Purmerend
Encyclopedia

Purmerend is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands
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...

, in the 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:...

.

The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer
Purmer
Purmer is a polder and reclaimed lake in the Netherlands province of North Holland, located between the towns of Purmerend and Edam-Volendam. Windmill reclamation activity began in 1618. Hydraulic engineer Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater also had stakes in the reclamation, although he was not directly...

, Beemster
Beemster
Beemster is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Also, the Beemster is the first so-called polder in the Netherlands that was reclaimed from a lake, the water being extracted out of the lake by windmills. The Beemster Polder was dried during the period 1609 through...

 and the Wormer
Wormer
Wormer is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wormerland, and lies about 13 km northwest of Amsterdam.In 2006, the town of Wormer had 12566 inhabitants...

. The city became the trade center of the region but the population grew relatively slow. Only after 1960 did the population start to grow from around 10.000 to the current 78.307 people (1 November 2007). From the 1960s onwards, Purmerend has seen major expansions and still continues to do so until the present date. These expansions have turned Purmerend into a commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...

; many inhabitants of Purmerend work, go to school or spend their leisure time in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

. Purmerend is part of the Randstad
Randstad
Image:Randstad_with_scale.png|400px|thumb|right|Clickable schematic map of the Randstadcircle 528 380 26 Schipholrect 426 356 498 436 Haarlemmermeerrect 399 166 479 245 Velsencircle 250 716 32 Delftcircle 220 642 60 The Hague...

, one of the largest conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...

s in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

Early history

Purmerend was created out of the small fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 Purmer, which lay on the land between the Purmermeer (Purmer Lake), the Beemstermeer (Beemster Lake) and the Wormermeer (Wormer Lake). On the south bank of the river de Weere, which used to connect the former Purmer Lake and Beemster Lake.

Purmerend was founded by a rich banker from Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, Willem Eggert
Willem Eggert
Willem Eggert, was a Dutch politician, noble, banker and schepen of Amsterdam. He owned much land in Weesp, Monnickendam, Oosthuizen, Aalsmeer and Wognum....

. In 1410 he was allowed, by HRH Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 William VI of Holland (Willem VI van Holland), to build his own fortified castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

, Slot Purmerstein. Constructions on the castle finished in 1413 and it remained standing until it was demolished in 1741 after it had fallen into decline. In 1434 Purmerend was given city rights. And on 21 April 1484 (Some sources claim 14 April 1484) the city was given “marktrechten” (the right to organise two “jaarmarkten” annual markets and a “weekmarkt” weekly market) by Count Jan van Egmond. This meant merchants from outside of Purmerend could now offer their merchandise for sale on the market. Before 1484 only food products for its own population were allowed to be sold.

17th century

By 1500 Purmerend had grown considerably, as can be seen on maps dating from that time period. They show that the town had a rectangular shape and was crossed by two roads: one leading north-south, the other east-west. The draining of the Beemster Lake in 1612 and the Purmer Lake in 1622 meant a great loss in fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 grounds to Purmerend. However, the new and fertile soil favoured 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...

 and livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

 breeding
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....

, making Purmerend prosperous again. Purmerend now became the centre of an agricultural region, the produce
Produce
Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods and, not limited to fruits and vegetables . More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested. In supermarkets the term is also used to refer...

 of which was sold on the markets of Purmerend.

20th century

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Purmerend was occupied by German forces on 14 May 1940. After five years of occupation, the city was liberated by Canadian and other allied forces on Wednesday 9 May 1945.

21st century

Purmerend was named Kermisstad van Nederland. (Funfair
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...

 City of the Netherlands
) in 2003. After the funfair, Purmerend is most famous for its cattle market, the so called koemarkt (“cow market”), where cattle are sold and traded, mostly cows and sheep. 52.50823°N 4.94985°W After the outbreak of many cattle diseases between 1995 and 2001 the cattle market was not allowed any more. It was reinstated on a smaller scale on January 2002.

After 400 years, Purmerenders saw the last cattle auction at the original location in downtown Purmerend in 2008. The auction was moved to the "Baanstee Oost" industrial area, in the north side of Purmerend. This was decided for various reasons: freeing up downtown traffic congestion, allow more parking area downtown, more room for auction grounds and ease of moving trucks around at the new site.

Geography

Purmerend lies on a swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

y and watery area known as Waterland
Waterland
Waterland is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located north of Amsterdam, on the borders of the IJsselmeer.-Population centres :...

. When the first settlers began cultivating
Tillage
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shovelling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking...

 the land, consisting mostly of turf (veen), they dug ditches that run parallel
Parallel (geometry)
Parallelism is a term in geometry and in everyday life that refers to a property in Euclidean space of two or more lines or planes, or a combination of these. The assumed existence and properties of parallel lines are the basis of Euclid's parallel postulate. Two lines in a plane that do not...

 to each other to drain excess water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

. As a side effect of this process the land began to sink. This resulted in a never ending battle against the water. And made 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...

 near impossible at the time. It also meant that any structure
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...

 needed to be built on an artificial Terp
Artificial dwelling hill
An artificial dwelling hill is a mound, created to provide safe ground during high tide and river floods....

 or natural hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...

. The former being true for Purmerend which was built on the bank of the river de Where, that linked the former Beemster
Beemster
Beemster is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Also, the Beemster is the first so-called polder in the Netherlands that was reclaimed from a lake, the water being extracted out of the lake by windmills. The Beemster Polder was dried during the period 1609 through...

 and Purmer
Purmer
Purmer is a polder and reclaimed lake in the Netherlands province of North Holland, located between the towns of Purmerend and Edam-Volendam. Windmill reclamation activity began in 1618. Hydraulic engineer Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater also had stakes in the reclamation, although he was not directly...

 lakes.

Districts

Purmerend is made up of the following districts.
  • Centrum ('het stadje')
  • Zuiderpolder
  • Overwhere-Noord
  • Overwhere-Zuid
  • De Gors
  • De Gors-Zuid
  • De Gors-Noord
  • West
  • Purmer-Zuid
  • Purmer-Noord
  • Wheermolen
  • Weidevenne
    Weidevenne
    Weidevenne is a district of Purmerend in the Netherlands, west of the Noordhollandsch Kanaal across from the De Gors district. Its 14,451 inhabitants mainly live in terraced houses. The population of Purmerend is expected to grow to 90,000, mainly due to the continuing expansion of Weidevenne...

  • Baanstee-West
  • Baanstee-Oost
  • Baanstee-Noord
  • De Koog
  • Molenkoog
  • Hazepolder

The municipality of Purmerend also contains the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

s/hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 of Purmerbuurt
Purmerbuurt
Purmerbuurt is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland in the polder the Purmer. It is part of the municipality of Purmerend, and is directly connected to the city of Purmerend by an Intersection. The village has its own church, de Purmerkerk. Purmerbuurt is surrounded by the Purmerbos....

 and partially the Purmer
Purmer
Purmer is a polder and reclaimed lake in the Netherlands province of North Holland, located between the towns of Purmerend and Edam-Volendam. Windmill reclamation activity began in 1618. Hydraulic engineer Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater also had stakes in the reclamation, although he was not directly...

. (The Purmer is shared with Edam-Volendam
Edam-Volendam
Edam-Volendam is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, consisting of the towns of Edam and Volendam, whose centres lie just 3 km apart.-Local government:...

 and Waterland
Waterland
Waterland is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located north of Amsterdam, on the borders of the IJsselmeer.-Population centres :...

)

Climate

Month JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Year
Avg high °C
(°F)
 5.4
(41.7)
 6.0
(42.8)
 9.2
(48.6)
12.4
(54.3)
17.1
(62.8)
19.2
(66.6)
21.4
(70.5)
21.8
(71.2)
18.4
(65.1)
14.1
(57.4)
 9.2
(48.6)
 6.5
(43.7)
13.4
(56.1)
Avg low °C
(°F)
 0.5
(32.9)
 0.2
(32.4)
 2.4
(36.3)
 4.0
(39.2)
 7.8
(46.0)
10.4
(50.7)
12.5
(54.5)
12.3
(54.1)
10.2
(50.4)
 7.0
(44.6)
 3.9
(39.0)
 1.9
(35.4)
 6.1
(43.0)
Source: [KNMI http://www.knmi.nl/]

Public transportation

Public transportation is mainly focused on Amsterdam, with several bus services and a train service via Zaandam
Zaandam
Zaandam is a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811...

.

There are 3 train stations in Purmerend, in the north, centre and south.
These are:
  • Purmerend Weidevenne
    Purmerend Weidevenne railway station
    Purmerend Weidevenne is a suburb railway station, in the Weidevenne estate in Purmerend, the Netherlands. The station opened on 9 December 2007 and is on the Zaandam–Enkhuizen railway...

  • Purmerend
    Purmerend railway station
    Purmerend is the railway station in the centre of Purmerend, the Netherlands. The station opened on 20 May 1884 as part of the Zaandam–Hoorn railway, extended to Enkhuizen in 1885. The original station building was destroyed in World War II...

  • Purmer Overwhere
    Purmerend Overwhere railway station
    Purmerend Overwhere is a suburb railway station in Purmerend, the Netherlands. The station opened in 1971, and lies 2 km north of Purmerend...



The bus station
Bus station
A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...

 in Purmerend is called "Tramplein" (or, Tram Square), but not because any trams run in Purmerend today. History is that a tram ("'t Boemeltje") ran from Amsterdam Centraal
Amsterdam Centraal
' is the central station of Amsterdam. It is one of the main railway hubs of the Netherlands and is used by 250,000 passengers a day, excluding transferring passengers. It is also the starting point of Amsterdam Metro lines 51, 53, and 54. The station building of Amsterdam Centraal was designed by...

 to Purmerend, ending at the Tramplein location. Although the tram service discontinued years ago, the end stop has remained the name Tramplein.

In 1951, The Ramblers had a hit commemorating the tram service "’t Boemeltje van Purmerend".

Local government

The municipal council of Purmerend consists of 35 seats, which are divided as follows:
Party: PvdA
Labour Party (Netherlands)
The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...

  VVD
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...

  Leefbaar Purmerend SP
Socialist Party (Netherlands)
The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist political party in the Netherlands. After the 2006 general election, the Socialist Party became one of the major parties of the Netherlands with 25 seats of 150, an increase of 16 seats. The party was in opposition against the fourth Balkenende cabinet...

  CDA
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...

  AOV Stadspartij P'93 GroenLinks  D66
Democrats 66
Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...

Seats: - 9 seats - 6 seats - 5 seats - 4 seats - 3 seats - 3 seats - 2 seats - 2 seats - 1 seats


The mayor of Purmerend is Fons Hertog (VVD) replacing Leen Verbeek
Leen Verbeek
Leendert Verbeek is a Dutch politician and former civil servant and social worker. He is a member of the Labour Party . He has served as mayor of Purmerend from April 2003 till November 2008...

 (PvdA) in November 2008.

Born in Purmerend

Notable people born in Purmerend:
  • Jan Stuyt
    Jan Stuyt
    Jan Stuyt was a Dutch architect.Stuyt started his architectural career in 1883 at the office of A.C. Bleys , whose neo-Romanesque style would become of great influence on Stuyt...

     (1868), architect
  • Pieter Oud
    Pieter Oud
    Pieter Jacobus Oud was a prominent liberal Dutch politician who served held numerous political offices, including member of the House of Representatives, Minister of Finance and Mayor of Rotterdam. He was one of the founding member of the Dutch Labour Party and the People's Party for Freedom and...

     (1886), minister of finance and mayor of Rotterdam
    Rotterdam
    Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

  • Jacobus Oud
    Jacobus Oud
    Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, commonly called J. J. P. Oud was a Dutch architect. His fame began as a follower of the De Stijl movement....

     (1890), architect
  • Mart Stam
    Mart Stam
    Mart Stam was a Dutch architect, urban planner, and furniture designer. Stam was extraordinarily well-connected, and his career intersects with important moments in the history of 20th century European architecture, including chair design at the Bauhaus, the Weissenhof Estate, the "Van Nelle...

     (1899), architect, urban planner, and chair designer
  • Hans Klok
    Hans Klok
    Johannes Franciscus Catharinus "Hans" Klok is a Dutch illusionist and actor.-Biography:Hans Klok was born in Purmerend, the Netherlands....

     (1969), illusionist
  • Vincent van der Voort
    Vincent van der Voort
    Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...

     (1975), darts player

Twin towns — sister cities

Purmerend is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with:

  • Jihlava
    Jihlava
    Jihlava is a city in the Czech Republic. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava river on the ancient frontier between Moravia and Bohemia, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora.Among the principal buildings are the...

    ,   Czech Republic
    Czech Republic
    The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

    .

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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