Spaarndam Explained

Settlement Type:Village
Image Alt:Image of buildings on the waterfront
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Netherlands
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:North Holland
Subdivision Type2:Region
Subdivision Name2:Amsterdam metropolitan area
Area Land Km2:1.26
Area Water Km2:0.4
Population Demonym:Spaarndammer
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postcode
Postal Code:2063 (West), 2064 (East)
Area Code Type:Area code
Area Code:023
Pushpin Map:Netherlands#Europe
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Spaarndam in the Netherlands

Spaarndam (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /ˌspaːr(ə)nˈdɑm/) is a village in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands, on the Spaarne river and the IJ lake. The oldest part of the village, on the western side of the Spaarne, belongs to the municipality of Haarlem; the newer part on the eastern side is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. The village is built around a dam in the river, which is also the division line of the two municipalities.

Spaarndam was created around a dam where the river Spaarne flows into the IJ. This dam was built here by count Floris V of Holland in 1285. The village collected tolls at this dam, and people made their living from fishing.[1] From 1812 to 1927, the western part of Spaarndam was an independent municipality.

The village has some tourism, and many people commute to Amsterdam and Haarlem.

Spaarndam has always been strongly connected to water. Besides the river and the fishing, it is also famous because of a story within the 1865 American novel, Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, about a Dutch boy, "The Hero of Haarlem," who stuck his finger in a dike to prevent the town from flooding. The story became a popular legend in America, and in 1950 the local tourist bureau put a statue of this character in Spaarndam.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Spaarndam: adopted home of Dutch legend, Hans Brinker . Dutch Review . 22 November 2021.