Petten
Encyclopedia
Petten is a town in the Dutch
province of North Holland
. It is a part of the municipality of Zijpe
, and lies about 15 km northwest of Alkmaar
, on the North Sea
. The population is ca. 1900.
Petten's economy
is based on agriculture
(bulb
cultivation), and tourism
. A particular type sand
can be found on the beach
of Petten, of sanded quartz
with granite
. Since 1997 a plan has been developed for a marina
with 600 places; called Marina Petten.
Somewhat to the south of Petten, the dune
s have been eroded, as a result of which a dike had to be built, the Hondsbossche - and Pettemer zeewering.
s (Dutch: putten) which are located there. There was already a mention of a sand dike in 1388 between Petten and 't Oghe (Callantsoog
). In the St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)
, Petten was entirely washed away, and the dunes were damaged. A sleeper dike
was built behind the dunes in 1432 and from 1506 active coastal defense took place, with pile heads of beams from Norway
and Sweden
and stone from Vilvoorde
, Belgium
. Even so, more than 100 house
s were washed away in 1625, plus the church of Petten. The construction of the Hondsbossche zeewering began in 1793.
Petten belonged to the nobility of Petten en Nolmerban, and then became a municipality. In 1929, the municipality of Petten was incorporated into the municipality of Zijpe. During the Second World War, the entire town of Petten was broken up in 1943 by order of the German
Wehrmacht
because of the construction of the Atlantic Wall
. The church of Petten was demolished in 1944. After the war, a whole new town was built from 1946, designed by the architect
s Van de Ban and De Vassy. In 1955, the foundation "Reactor Centrum Nederland" (RCN) was set up, that went on to build a research-reactor (Petten nuclear reactor
) that currently supplies 60% of European demand for medical radioisotopes. Since 1976, the foundation is called the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands
(ECN).
In December 1962 (according to some accounts 1963), the Fluxus
artist Wim T. Schippers
emptied a bottle of Green Spot lemonade
in the sea at Petten ("Manifestatie Aan Het Strand Te Petten").
On 11 December 2004, an approximately three-year-old basking shark
, Cetorhinus maximus, was beached on the coast near Petten. The animal was 3.65 m long and weighed 250 kg
. The material surplus was put on ice
and was exhibited in the aquarium
of Fort Kijkduin at Den Helder
. Attempts are being made to place the basking shark in its entirety in a formalin solution.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province of North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
. It is a part of the municipality of Zijpe
Zijpe
-Population centres :The municipality of Zijpe consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Burgerbrug, Burgervlotbrug, Callantsoog, Groote Keeten, Oudesluis, Petten, Schagerbrug, Sint Maartensbrug, Sint Maartensvlotbrug, 't Zand....
, and lies about 15 km northwest of Alkmaar
Alkmaar
Alkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Noord Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination.-History:...
, on the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. The population is ca. 1900.
Petten's economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
is based on agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
(bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
cultivation), and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. A particular type sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
can be found on the beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
of Petten, of sanded quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
with granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. Since 1997 a plan has been developed for a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
with 600 places; called Marina Petten.
Somewhat to the south of Petten, the dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s have been eroded, as a result of which a dike had to be built, the Hondsbossche - and Pettemer zeewering.
History
Petten could have been founded in 739. The name refers to the three wellWater well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
s (Dutch: putten) which are located there. There was already a mention of a sand dike in 1388 between Petten and 't Oghe (Callantsoog
Callantsoog
Callantsoog is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zijpe, and lies about 13 km south of Den Helder...
). In the St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)
St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)
The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421 was a flooding of an area in what is now the Netherlands. It takes its name from the feast day of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary which was formerly November 19....
, Petten was entirely washed away, and the dunes were damaged. A sleeper dike
Sleeper dike
A sleeper dike is a dike which does not normally face water, but serves as a backup if a "front-line" dike in front of it breaks....
was built behind the dunes in 1432 and from 1506 active coastal defense took place, with pile heads of beams from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and stone from Vilvoorde
Vilvoorde
Vilvoorde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo and Houtem and the small town of Peutie...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Even so, more than 100 house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
s were washed away in 1625, plus the church of Petten. The construction of the Hondsbossche zeewering began in 1793.
Petten belonged to the nobility of Petten en Nolmerban, and then became a municipality. In 1929, the municipality of Petten was incorporated into the municipality of Zijpe. During the Second World War, the entire town of Petten was broken up in 1943 by order of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
because of the construction of the Atlantic Wall
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
. The church of Petten was demolished in 1944. After the war, a whole new town was built from 1946, designed by the architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s Van de Ban and De Vassy. In 1955, the foundation "Reactor Centrum Nederland" (RCN) was set up, that went on to build a research-reactor (Petten nuclear reactor
Petten nuclear reactor
The Petten nuclear reactors are nuclear research reactors in Petten, Netherlands. There are two reactors on the premises of the Petten research centre: a high flux reactor and a low flux reactor....
) that currently supplies 60% of European demand for medical radioisotopes. Since 1976, the foundation is called the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands
Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands
The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands is the largest energy research institute in the Netherlands and has a strong international position. ECN develops knowledge and technology with and for the market that enables a transition to a sustainable energy system. The head office is located in...
(ECN).
In December 1962 (according to some accounts 1963), the Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
artist Wim T. Schippers
Wim T. Schippers
Wim T. Schippers is a Dutch artist, comedian and voice actor, loosely related to the international Fluxus-movement....
emptied a bottle of Green Spot lemonade
Lemonade
Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar.The term can refer to three different types of beverage:...
in the sea at Petten ("Manifestatie Aan Het Strand Te Petten").
On 11 December 2004, an approximately three-year-old basking shark
Basking shark
The basking shark is the second largest living fish, after the whale shark. It is a cosmopolitan migratory species, found in all the world's temperate oceans. It is a slow moving and generally harmless filter feeder and has anatomical adaptations to filter feeding, such as a greatly enlarged...
, Cetorhinus maximus, was beached on the coast near Petten. The animal was 3.65 m long and weighed 250 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
. The material surplus was put on ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
and was exhibited in the aquarium
Aquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
of Fort Kijkduin at Den Helder
Den Helder
Den Helder is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula...
. Attempts are being made to place the basking shark in its entirety in a formalin solution.
Statistics
In 2001, the town of Petten had 1,055 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.26 km², and contained 444 residences. The wider statistical area of Petten has a population of around 1540.External links
- http://www.ngw.nl/p/petten.htm Civic arms of Petten (DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) - Marina Petten (DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
) Map of the former municipality, around 1868.