Jaap van 't Veen's photos

The Dutch reformed church of Jisp was built in 1822 on the site of a late gothic and much larger church from the year of 1542. The current church is a sober hall church with a wooden gable tower. Together with the 17th century town haal it is located on a moated mound and is surrounded by a cemetery with some very old tombstones, many of themn from wealthy inhabitants. The church is a reminder of the economical decline in Jisp. It was built after the glory days of whaling. Many residents moved to other towns with more work. This meant that the church was too big for the village and no longer properly maintained. The residents of Jisp decided to build a new smaller version of the old church out of its remains. Today, in addition to church services, concerts, meetings, lectures, weddings and other activities take place..The church of Jisp is a national monument.

The town hall of Jisp was commissioned in the year 1650. The architect is unknown, although it is often attributed to "Leeghwater"- a famous Dutch mill builder and hydraulic engineer. The building replaced an earlier town hall, which stood more or less on the same spot. The year 1650 is inscribed above the door in the front. Above this is a stone in which the village coat of arms, the spoonbill, is carved (PiP2). The Town Hall shows us an example of Jisp's prosperous days. Not many villages had enough funds to build such a charming town hall but Jisp did. For centuries fishing, oil mills, shipbuilding, barber-surgeons (who were very capable at setting bones) and whaling all brought the village an abundance of wealth. In the middle of the 19th century walls of the town hall were renewed and other repairs were made. By 1900, the building was in very poor condition and it was feared that it would have to be demolished. But they managed to raise the money for a new restoration. Another restoration followed in the 1960s and was completed in 1963. Until 1990, the building was still used by the then municipality of Jisp. The building, besides town hall, was also used as weigh-house, guardian room and courthouse. Nowadays it is a wedding venue and is the home of Jisp's historical committee. The town hall is a national monument.

The Vogelmeer (Bird Lake) is located in the middle of the open area of the Schoorlse Duinen . This wet dune valley was dug in the 1970s. There are always birds to be seen on and around the water. The lake owes its name from the many seagulls that used to breed here, but foxes have driven the birds away to a large extent. Black Aberdeen Angus cattle roam freely in the area around the lake and use the water to drink. If there is sufficient frost, the Vogelmeer is one of the most beautiful skating spots in the Schoorl area. To reach the 'ice rink' one has to walk about half an hour. During our visit in the winter - February 2021 - there was plenty of skating on the lake in an almost fairytale-like setting.

The Schoorlse Duinen (Schoorl Dunes) is a nature reserve nearby the village of Schoorl. If you walk around it is hard to imagine, but around 1900 the sand still had free play, until Staatsbosbeheer - a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves - started planting trees, not for recreation, but to prevent the dunes burying the villages. Now there is heathlan and forests of pine trees and perennial trees. The Schoorlse Duinen do have the highest dune (55,4 meters ) and the widest dunes (5 km) of the Netherlands. It also offers some dune lakes, among them the Vogelmeer (Bird Lake). On a beautiful but freezing winter's day, we walked the so-called roet route (soot trail). This route took us along places which were hit by forest fires in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Fortunately nature is starting to recover slowly, but surely.

Relatively few of the 1.170 remaining windmills in the Netherlands were ever used to grind flour; instead, most worked as irrigation systems throughout the low-lying country. Even today many still function as backups for more modern Dutch water management systems. Windmill Kijkduin - located in the village of Schoorl - is one of the country’s oldest working grain refinement mills. The windmill is a round stone ground sailer and was originally constructed in 1772. Even before 1575, there was a windmill on this site, which was set on fire by retreating Spanish soldiers in that year. It was not until 20 years later that a new mill - presumably a post mill - was built, which was demolished in 1771 and replaced by the current mill. The mill was in regular use until 1935. After the Second World War, several restorations were carried out, and since 1973 the mill has been grinding again. Windmill Kijkduin is nowadays open to the public on Saturdays and grinding takes place when there is sufficient wind. The mill has a shop where various types of flour are sold to the catering industry, residents of Schoorl and tourists.

Het Blaauwe Hof (Blaauw Court) is the only remaining court in the Netherlands with wooden houses. It was built in 1766 by order of "Dirck Janzs Blaauw", owner of several paper mills in Wormerveer. They were intended for his workers, who were allowed to live there under certain conditions: an early form of social housing. Originally, the court was built in two rows of 10 houses with a bleaching field in the middle. Het Blaauwe Hof was restored in the 1970s and the front row of ten houses was demolished. Nowadays, the houses in the court are managed and rented by a housing association.

’t Hof Saenden (Saenden Court) was founded in 1915-1916 by the Wormerveer company of "Bloemendaal en Laan", on the occasion of the golden business jubilee of entrepeneur "Jan Adriaan Laan". There are five houses on either side of the gatehouse, with a communal garden at the back and a public garden at the front. The aim of the court was to provide retired workers without children from two of his factories with free accommodation. The founder had a major say in the design and construction of the complex. It was he who decided that the court should be built in a richly detailed Neo-Dutch Renaissance style – with some typical elements from the Zaan region - in imitation of a Neo-Renaissance exhibition building in Antwerp, in which his company had exhibited at an international trade exhibition in 1913. After ’t Hof Saenden was transferred to the municipality, it was carefully renovated in 1975/76, with the interior of the dwellings being altered and modernised.

Panorama of Zaandijk, seen from the Zaanse Schans Zaandijk is one of the most beautiful villages in the Zaan region. It is located on the banks of the river Zaan, opposite the famous Zaanse Schans . The village has a number of working windmills, but is known for its typical green-painted wooden houses, which are mainly located along the Lagedijk (main image) and in the vicinity Domineestuin (PiPs). The history of Zaandijk goes back to the year 1494 when "Hendrik Pietersz" got a permit to build a house on the lage dijk (low dike) along the Zaan. In 1570 the town consisted of 19 houses. These dwellings were burned by the Spaniards in 1572, during the Eighty Years' War. Zaandijk was an independent municipality until 1974, when it became a part of Zaanstad.

The small church of the village of Eenigenburg was built in 1792. Together with the churchyard it lies on a terp (a man-made mound), which probably dates from the 14th century. The mound is a remnant of a larger one that was partly dug away. The church has a larger predecessor, which was demolished because of its age. Remnants of previous church buildings have been found in the mound. In the wooden tower of the simple hall church hangs a bell from the 16th century. Since 1973 Kerkje Eenigenburg has been a national monument.

The Groetermolen (Groeter Mill) is a polder mill built in 1890, after its predecessor burned down a year earlier due to a lightning strike. The mill is a so-called ground sailer. Until 1977 the windmill was used exclusively for draining the Groeterpolder . In that year an electric pump was installed, as a result of which the windmill was no longer used. Today, both the windmill and the electric pumping station ensure the drainage of the 220 ha Groeterpolder . In 2020 the Groetermolen made over 933.000 rotations.

The Hargermolen (Harger Mill) is a polder drainage mill, which was built in 1804. The current mill replaced an earlier mill, which was destroyed during fighting between an Anglo-Russian army and the then French rulers of the Netherlands. This area has been home to a windmill since the early 15th century, but where the original mill was destroyed, the current structure has survived the ravages of storms and fire. The reed-covered octagonal Hargermolen was used to drain the Harger- en Pettemerpolder . Until 1962 the mill was solely operated by wind. In that year a diesel engine was added. Nowadays the mill is still suitable for drainage the polder and is working on an occasional basis, manned by a volunteer.

The Zaanse Schans is a residential neighbourhood in which the 18th and 19th centuries are brought to life. It is best known for its collection of well-preserved historic houses and windmills . The Zaanse Schans is a unique and one of the most visited places in the Netherlands, with green wooden houses, windmills, barns and typical Dutch crafts. From 1961 to 1974 old buildings from all over the Zaanstreek were relocated using lowboy trailers to the area. Zaanse Schans derived its name from the river Zaan and its original function as sconce (schans in Dutch) against the Spanish troops during the Eighty Years' War. Main image: panorama of some of the windmills PiP1: De Huisman, a spice mill PiP2: De Gekroonde Poelenburg, a saw mill PiP3: De Kat, a paint mill

The area around the Zaanse Schans , called the Zaanstreek, once was the largest industrial zone in Western Europe. During the 18th and 19th century heyday it used to have more than 600 windmills; 245 were sawing mills and 160 oil mills. Built for industrial functions, they were used for grinding grain, making wood for shipbuilding, pressing oil from seeds, making paper from hemp and a lot of cocoa was also produced in the Zaan region. Starting in the 1960’s, these historical mills and other threatened and antique buildings were moved to the Zaanse Schans to create a collection and to preserve them. Nowadays there are 12 windmills on the Zaanse Schans and four more in the vicinity. Most of the mills were moved in the last century, some stood already at their current location along the river Zaan and some have been completely rebuilt according to the original plans. Most of the mills are owned by the Vereniging de Zaansche Molen , which is also responsible for the maintenance and operation of the mills. Seven fully operative windmills and the mill museum belonging to them can be visited. The Zaanse Schans is one of the most popular windmill sites in the Netherlands.

The Zaanse Schans is a historic neighbourhood in the Zaanstad municipality, which was established by relocating wooden buildings and industrial mills from the Zaan district. To preserve as much as possible original of these timber buildings, in 1949 a special neighbourhood was set up to relocate the houses. From the middle of the 20th century the plans were elaborated. From 1963 many wooden buildings from the Zaanstreek were moved to the Kalverpolder , where the Zaanse Schans was created. Although set up as a 'normal' residential neighbourhood, the area attracted more and more tourists. Between 1970 and 1974, the plan was expanded to include historic buildings and several replicas suitable for catering and tourism. Some of the buildings are now housing museums, small craft businesses and shops. In 1976, the Zaanse Schans became a tourist destination. Nowadays, it is one of the most visited tourist places in the Netherlands with more than two million visitors per year. The Zaanse Schans comprises approx. 30 inhabited houses, 15 commercial buildings/shops and 12 windmills. The neighbourhood has about 75 inhabitants. In 2010 the Zaanse Schans was designated as a protected village sight. The neighbourhood was named after the sconce, which “Diederik Sonoy”, governor in the service of “Willem van Oranje”, had built in the Eighty Years’ War to stop the Spanish troops.

There are still fifteen active lighthouses along the Dutch coast. The vuurtoren J.C.J. van Speijk (J.C.J. van Speijk lighthouse) in Egmond is one of the oldest active lighthouses. The treacherous sea near Egmond necessitated the construction of two lighthouses: a northern and a southern tower. Work started in 1833 and one year later the construction was completed, lightkeepers were appointed and the light was lit. In IJmuiden - to the south of Egmond - also two lighthouses were built in 1876, after the construction of the North Sea Canal. In order to distinguish between the lighthouses of Egmond and IJmuiden, the lighthouses of Egmond were provided with red windows, which meant that the light emitted had a red colour. In 1834 the northern tower at Egmond aan Zee was chosen as the J.C.J. van Speijkmonument , in honour of Lieutenant Commander “Jan Carel Josephus van Speijk”, who was a gunboat commander at the time of the Belgian uprising. Van Speijk achieved eternal fame by sacrificing himself and blowing up his boat to prevent it from falling into enemy hands during the Belgian uprising. In addition to Van Speijk, twenty-five other crew members were killed. The lighthouse was equipped with a rotating light in 1891. The light in the southern tower was deactivated in the same year and finally demolished in 1915. To warn ships of dangerous shallows on the northern side of Egmond, the northern side of the light is red. The light turns white again when the ships are out of the danger zone. The vuurtoren J.C.J. van Speijk is a national monument and still shines its light over Egmond aan Zee and the North Sea every evening. It is built of brick and subsequently plastered in white. The tower has a height of 28 meters; the focal height is 37 meters. The range of the white light is 18 nautical miles and for the red one 14 nautical miles.

Egmond aan Zee is the best-known of the three ‘Egmond villages’: Egmond aan Zee, Egmond-Binnen, Egmond a/d Hoef. Egmond aan Zee was formed in the coastal dunes in 977. “The sea gives, the sea takes” is an old popular saying in the fishing community. During heavy storms houses often disappeared into the sea and in November 1741 the sea not only took away 36 houses, but also the church and its tower. Apart from being dangerous, the sea also provided the people of Egmond food and work, as most inhabitants of Egmond were fishermen. Quite a few sights in Egmond remind one of this; for instance, the "fishermen-houses", which are tiny houses near the sea where fishermen used to live. Since the beginning of the 20th century Egmond aan Zee has been a popular seaside resort. The village is well-known for its healthy and clear sea air. Children from big cities came to stay in one of the many “colony houses” which were sanatorium-like institutions often run by charities and churches. Egmond has a sandy beach that stretches for about three miles. The beach of Egmond is perfect for sunbathing and swimming in summer and invites you to take a stroll in spring, autumn or even winter. We visited Egmond aan Zee on a crisp winter's day with a freezing wind, snow-covered dunes and frozen seawater.

See for summer images: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/50373656 The Reformed church of Krommeniedijk was built on the remains of probably three other churches and was inaugurated in 1755. It is a single nave hall church in late Renaissance style. Apart from thirteen stained glass windows with representations from the New Testament, the village church houses a number of centuries-old objects, such as a pulpit from the last quarter of the 17th century, pews from the 18th century and three chandeliers of copper from the third quarter of the 17th century (I have to come back again, because during my visit the church was closed). The tower of the church is owned by the municipality of Zaanstad. During the French occupation, at the beginning of the 19th century, many church properties were confiscated by the state. Most of those possessions were returned after that period, except for the church towers, which were used as a communication point. The ringing bell in the tower was stolen in the World War II by accomplices of the occupying forces in order to be melted down into weapons. In 1951 a new cast bell was hung in the tower. In 1968 the church of Krommeniedijk - which has no official name - became a national monument. Since 1989 the building has been managed by a foundation ( Stichting Beheer Hervormde Kerk in Krommeniedijk ). In addition to church services, the building is also used for non religious activities, such as weddings, funeral services and exhibitions.

Sittard - assumed to have been founded around the year of 850 - is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. The Duke of Limburg is said to have granted the city its “city rights” in 1243. In 1400 Sittard became part of the Duchy of Jülich, which it remained until 1794. During the 15th - 17th centuries the city saw much conflicts and it was destroyed by multiple fires and rebuild a number of times. From 1798 to 1814 Sittard belonged to France as a part of the so called the Roer department, with Aachen as its capital. In 1814 it became part of the Netherlands, except for the years 1830 - 1839. During World War II the historic centre of Sittard was mostly spared destruction, although over 4.000 shells and rockets struck the city. Although the city of Sittard has continued to grow after the war, it has maintained its connection with its history. Many of the buildings in existence still today are indicative of the 16th and 17th centuries. Even the original city walls, built in the 13th century, are still visible in many places throughout the city. The city centre 0f Sittard has been officially designated as a protected national monument.