Purmerend

Purmerend (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌpʏrməˈrɛnt] (listen)) is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster and the Wormer. The city became the trade center of the region but the population grew relatively slowly. Only after 1960 did the population start to grow from around 10,000 to around 80,000 by the 2010s. From the 1960s onwards, Purmerend has seen major expansion and continues to do so. This expansion has turned Purmerend into a commuter town; many inhabitants of Purmerend (14,200 in 2011)[5] work, go to school or spend their leisure time in Amsterdam. Purmerend is part of the Randstad, one of the largest conurbations in Europe.[6]

Purmerend
Municipality
Purmerend city centre
Flag
Coat of arms
Location in North Holland
Coordinates: 52°30′N 4°57′E
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceNorth Holland
Government
 • BodyMunicipal council
 • MayorDon Bijl
Area
 • Total24.56 km2 (9.48 sq mi)
 • Land23.15 km2 (8.94 sq mi)
 • Water1.41 km2 (0.54 sq mi)
Elevation0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (January 2019)[4]
 • Total80,117
 • Density3,461/km2 (8,960/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Purmerender
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
1440–1448
Area code0299
Websitewww.purmerend.nl
Population pyramid of Purmerend.

History
See also: Fief of Purmerend, Purmerland and Ilpendam

Early history

Purmerend was created out of the small fishing village 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 river De Weere, which used to connect the former Purmermeer and Beemstermeer.

Purmerend was founded by a rich banker from Amsterdam, Willem Eggert. HRH Count William VI of Holland (Willem VI van Holland) gave him permission to build his own fortified castle, Slot Purmerstein, in 1410. The castle's construction was completed in 1413[7] and it remained standing until it was demolished in 1741 after it had fallen into decline.[8] In 1434 Purmerend was given city rights and on 21 April 1484 (some sources claim 14 April 1484) the city was given “marktrechten” (the right to organise two “jaarmarkten” annual markets and a “weekmarkt” weekly market) by Count Jan van Egmond.[7][9][10] This meant merchants from outside of Purmerend could now offer their merchandise for sale on the market. Before 1484 only food products for its own population were allowed to be sold.[11]

Medieval drawing of the fortified castle Slot Purmersteijn
Drawing of the Purmerend skyline from 1674

17th century

By 1500 Purmerend had grown considerably, as can be seen on maps dating from that period. They show that 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 in fishing grounds to Purmerend. However, the new and fertile soil favoured agriculture and livestock breeding, making Purmerend prosperous again. Purmerend now became the centre of an agricultural region, the produce of which was sold on the markets of Purmerend.

20th century

During World War II Purmerend was occupied by German 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.[12]

21st century

Purmerend was named Kermisstad van Nederland (Funfair City of the Netherlands) in 2003.[13] After the funfair, Purmerend is most famous for its cattle market, the so-called koemarkt (“cow market”), where cattle are sold and traded, mostly cows and sheep. 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 not allowed any more. It was reinstated on a smaller scale on January 2002.[9]

After 400 years Purmerenders saw the last cattle auction at the original location in downtown Purmerend in 2008. The auction was moved to the "Baanstee Oost" industrial area, in the north side of Purmerend. This was decided for various reasons: freeing up downtown traffic congestion, allowing for more parking area downtown, more room for auction grounds and ease of moving trucks around at the new site.

Geography and climate

Geography
Satellite photo of the city of Purmerend. (centered)

Purmerend lies on a swampy and watery area known as Waterland. When the first settlers began cultivating the land, consisting mostly of turf (veen), they dug ditches that run parallel 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 made agriculture near impossible at the time. It also meant that any structure needed to be built on an artificial Terp or natural hill. The former being true for Purmerend which was built on the bank of the river De Where, that linked the former Beemster and Purmer lakes.

Autumn in Purmerend - 2013
Bierkade in Purmerend

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of Purmerend (town), as of March 2014.

Districts

Purmerend is made up of the following districts.

  • Centrum
  • Zuiderpolder
  • Overwhere-Noord
  • Overwhere-Zuid
  • De Gors
  • De Gors-Zuid
  • De Gors-Noord
  • West
  • Purmer-Zuid
  • Purmer-Noord
  • Wheermolen
  • Weidevenne
  • Baanstee-West
  • Baanstee-Oost
  • Baanstee-Noord
  • De Koog
  • Molenkoog
  • Hazepolder
  • Kop van Noord

The municipality of Purmerend also contains the towns/hamlets of Purmerbuurt and partially the Purmer. (The Purmer is shared with Edam-Volendam and Waterland)

Climate
Month JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Year
Avg high °C
(°F)		  5.4
(41.7)		  6.0
(42.8)		  9.2
(48.6)		 12.4
(54.3)		 17.1
(62.8)		 19.2
(66.6)		 21.4
(70.5)		 21.8
(71.2)		 18.4
(65.1)		 14.1
(57.4)		  9.2
(48.6)		  6.5
(43.7)		 13.4
(56.1)
Avg low °C
(°F)		  0.5
(32.9)		  0.2
(32.4)		  2.4
(36.3)		  4.0
(39.2)		  7.8
(46.0)		 10.4
(50.7)		 12.5
(54.5)		 12.3
(54.1)		 10.2
(50.4)		  7.0
(44.6)		  3.9
(39.0)		  1.9
(35.4)		  6.1
(43.0)
Source: [KNMI http://www.knmi.nl/]

Public transport
Tramplein.

Public transportation is mainly focused on Amsterdam, with several bus services and a train service via Zaandam.

There are 3 train stations in Purmerend, in the north, centre and south. These are:

The bus station in Purmerend is called "Tramplein" (or, Tram Square), but not because any trams run in Purmerend today. Historically, a tram ("'t Boemeltje") ran from Amsterdam Centraal to Purmerend, ending at the Tramplein location. Although the tram service discontinued years ago, the end stop retained the name Tramplein.

In 1951 The Ramblers had a hit commemorating the tram service "’t Boemeltje van Purmerend".

In 2019, the province of North Holland revealed plans to extend the Amsterdam Metro's Noord-Zuidlijn from Noord station to Purmerend.[14]

Local government
Former city hall. Now a museum.

The municipal council of Purmerend consists of 37 seats, which are divided as follows since the elections of March 2018:

Seats
Party199820022006201020142018
Stadspartij Purmerend453386
VVD1077744
D66211354
GroenLinks432224
CDA343334
PvdA859643
Leefbaar Purmerend-83333
Ouderenpartij AOV Purmerend223343
Gemeentebelangen Purmerend-----2
PVV-Soenjoto/Van Dongen-----2
SP--42-1
PVV-Moinat-----1
Trots op Nederland---31-
Lijst van Damme----1-
Total333535353537

The mayor of Purmerend is Don Bijl.

Born in Purmerend

Notable people born in Purmerend:

J.J.P. Oud, 1918

Sport
Olaf Lindeberg, 2006
  • Martin Koeman (1938–2013) a Dutch footballer, a defender, with over 550 club caps
  • Edwin Zoetebier (born 1970) a former football goalkeeper with 358 club caps
  • Olaf Lindenbergh (born 1974) a former Dutch footballer with over 450 club caps
  • Vincent van der Voort (born 1975) a Dutch professional darts player
  • Yuri Rose (born 1979) a Dutch former midfielder with over 400 club caps, currently a manager
  • Kees Kwakman (born 1983) a Dutch former professional footballer with over 400 club caps
  • Mitchell Dijks (born 1993) football player, about 150 club caps
  • Jakub Aazami (born 1996), a Dutch rapper born in Purmerend.

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Netherlands

Twin towns — sister cities

Purmerend is twinned with:

Sources
  1. "Burgemeester Don Bijl" [Mayor Don Bijl] (in Dutch). Gemeente Purmerend. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  2. "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. "Postcodetool for 1441DM". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  4. "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  5. (in Dutch) "Banen werknemers en afstand woon-werk; woon- en werkregio's" [Jobs employees and commuting distance; commuting regions]. CBS Statline (in German). CBS. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  6. en:Randstad
  7. (in Dutch) Waterlandziekenhuis Archived 2005-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
  8. (in Dutch) Kasteleninnoordholland.nl Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  9. (in Dutch) Purmerend.nl Archived July 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Museum of Purmerend Archived February 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  11. (in Dutch) Purmerendmuseum.nl Archived August 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  12. (in Dutch) Nieuwsbank.nl
  13. (in Dutch) Plaatsen-gids.nl
  14. "Provincie wil metro naar Zaandam, Purmerend, Hoofddorp en Schiphol". NH Nieuws (in Dutch). 12 June 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  15. IMDb Database retrieved 09 January 2020
  16. IMDb Database retrieved 09 January 2020
  17. (in Dutch) Official Purmerend Website - Purmerend.nl Archived June 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  18. (in Czech) Official Jihlava website - Jihlava.cz
  19. (in Dutch) Official blog of the Mayor of Purmerend - Purmerend.nl
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