Berkmeer is a hamlet in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province of

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Koggenland Koggenland ( fy, Koggelân) is a municipality in North Holland province and the region of West-Frisia of the Netherlands. It came into existence on 1 January 2007 upon the merger of the two former municipalities of Obdam and Wester-Koggenland. ...

, and lies about 5 km east of

Heerhugowaard Heerhugowaard (; West Frisian Dutch: ''Heerhugoweard'', ''Heregeweard'' or ''De Weard'') is a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West Friesland. Heerhugowaard was previously a municipality, which merged w ...

. The hamlet was first mentioned around 1631 as De Berck meer, and refers to the lake which was ''

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

ed'' in 1636. The name means "

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

lake". Berkmeer does not have place name signs. On 28 January 1256,

William II of Holland William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards. Early life William was the eldest son and heir ...

fell through the ice at Berkmeer and was killed by the locals. Berkmeer was home to 141 people in 1840. The ''polder'' mill Berkmeermolen was built around 1608. In 1877, a pumping station was installed next to the wind mill and it was decommissioned in 1925. In 1941, it returned to active service and operated until 1990. The wind mill nowadays functions on a voluntary basis.

References

Populated places in North Holland Koggenland {{NorthHolland-geo-stub