Egmond aan Zee () is a village on the
North Sea coast in the
Dutch 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
Bergen, about 9 km west of
Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...
.
Egmond aan Zee was a separate municipality until 1978, when it merged with
Egmond-Binnen
Egmond-Binnen () is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about southwest of Alkmaar.
History
The village was first mentioned in 922 as Ekmunde. The etymology is unknown. The m ...
and
Egmond aan den Hoef to form the new municipality
Egmond. In turn, Egmond was amalgamated into Bergen on 1 January 2001.
History
This best-known of the three villages of Egmond was formed in the coastal dunes. According to legend, it was founded around 977. Settlers in this area have battled the sea since the first settlements. During the
All Saints' Flood of 1570, some 50 houses disappeared into the sea. And in November 1741, the sea swallowed 36 houses, the church, and its tower.
Apart from being dangerous, the sea also provided the people of Egmond food and work, as most inhabitants of Egmond were fishermen. Quite a few sights in Egmond remind one of this; for instance, the "fishermen-houses", which are tiny houses near the sea where fishermen used to live. Another sight is a fishermen monument and the "Prins Hendrik Stichting", a stately building named after a Dutch prince that used to house retired fishermen. The Egmond museum paints a picture of what living in Egmond used to be like.
Egmond aan Zee has been a popular seaside resort since the beginning of the 20th century, when it was well known for its healthy and clear sea air. Children came over to stay in one of the many "''koloniehuizen''" (colony houses), which were sanatorium-like institutions often run by charities and churches. The center of attention in Egmond is certainly the Jan van Speijk Lighthouse, built in 1834 and named after Dutch sea captain
Jan van Speijk
Jan Carel Josephus van Speyk (31 January 1802 – 5 February 1831) was a Dutch naval lieutenant commander with the United Netherlands Navy who became a hero in the Netherlands for his opposition to the Belgian Revolution.
Life
Early ...
.
Art and the artists' colony
Historically, Egmond aan Zee had been a popular subject for artists such as
Cornelis Beelt
Cornelis Beelt (born 1602/1612 – died 1664/1702), was a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter.
Biography
According to the RKD though older sources claim he was born in Rotterdam in 1640, this is impossible because he was engaged to be married ...
and
Jacob van Ruisdael.
The rural Dutch villages of Egmond aan Zee, Egmond aan den Hoef, and Egmond Binnen played host to a small artists' colony beginning in 1881 when the American artist
George Hitchcock settled there. Walter MacEwen, also American, painted there from 1883 to 1885. Another American,
Gari Melchers
Julius Garibaldi Melchers (August 11, 1860 – November 30, 1932) was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of Naturalism (art), naturalism.
He won a 1932 Gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Bio ...
, arrived in 1884. Melchers continued there for 25 years, recording the people and the rural environment. See Joseph G. Dreiss, Gari Melchers; His Works in the Belmont Collection, Charlottesville, University Press of Virginia, 1984, pp. 11ff.
Statistics
In 2001, the town of Egmond aan Zee had 5086 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.85 km², and contained 2490 residences.
[Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001'' . Statistics are for the continuous built-up area.]
Events
The
Egmond Half Marathon (Dutch: Egmond Halve Marathon) is an annual
half marathon race over 21.1 kilometres that has been staged since 1973. The competition normally takes place in early January. Sections of the road race cross along the beach and sand dunes of the village, situated on the North Sea coast. The 2010 edition of the race was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, marking the first break in the race's history.
[van Hemert, Wim (2011-01-10)]
Abshero and Afework score Ethiopian double in Egmond aan Zee
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
. Retrieved on 2011-01-10.
From 1995, Egmond aan Zee has hosted the
Finder Darts Masters, a yearly major darts tournament that features players for the
British Darts Organisation circuit, and formally sanctioned by the
World Darts Federation. It is usually held in December, at the Hotel Zuiderduin, and is traditionally the last tournament held before the
World Championship.
Notable people
*
Bibi de Vries
Bibi de Vries (born March 15, 1963 in Egmond aan Zee, North Holland) was a member of the Dutch liberal VVD (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie) parliamentary party in the House of Representatives. She was a member of Parliament from 1994– ...
, politicians
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egmond Aan Zee
Bergen, North Holland
Populated places in North Holland
Former municipalities of North Holland
Populated coastal places in the Netherlands