The Netherlands - Alkmaar
Top sights Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen city walk route
information:
Start:Railway station Enkhuizen
Distance: 4km Duration: 1.5 hours Download / print map Enkhuizen city walk route:
6
Enkhuizen – Herring Town
June 21, 2016
Time for our next Blog, today we visit Enkhuizen, a picturesque historic town situated in the province of
North Holland, with its own harbor at the IJsselmeer.
Besides that we also visit the Zuiderzee Museum but more about that later, first the town Enkhuizen.
Enkhuizen has a rich history, it was famous for its herring fleet, while the IJsselmeer was still connected
with the North Sea before closing the Afsluitdijk. Enkhuizen got its’ city rights in 1356. Due to the loyalty of
the inhabitants to the Prince of Oranje (who was the initiator of the Rebellion against the King of Spain),
during the Eighty Years’ War. Enkhuizen was rewarded and received in 1573 the exclusive rights to install
and manage buoys in the former Zuiderzee, every ship that passed the buoys had to pay taxes.
In the Golden Age Enkhuizen was blooming and had its own VOC office. At the end of the 17
th
century the
situation changed. Amsterdam took over the position of Enkhuizen in regard to the VOC trade, the harbor
silted and the number of inhabitants decreased.
Enkhuizen is now famous for its water recreation, flower bulbs and seed cultivation.
We start our walk as usual at the railway station of Enkhuizen, after a sanitary stop, we start at the
Stationsweg. After about 50 meters, we find to our left hand the Snouck van Loosenpark.
1. The Snouck van Loosenpark
After her death Margaretha Maria Snouck van Loosen had ordered through her will, that a foundation
should be installed, which was responsible for the construction of a park and 51 rental houses for the
working class of Enkhuizen. So this project became one of the first social housing projects in the
Netherlands. Architect Christiaan Posthumus Meyjes sr., who was responsible for the design of the houses,
built 51 houses, 50 worker’s houses and 1 house for the supervisor. The houses were very modern, large
and every house had their own lavatory. Hendrik Copijn was the landscape architect and responsible for
creating the park. The park opened in 1897, the first workers moved in, after a careful selection procedure, if
one did not follow the strict regulations, they were put out of their house. Today the houses are still rental
houses.
We enjoy the park and the houses and walk until the other end of the park. At the Snouckstraat where we
turn right until the Kuipersdijk, where we turn left until the Klopperstraat, where we turn right again until the
Westerstraat where we turn right. The Westerstraat is the main street of Enkhuizen, lots of historic building
can be found at this street, it is also a nice shopping street. We mention a few historic buildings.
2. West-Frisian Coin Manufactory
At number 125 you will find the former West-Frisian Coin Manufactory. The building you see know is built
in 1611 in a Dutch Renaissance style. During the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648), there were difficulties in the
supply of coins, so the towns Hoorn, Medemblik and Enkhuizen decided to manufacture their own coins.
This happened by rotation, every six year another town until the supply from the city Dordrecht was
restored.
3. The Westerkerk (Church)
At the left side of the street you see an enormous church, this is the
Westerkerk or Sint Gommarus kerk (Church). It was built in the 15
th
century and honored to Gummarus van Lier, it started off as a Roman
Catholic Church but in 1572 after the Dutch Rebellion, the Calvinists
took over the church and it became a Protestant Church.
4. Orphanage for the Poor
At number 111 behind a wrought iron fence you see the former Orphanage for the Poor, is was built in
1906. Please take a closer look at the interesting facing brick.
We continue our walk in the Westerstraat until the Melkmarkt and turn right. Here you find in Summertime
lovely terraces to have a coffee or lunch. We take the Torenstraat to turn left and walk straight on to the
Zuiderkerk (church) and Zuiderkerksteeg.
5. The Zuiderkerk (Church)
The Zuiderkerk or Sint-Pancraskerk (church) was built in a late Gothic style between 1423-1458, it was
honored to the martyr Pancratius and started as a Roman Catholic Church but is today a Protestant Church.
Please take notice of the beautiful painted ceilings showing some biblical scenes.
We follow the Zuiderkerksteeg and find ourselves back on the Westerstraat, when this street crosses the
Kaasmarkt/Nieuwstraat, we turn left to find at the corner Kaasmarkt/Waagstraat, the old Waag building.
6. Waag
Like every other town of that time, Enkhuizen had also a Waag, it was used for the weigh and trade of butter
and cheese. The building was built in an early Renaissance style in 1559. On top of the roof there are 5
statues representing hope, justice, believe, love and strength. The guild of the barber surgeons settled on
the first floor at 1636, Mr. Paludanus was the most remarkable member of them, he collected all strange
objects.
We walk back to the Westerstraat and at end we find the Breedstraat, here we turn right and find at nr. 53 the
Town Hall.
7. Town Hall
It was designed in a Dutch Classicistic Style by the young architect Steven Vennecool in 1688, as you can see,
he was clearly inspired by the design of palace on the Dam Square in Amsterdam. The cannon in front of the
Town Hall was conquered at the Dunkirk sailors, the famous author Joost van den Vondel has written a
poem about the event. The building is still used as the Town Hall.
We continue our walk and turn left at the Zwaanstraat, we cross the Compagniebridge on to the
Compagniestraat. Here we run into the Wierdijk. On this dike they have built a Seawall (1608) to protect the
town against the water of the Zuiderzee during storm tide. In this seawall there is only one gate, the so called
Staverse Poortje which was built in 1615 and renovated in 1833.
We follow the Wierdijk until the next bridge at our right hand, here we cross the water and come back in the
town center. At the end of the Bocht, we turn left and find a very small museum called the Flessenscheepjes
Museum.
8. Flessenscheepjes Museum
The museum is accommodated in the Spuihuisje, below this building there is a lock, which could be closed
by high tide and storm tide, to protect Enkhuizen and the hinterland against the water of the Zuiderzee. Now
you will find the world’s finest and largest collection of ships in bottles.
Coming out of the museum you cross the bridge towards a building which is called the Drommedaris.
9. The Drommedaris
This is the most famous building of Enkhuizen. It was built (1540) as a city gate as part of the city wall that
surrounded Enkhuizen in the 16
th
century, its’ task was to protect the harbor against enemies. The people of
Enkhuizen saw a resemblance with a dromedary, so they nick named the tower Drommedaris. In 1649 the
tower was heightened, why is not clear, perhaps to make room for the carillon. The tower has had many
purposes; prison, storage, post office until 1959 when it became a Cultural Center, which it still is.
10. The Enkhuizer Almanak Museum
This museum tells the history and origin of the ”Enkhuizer” Almanac. In the Middle Ages every Dutch town
had its own Almanac. In the beginning it was a leaflet made by monks and spread through the church. The
leaflet was specially made for people who were not able to read, so it was written in tables, symbols and
signs. The information was about holy days, market days, the position of the moon, weather forecast,
timetables of boats, horse coaches, mail coaches etc. Through the invention of the book printing in 1400,
the production of Almanacs took an enormous development. After the Dutch Rebellion, the Protestants
interfere and took over the control of the content. The character of the content also changed through the
centuries, articles of public interest like for example local anecdotes, poems and songs were included in the
Almanac.
The Enkhuizer Almanac is the last still existing Almanac, which is published every year, this years’ edition is
the 421
st
edition. In the museum one can even find an edition of the year 1686.
We follow the Havenweg which turns into the Stationsweg and we are again at the railway station, where we
started our walk. We hope you have enjoyed this walk!
Tip 1 At the Oude Haven in front of the
Drommedaris there is a good restaurant
called ‘t Ankertje to have a drink or a
lunch, especially on a sunny day because
the terraces are at the waterside and one
has a nice view over the harbor.
From the Drommedaris we walk towards the Enkhuizer Almanak Museum.
Tip 2 In Enkhuizen there is also an attraction park for young children, it is called
Sprookjes Wonderland, it is a Fairy Tale theme park with a number of
attractions, see the link http://www.sprookjeswonderland.nl/home/
Tip 3 Enkhuizen is famous for its water recreation and has many canals in- and
outside its city walls, to discover the town from a boat is a relaxing way to spend
your holiday, please find a link on boat rentals
http://www.bootverhuurenkhuizen.nl/
Snouck van Loosenpark
Staverse Poortje
Hotel tip Enkhuizen:
We stayed two nights in the nice Hotel Restaurant De Koepoort. The hotel is
located in the city center in the Westerstraat no. 294 in Enkhuizen. The room is
modern and clean and the staff is very friendly.
If you are interested in this or another hotel in Enkhuizen, please check here
for the availability and best offers.
Enkhuizen city walk route information:
Start: railway station Enkhuizen
Distance: 4 km Duration: 1.5 hours Download or print map Enkhuizen city walk route:
Top sights Enkhuizen
Enkhuizen – Herring Town
June 21, 2016
Time for our next Blog, today we visit Enkhuizen, a
picturesque historic town situated in the province
of North Holland, with its own harbor at the
IJsselmeer.
Besides that we also visit the Zuiderzee Museum
but more about that later, first the town
Enkhuizen.
Enkhuizen has a rich history, it was famous for its
herring fleet, while the IJsselmeer was still
connected with the North Sea before closing the
Afsluitdijk. Enkhuizen got its’ city rights in 1356.
Due to the loyalty of the inhabitants to the Prince
of Oranje (who was the initiator of the Rebellion
against the King of Spain), during the Eighty Years’
War. Enkhuizen was rewarded and received in
1573 the exclusive rights to install and manage
buoys in the former Zuiderzee, every ship that
passed the buoys had to pay taxes.
In the Golden Age Enkhuizen was blooming and
had its own VOC office. At the end of the 17
th
century the situation changed. Amsterdam took
over the position of Enkhuizen in regard to the
VOC trade, the harbor silted and the number of
inhabitants decreased.
Enkhuizen is now famous for its water recreation,
flower bulbs and seed cultivation.
We start our walk as usual at the railway station
of Enkhuizen, after a sanitary stop, we start at the
Stationsweg. After about 50 meters, we find to our
left hand the Snouck van Loosenpark.
1. The Snouck van Loosenpark
After her death Margaretha Maria Snouck van
Loosen had ordered through her will, that a
foundation should be installed, which was
responsible for the construction of a park and 51
rental houses for the working class of Enkhuizen.
So this project became one of the first social
housing projects in the Netherlands. Architect
Christiaan Posthumus Meyjes sr., who was
responsible for the design of the houses, built 51
houses, 50 worker’s houses and 1 house for the
supervisor. The houses were very modern, large
and every house had their own lavatory. Hendrik
Copijn was the landscape architect and
responsible for creating the park. The park opened
in 1897, the first workers moved in, after a careful
selection procedure, if one did not follow the strict
regulations, they were put out of their house.
Today the houses are still rental houses.
We enjoy the park and the houses and walk until
the other end of the park. At the Snouckstraat
where we turn right until the Kuipersdijk, where we
turn left until the Klopperstraat, where we turn
right again until the Westerstraat where we turn
right. The Westerstraat is the main street of
Enkhuizen, lots of historic building can be found at
this street, it is also a nice shopping street. We
mention a few historic buildings.
2. West-Frisian Coin Manufactory
At number 125 you will find the former West-
Frisian Coin Manufactory. The building you see
know is built in 1611 in a Dutch Renaissance style.
During the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648), there
were difficulties in the supply of coins, so the
towns Hoorn, Medemblik and Enkhuizen decided
to manufacture their own coins. This happened by
rotation, every six year another town until the
supply from the city Dordrecht was restored.
3. The Westerkerk (Church)
At the left side of the street you see an enormous
church, this is the Westerkerk or Sint Gommarus
kerk (Church). It was built in the 15
th
century and
honored to Gummarus van Lier, it started off as a
Roman Catholic Church but in 1572 after the Dutch
Rebellion, the Calvinists took over the church and it
became a Protestant Church.
4. Orphanage for the Poor
At number 111 behind a wrought iron fence you
see the former Orphanage for the Poor, is was
built in 1906. Please take a closer look at the
interesting facing brick.
We continue our walk in the Westerstraat until the
Melkmarkt and turn right. Here you find in
Summertime lovely terraces to have a coffee or
lunch. We take the Torenstraat to turn left and walk
straight on to the Zuiderkerk (church) and
Zuiderkerksteeg.
5. The Zuiderkerk (Church)
The Zuiderkerk or Sint-Pancraskerk (church) was
built in a late Gothic style between 1423-1458, it
was honored to the martyr Pancratius and started
as a Roman Catholic Church but is today a
Protestant Church. Please take notice of the
beautiful painted ceilings showing some biblical
scenes.
We follow the Zuiderkerksteeg and find ourselves
back on the Westerstraat, when this street crosses
the Kaasmarkt/Nieuwstraat, we turn left to find at
the corner Kaasmarkt/Waagstraat, the old Waag
building.
6. Waag
Like every other town of that time, Enkhuizen had
also a Waag, it was used for the weigh and trade of
butter and cheese. The building was built in an
early Renaissance style in 1559. On top of the roof
there are 5 statues representing hope, justice,
believe, love and strength. The guild of the barber
surgeons settled on the first floor at 1636, Mr.
Paludanus was the most remarkable member of
them, he collected all strange objects.
We walk back to the Westerstraat and at end we
find the Breedstraat, here we turn right and find at
nr. 53 the Town Hall.
7. Town Hall
It was designed in a Dutch Classicistic Style by the
young architect Steven Vennecool in 1688, as you
can see, he was clearly inspired by the design of
palace on the Dam Square in Amsterdam. The
cannon in front of the Town Hall was conquered at
the Dunkirk sailors, the famous author Joost van
den Vondel has written a poem about the event.
The building is still used as the Town Hall.
We continue our walk and turn left at the
Zwaanstraat, we cross the Compagniebridge on to
the Compagniestraat. Here we run into the Wierdijk.
On this dike they have built a Seawall (1608) to
protect the town against the water of the
Zuiderzee during storm tide. In this seawall there
is only one gate, the so called Staverse Poortje
which was built in 1615 and renovated in 1833.
We follow the Wierdijk until the next bridge at our
right hand, here we cross the water and come
back in the town center. At the end of the Bocht,
we turn left and find a very small museum called
the Flessenscheepjes Museum.
8. Flessenscheepjes Museum
The museum is accommodated in the Spuihuisje,
below this building there is a lock, which could be
closed by high tide and storm tide, to protect
Enkhuizen and the hinterland against the water of
the Zuiderzee. Now you will find the world’s finest
and largest collection of ships in bottles.
Coming out of the museum you cross the bridge
towards a building which is called the
Drommedaris.
9. The Drommedaris
This is the most famous building of Enkhuizen. It
was built (1540) as a city gate as part of the city
wall that surrounded Enkhuizen in the 16
th
century, its’ task was to protect the harbor against
enemies. The people of Enkhuizen saw a
resemblance with a dromedary, so they nick
named the tower Drommedaris. In 1649 the tower
was heightened, why is not clear, perhaps to make
room for the carillon. The tower has had many
purposes; prison, storage, post office until 1959
when it became a Cultural Center, which it still is.
Tip 1 At the Oude Haven in front of the
Drommedaris there is a good restaurant
called ‘t Ankertje to have a drink or a
lunch, especially on a sunny day because
the terraces are at the waterside and one
has a nice view over the harbor.
From the Drommedaris we walk towards the
Enkhuizer Almanak Museum.
10. The Enkhuizer Almanak Museum
This museum tells the history and origin of the
”Enkhuizer” Almanac. In the Middle Ages every
Dutch town had its own Almanac. In the beginning
it was a leaflet made by monks and spread
through the church. The leaflet was specially made
for people who were not able to read, so it was
written in tables, symbols and signs. The
information was about holy days, market days, the
position of the moon, weather forecast etc.
Through the invention of the book printing in
1400, the production of Almanacs took an
enormous development. After the Dutch Rebellion,
the Protestants interfere and took over the control
of the content. There was also information on
timetables of boats, horse coaches, mail coaches
but there was also information of public interest
like for example local anecdotes, poems, songs
etc.
The Enkhuizer Almanac is the last existing
Almanac, which is still published every year, this
years’ edition is the 421
st
edition. In the museum
one can even find an edition of the year 1686.
We follow the Havenweg which turns into the
Stationsweg and we are again at the railway station,
where we started our walk. We hope you have
enjoyed this walk!
Tip 2 In Enkhuizen there is also
an attraction park for young
children, it is called Sprookjes
Wonderland, it is a Fairy Tale
theme park with a number of
attractions, see the link
http://www.sprookjeswonderlan
d.nl/home/
Tip 3 Enkhuizen is famous for its water recreation
and has many canals in- and outside its city walls,
to discover the town from a boat is a relaxing way
to spend your holiday, please find a link on boat
rentals http://www.bootverhuurenkhuizen.nl/
Hotel tip Enkhuizen:
We stayed two nights in the nice Hotel
Restaurant De Koepoort. The hotel is located in
the city center in the Westerstraat no. 294 in
Enkhuizen. The room is modern and clean and the
staff is very friendly.
If you are interested in this or another hotel in
Enkhuizen, please check here for the availability
and best offers.
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