old recipes, and the Nederlandse Uurwerk (Dutch Clock) Museum, Kalverringdijk 3, which displays timepieces from the period 1500 to 1900, and also has a functioning workshop. Also worth a peek are the Klompenmakerij (Clog Maker’s Workshop), a workshop where wooden klompen (clogs) are made and sold; and De Catharina Hoeve Kaasmakerij, which does likewise with cheese. And for an idea of how a well-heeled Zaan resident lived, visit Museum Het Noorderhuis, Kalverringdijk 17, a merchant’s house from 1670 containing furnishings, utensils, and traditional costumes.
Most of these mini museums are open April to October daily 11am to 5pm, and November to March Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm. Admission varies from free to 10€.
The top museum in the area, and the reason you're here, is the Zuiderzee Museum at Enkhuizen ,Wierdijk 12–22 (www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl. tel. 0228/351-111). Backstory: the economy of several coastal towns was devastated when the Afsluitdijk was constructed in 1932, transforming the Zuiderzee into the freshwater IJsselmeer. To commemorate a lifestyle long gone, the Zuiderzee Museum showcases the 19th-century fishing-based industry on which the ports around the former seacoast depended. Split into two sections, the museum features the Binnenmuseum, housed in a 17th-century Dutch Renaissance building that once served as warehouses of the Dutch East India Company. Here you’ll find a display of the fishing boats that provided an income for the Zuiderzee folk. The open-air Buitenmuseum stands on the IJsselmeer shore; more than 130 historic buildings—farmhouses, public buildings, stores, a church—were shipped here intact from defunct lakeside communities across northern Holland and furnished in period style. Two bottle-shaped limekilns, a working windmill, a functioning smokehouse, and other structures, pay tribute to the area’s industrial heritage, alongside a chandler, an apothecary, a cheese warehouse, and a steam laundry. Just south of the Buitenmuseum is a recreation of Marken’s old harbor, with smokehouses for preserving herring and eels standing on the dike, and fishing boats tied up at the dock. Cafes and restaurants are found on site. Admission is 17€ adults, 11€ ages 4–12, free ages 3 and under, 45€ family. The hours vary. Binnenmuseum: daily 10am–5pm. Buitenmuseum: Apr–Oct daily 10am–5pm.
At one time, the Zaanstreek had more than 600 windmills; of those only 15 have survived. You’ll discover ten here, including a sawmill, and mills specializing in producing paint, vegetable oil, and Zaanse mustard, all prettily located on the Zaan riverside.
Tucked among the gabled wooden houses are several excellent museums exhibiting traditional crafts, including the Bakkerijmuseum (Bakery Museum), Zeilenmakerspad 4, where cookies and candy are made from old recipes, and the Nederlandse Uurwerk (Dutch Clock) Museum, Kalverringdijk 3, which displays timepieces from the period 1500 to 1900, and also has a functioning workshop. Also worth a peek are the Klompenmakerij (Clog Maker’s Workshop), a workshop where wooden klompen (clogs) are made and sold; and De Catharina Hoeve Kaasmakerij, which does likewise with cheese. And for an idea of how a well-heeled Zaan resident lived, visit Museum Het Noorderhuis, Kalverringdijk 17, a merchant’s house from 1670 containing furnishings, utensils, and traditional costumes.
Most of these mini museums are open April to October daily 11am to 5pm, and November to March Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm. Admission varies from free to 10€.
The top museum in the area, and the reason you're here, is the Zuiderzee Museum at Enkhuizen ,Wierdijk 12–22 (www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl. tel. 0228/351-111). Backstory: the economy of several coastal towns was devastated when the Afsluitdijk was constructed in 1932, transforming the Zuiderzee into the freshwater IJsselmeer. To commemorate a lifestyle long gone, the Zuiderzee Museum showcases the 19th-century fishing-based industry on which the ports around the former seacoast depended. Split into two sections, the museum features the Binnenmuseum, housed in a 17th-century Dutch Renaissance building that once served as warehouses of the Dutch East India Company. Here you’ll find a display of the fishing boats that provided an income for the Zuiderzee folk. The open-air Buitenmuseum stands on the IJsselmeer shore; more than 130 historic buildings—farmhouses, public buildings, stores, a church—were shipped here intact from defunct lakeside communities across northern Holland and furnished in period style. Two bottle-shaped limekilns, a working windmill, a functioning smokehouse, and other structures, pay tribute to the area’s industrial heritage, alongside a chandler, an apothecary, a cheese warehouse, and a steam laundry. Just south of the Buitenmuseum is a recreation of Marken’s old harbor, with smokehouses for preserving herring and eels standing on the dike, and fishing boats tied up at the dock. Cafes and restaurants are found on site. Admission is 17€ adults, 11€ ages 4–12, free ages 3 and under, 45€ family. The hours vary. Binnenmuseum: daily 10am–5pm. Buitenmuseum: Apr–Oct daily 10am–5pm.
