Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: gemeente Waterland

Broek in Waterland is one of the villages in the Netherlands I do like very much. For me it is almost unbelievable to find such an authentic and picturesque place less than ten kilometers from Amsterdam and without the crowds in other more touristy places around. Broek in Waterland was originally a fishermen's village and for that reason its church is dedicated to St. Nicolas , the patron saint of seafarers. From the mid 16th century this activity was rapidly replaced by stock farming and the production of dairy. The dairy products were transported to Amsterdam by boat. The harbour - called Havenrak (PiP1) remained important for the village and is still the heart of Broek en Waterland. In the 17th and 18th century it was a popular village for the extremely rich (grain) merchants of this area and many impressive houses were built. The tiny village offers almost hundred meticulously renovated and preserved state monuments from the Dutch Golden Age period. Much of these traditional ‘Broeker houses’ have just one floor - due to the weak ground - and are constructed with a timber frame and walls. Much of them are nowadays painted in the famous Broeker grijs (Broeker Grey).

Broek in Waterland is one of the villages in the Netherlands I do like very much. For me it is almost unbelievable to find such an authentic and picturesque place less than ten kilometres from Amsterdam and without the crowds in other more touristy places around. Broek in Waterland was originally a fishermen's village and for that reason its church is dedicated to St. Nicolas (PiP 2), the patron saint of seafarers. From the mid 16th century this activity was rapidly replaced by stock farming and the production of dairy. The dairy products were transported to Amsterdam by boat. The harbour - called Havenrak (PiP3) remained important for the village and is still the heart of Broek en Waterland. In the 17th and 18th century it was a popular village for the extremely rich (grain) merchants of this area and many impressive houses were built. The tiny village offers almost hundred meticulously renovated and preserved state monuments from the Dutch Golden Age period. Much of these traditional ‘Broeker houses’ have just one floor - due to the weak ground - and are constructed with a timber frame and walls. Much of them are nowadays painted in the famous Broeker grijs (main picture). Broek in Waterland is surrounded by ditches and meadows and the ‘centre’ of the village is the Havenrak, a widening of the Ee rivulet (PiP4), which flows through Broek. The village has a couple of narrow streets, all lined with the traditional ‘Broeker houses’: having just one floor, due to the weak ground, constructed with a timber frame and walls and most of them are painted in the famous ‘Broeker grey’ (main picture). Some of them do have beautifully decorated entrance doors (PiP 1).

Marken, a former island, has still a lighthouse, which is called Paard van Marken (Horse of Marken). It is situated on the eastern tip of the island and is only accessible on foot or bike. The current lighthouse was built in 1839; it has a height of 16 meters and a light range of 16.7 km. In 1700 the tower started as a square lighthouse. This was one of three lighthouses near Marken, which was decided to mark the route from the sea to Amsterdam. The three towers were equipped with oil lamps. In 1839, the square stone tower was replaced by a round iron one on the old foundations. Later on, a brick building with a house and storage place was built, which provided the lighthouse its characteristic shape. Till 1957 the small fishing village of Marken was an island in the IJsselmeer (the former Zuiderzee ). From that moment on it was connected by the mainland of the Province of Noord-Holland by a dike. The village is situated rather close to Amsterdam and part of the municipality of Waterland. About 2.000 people are living on the peninsula. Marken (together with Volendam) is one of the most well-known tourist destinations in the Netherlands; it has its own charm with its quaint green coloured wooden houses on poles and the very colourful traditional costumes.