The Zaanstreek ('area of the river Zaan', Zaan Region) is a region just north of the Dutch capital of Amsterdam, and was historically a part of the Waterland. It is roughly covered by the municipality of Zaanstad and known for its industrial mill-history. It consists of 7 villages (Zaandam, Koog a/d Zaan, Zaandijk, Wormerveer, Krommenie, Assendelft and Westzaan) of which Zaandam is the biggest.
The Zaanstreek evolved on the banks of the peat river Zaan, which once was connected to the main waterway of Amsterdamn, the IJ. It is a typical Dutch landscape, being below sea level, with hundreds of ditches and pastures. The Zaanstreek is a region of contrasts: modern and 19th century industrial buildings mixed with old windmills and wooden houses all with the background of the quiet Zaan river and meadows.
The Zaanstreek/Zaan area is possibly the oldest industrial area in the world. It flourished in the 17th century, when there where about a 1,000 wind mills processing food products and wood. That pre-steam development was made possible by technological improvements of the windmills (like the patenting of crankshaft applications in 1592) and the need for the produce of the mills for neighbouring Amsterdam.
Large quantities of wood and rope where needed for the big wooden merchant ships that were build in de Zaanstreek to provide the Amsterdam merchants (early capitalists) with the means to plunder the Dutch colonies (Indonesia, the Caribbean). Also paper industry flourished, and it is believed that the Declaration of Indepence (USA) is written on paper from the Zaan area. Also, many food products that were imported, where processed with the windmills in the Zaanstreek, like cocoa, rice and wheat. Chocolat, bread, cooking rice, roasted coffee, vegetable oil, pastry, animal food, etc. where produced in large quantities, providing for much of the Dutch population.
Later, the shipbuilding and almost all of the wood industry (furniture, paper) disappeared, but the food processing industry stayed. It modernised and replaced the wind mills for steam engines during the 19th century. Even today, the biggest Dutch companies in the food industry still have their base in the Zaanstreek, like the multinational . Flour for 90% of all bread in the Netherlands comes from one factory in the Zaanstreek (Meneba). There are many cocoa factories, producing chocolate from cocoa coming from the biggest 'cocoa port in the world', Amsterdam.
Besides these present day modern industry, in a higher concentration then usual in the Netherlands, you can still see the older industry (no longer in use) in the Zaanstreek. Along the river Zaan, you can find still dozens of original windmills (mostly entirely made of wood), still technically functioning, some of them over 350 years old. Next to these there are many 19th century stone industrial buildings, nowadays derelict or converted into apartments, but still recognisable as industrial buildings. In some cases this old en less old industry is intertwined, like with Duyvis: the modern factory is actually build around a centuries old wooden windmill.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Waterland and Zaan Region
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Waterland and Zaan Region - updated May 2024
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Waterland and Zaan Region Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
