Holiday apartment in Purmerend: UNESCO World Heritage and Beemster culture

Purmerend combines urban history, market tradition and the orderly landscape of the Beemster Polder. Between museums, historic buildings, markets and paths through the surrounding countryside, a great variety of facets can be discovered.

Culture

The Purmerends Museum is known for its large collection of Purmerend Art Nouveau ceramics. Between 1895 and 1907, Purmerend had four ceramics factories. The collection also conveys the history of Purmerend as a fishing and market town, including regional fishing, livestock trading and timber trading. The permanent exhibition covers the history of the town from its earliest beginnings in the 14th century to the present day and the near future; a separate section is dedicated to Purmerend as a regional market town. Regularly changing exhibitions complement the museum's offerings.

The historical character of the surrounding area is also evident beyond the town's history. Since 1999, the Droogmakerij de Beemster has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its unique parcel layout and as an exceptional man-made architectural ensemble and landscape. Fort Benoorden Purmerend was built to defend the Beemster ring dike, the Purmerenderweg and the Rijperweg. Today, it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Stelling van Amsterdam and is located within the UNESCO World Heritage site Droogmakerij de Beemster.

Landscape

The Beemster Polder preserves an orderly landscape of fields, roads, canals, dikes and settlements laid out according to principles of classical and Renaissance planning. The Keyserklim offers a special view of this polder landscape: it leads to the gallery of the Keyserkerk at a height of 32 metres and offers a panoramic view of the landscape of the Droogmakerij de Beemster. The Keyserkerk is considered the oldest building in the Beemster.

Another piece of the region's architectural and everyday history is shown at the Beemster Museum in Westerhem. It is located in a North Holland Stolpboerderij, whose stable, threshing floor and living quarters are arranged around the haystack.

Markets and festivals

The weekly market in Purmerend has been held on Tuesdays since 1572. In addition, Purmerend has five weekly general goods markets, Middenbeemster has another, and there are various themed markets. Twice a year, the town centre becomes a fairground: the spring fair takes place in May and the late-summer fair in October. During this time, it is transformed into a fairground with dozens of rides.

Regional products

Beemster-Streekproducten are foods that are grown and harvested in the Beemster and sold in the surrounding area. The municipality brings farmers, catering businesses, residents and visitors together around these products. Together with Bureau Toerisme Laag Holland, the municipality organises activities and events in which Beemster-Streekproducten play an important role.

Paths and nature

The Beemster Fortenfietsroute leads from Middenbeemster past Stolpboerderijen to Fort aan de Nekkerweg. Natuurmonumenten has established a nature walking trail around Fort bij Spijkerboor. This places a route through the cultural landscape alongside a path through nature, without mixing up their respective starting points or destinations.

Several forts are located around Purmerend: Jisperweg a/d, Fort Spijkerboor and Zaanse Schans. The NEMO Museum (Amsterdam) is also located in the vicinity of Purmerend. Wijde Wormer Park is nearby. The island of Marken is in the surrounding area, while Almeerderstrand beach is located in the wider regional surroundings of Purmerend. Vliegenbos Park is also located in the vicinity of Purmerend.

Visitor centre

In the World Heritage Hall of the Bezoekerscentrum Beemster, various media are used to explain why and how Lake Beemster was drained. The visitor centre includes a traditionally designed farm garden with an orchard of various old standard fruit-tree varieties and a natural gas installation. The small shop sells, among other things, cycling and hiking maps and routes, postcards, mugs, books, flags and pennants.

You can access the local page for Purmerend here.

To the higher-level travel overview: North Holland.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Heemstede, Waterland, Wieringermeer, Castricum, Amstelveen, Heemskerk, Hoorn.