Purmerend (Dutch pronunciation:[ˌpʏrməˈrɛnt]ⓘ) is a city and municipality in the west of theNetherlands, in the province ofNorth Holland. The city is surrounded bypolders, such as thePurmer,Beemster and theWormer. Purmerend's population grew relatively slowly until the 1960s, when it increased from around 10,000 to over 80,000 by 2020. This expansion has turned Purmerend into acommuter town; many inhabitants (14,200 in 2011)[5] work, go to school or spend leisure time inAmsterdam. Purmerend is part of theRandstad, one of the largestconurbations inEurope.[6]
The municipality ofBeemster merged into the municipality of Purmerend on 1 January 2022. The extended municipality has a population of about 92,000.
Medieval drawing of the fortified castle Slot Purmersteijn
Purmerend was created out of the smallfishingvillage Purmer, which was situated on the land between the Purmermeer (Purmer Lake), the Beemstermeer (Beemster Lake) and the Wormermeer (Wormer Lake) on the south bank of the riverDe Weere [nl], which used to connect the former Purmermeer and Beemstermeer.
Purmerend was founded by a rich banker and landowner fromAmsterdam,Willem Eggert.CountWilliam VI of Holland (Willem VI van Holland) gave him permission to build a fortifiedcastle,Slot Purmerstein, in 1410. The castle was completed in 1413.[7] This led to the foundation of the town of Purmerend. The castle was demolished in 1741, after it had fallen into decline.[8]
In 1434 Purmerend was givencity rights and in 1484 “marktrechten”, (the right to organise two “jaarmarkten” annual markets and a “weekmarkt” weekly market) by CountJan van Egmond.[7][9][10] This meant merchants from outside of Purmerend could sell in the market. Before 1484 only food for its own population could be sold.[11]
By 1500 Purmerend had grown considerably, as can be seen on maps from this period. 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 resulted in a great loss infishing grounds to Purmerend. However, the new and fertile soil favouredagriculture andlivestockbreeding, making Purmerend prosperous again. Purmerend now became the centre of an agricultural region, theproduce of which was sold on the markets of Purmerend.
From 1819 till 1824 theNoordhollandsch Kanaal was constructed. It was dug along existing waterways like the Oude Vaart, which connected Purmerend to theIJ opposite Amsterdam, and along canals that connected Purmerend to Alkmaar. On 20 July 1821 the largeSchutsluis Purmerend (Purmerend Lock) was completed just west of the city center.[12]
The Noordhollandsch Kanaal brought increased prosperity to Purmerend. In 1840 the company Brantjes en Comp, trading in wood, was founded. The Firma Dirk Bakker also started to import wood. Meanwhile, Firma Pont from Edam diverted her imports over Purmerend via theWhere river. Ships from Norway, Sweden, Russia and America then started to make direct trips to Purmerend to bring wood. Sometimes 12 of these were present at the same time.[13]
The increased commerce and shipping led to the creation of an industry that catered for ships. In turn Purmerend merchants started to equipwhalers. In 1866 the establishment of a tow service with 7 tugboats by Gebroeders Goedkoop was one of the last highlights of this period. By about 1880 this boom period for Purmerend was ending, because the newNorth Sea Canal diverted traffic elsewhere.[14]
DuringWorld War II Purmerend was occupied byGerman 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.[15]
Purmerend was named Kermisstad van Nederland (Funfair City of the Netherlands) in 2003.[16] The city is also well known for its cattle market, the so-calledkoemarkt (“cow market”), where cattle are sold and traded, mostlycows andsheep. (52°30′30″N4°56′59″E / 52.50823°N 4.94985°E /52.50823; 4.94985) After the outbreak of many cattle diseases between 1995 and 2001 the cattle market was closed, but reinstated on a smaller scale in January 2002.[9]
After 400 years in a location in central Purmerender, in 2008 the cattle market was moved to the "Baanstee Oost" industrial area, on the north side of Purmerend. This was done for various reasons, including reduced traffic congestion and more parking space in the city centre, as well as more room for auction grounds and ease of moving trucks at the new site.
Satellite photo of the city of Purmerend. (centered)
Purmerend lies on aswampy and watery area known asWaterland. When the first settlers begancultivating the land, it consisted mostly of turf (veen), they dugditches that runparallel to each other to drain excess water. As a side effect of this process, the land began to sink. This resulted in a never-ending battle against the water, and madeagriculture near impossible at the time. It also meant that anystructure needed to be built on an artificialTerp or naturalhill. This applied to Purmerend which was built on the bank of the river De Where, that linked the formerBeemster andPurmer lakes.
Thebus station in Purmerend is called "Tramplein" (or, Tram Square). Historically, a tram ("'t Boemeltje") ran fromAmsterdam Centraal to Purmerend, ending at the Tramplein. The end stop retained the name even after the tram service was discontinued.[citation needed]
In 1951The Ramblers had a hit commemorating the tram service "’t Boemeltje van Purmerend".
In 2019, the province of North Holland revealed plans to extend theAmsterdam Metro's Noord-Zuidlijn fromNoord station to Purmerend.[17]
Rigter, G.H. (1924), "Purmerend en het Groot Noordhollandsch Kanaal",Het Groot Noordhollandsch Kanaal 1824-1924, Grafische Kunst-Inrichting Firma W. Appel Jr., Alkmaar, pp. 105–116
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