Page 181 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - The Netherlands

NOR TH HOLLAND  179

for sale. All the houses are built
from timber, as stone houses
would sink at once into the soft
peat earth. Also, at the time they
were built, wood was readily
available from local sawmills.
A visit to Zaanse Schans will
also reveal Albert Heijn’s first
shop from 1887, a baking
museum and cheese factory. The
Zaans Museum showcases the
history of the region. Pleasure
boats offer trips on the Zaan.
E Zaans Museum
Schansend 7, Zaandam. Tel 075-
6810000. Open 10am–5pm daily.
Closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec. & 7
∑ zaansmuseum.nl
Environs
At the Molenmuseum (windmill
museum) at Koog on the Zaan,
Typical Dutch windmill on the Zaanse Schans you will learn everything you
need to know about the wind-
5 Jisp tourist office, VVV, has mills of the Zaan region. It is
information about the various located in an 18th-century
Road map B3. * 760. @ n 0299-
472718. ∑ laagholland.com excursions offered. wooden house.
Haaldersbroek, opposite the
The old whaling village of Zaanse Schans, was once a boat-
Jisp, on one of the many 6 Zaanse Schans ing village with narrow locks, brick
for mer Zuiderzee islands, Road map C3. Schansend 7, paths and typical Zaan houses
has a 17th-century feel. Zaandam. * 50. @ Tel 075- and farmhouses. Here, you’ll feel as
The stadhuis (town hall) and 6810000. Open 9am–5pm daily, some though you’ve gone back in time.
dorpskerk (village church) buildings closed weekdays in winter.
are worth a visit. The village ∑ zaanseschans.nl E Molenmuseum
lies in the middle of the Museumlaan 18, Koog a/d Zaan.
Jisperveld, a nature reserve The Zaanse Schans is the tourist Tel 075-6288968. Open Tue–Sun.
which is home to many heart of the Zaan region. This Closed 1 Jan, Easter Sun, Whitsun.
different birds, such as open-air museum, created in & ∑ zaanschemolen.nl
lapwings, black-tailed godwits, 1960, has typical Zaan houses,
redshanks, ruffs and spoonbills. windmills and buildings. When
This is a lovely spot to cycle, it’s windy, you will be able to see 7 De Beemster
row, fish or, in the summer, the windmills working. The Road map B3. @ n VVV
visit on an excursion. The products (oil, paint, mustard) are Middenbeemster (0299-621826).
∑ beemsterinfo.nl
Czaar-Peterhuisje (Tsar Peter’s House)
The Beemster was once a lake
In 1697, the Russian Peter the Great visited the shipyards of Zaandam that was drained in 1612 by
in order to learn how the local people built ships. He lodged with Jan Adriaansz Leeghwater (see
Gerrit Kist, a tradesman whom he p167). This unusual region has
had employed in St Petersburg. hardly changed since the 17th
The tsar paid another visit to the century, and in 1999 it was
town in 1717. The first mention of named a World Heritage Site by
“Tsar Peter’s house” in an official UNESCO. You can see historic
document was in 1780. This led to objects and period rooms in the
the tiny wooden house being Museum Betje Wolff.
supplied with a stone casing and
foundations for protection. Every
year, this humble house attracts E Museum Betje Wolff
a great number of tourists. (Krimp Middenweg 178, Middenbeemster.
23, Zaandam, tel. 075-6810000. Tel 0299-681968. Open May–Sep:
Peter the Great, who stayed in Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sun; 11am–5pm Tue–Fri, 2pm onwards
Zaandam twice closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec.) Sat–Sun; Oct–Apr: 2–5pm Sun.
Closed 1 Jan, 27 Apr, 25 Dec. &

178-179_EW_Netherlands.indd 179 16/01/17 12:04 pm