Makkum is a village of

Súdwest-Fryslân Southwest Friesland ( fy, Súdwest-Fryslân ) is a municipality in the Northern Netherlands, located in the province of Friesland. It had a population of 84,092 in August 2017. Sneek is the municipal seat. With a total area of 841.56 km2, Sú ...

municipality, west of

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on thr ...

on the banks of the lake

IJsselmeer The IJsselmeer (; fy, Iselmar, nds-nl, Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed off inland bay in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with an a ...

in the province

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It had a population of around 3,460 in January 2017,Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2017
- CBS Statline making it the largest village of the former municipally

Wûnseradiel Wûnseradiel () is a former municipality in the Friesland province of the northern Netherlands, at the eastern end of the ''Afsluitdijk''. The official (legal) name of the municipality is in the West Frisian language, though it is known as Wonsera ...

. North and south of Makkum are nature reserves Noardwaard and Súdwaard. Belonging to Makkum is the hamlet Ingwier. Historically Makkum is a fishing village. In the 20th century it started receiving tourists.

History

The Sint Maarten

terp A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides an ...

is over a thousand years old. It housed the rural village Mackum with its church. In the 16th century a town arose south of the village called Statum. Here freight ships passing through the locks had to pay tolls. Most of these ships were heading for

. After the Middle Ages both villages grew together. The current church was built in 1660. Makkum was known as the gateway to the

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...

for its locks which were owned by the neighboring monastery. This strategic position meant Makkum could develop to an important centre of trade. The

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

of Makkum started in the 17th century and lasted until the 18th century. Makkum became an important center of trade and industry, including brick works, wind-powered saw-, oil-, paper-, and pealing mills, ship yards and seashell

lime kilns A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone ( calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is : CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can take pla ...

. The lime kiln industry was the major pillar of Makkums prosperity employing many people. The high quality quicklime produced was amongst others used in house construction in Amsterdam. Transport of base materials and end products was by ship which caused shipping and ship construction to flourish. Seashell fishing was of importance next to common fisheries. The coat of arms of Makkum shows a golden mermaid carrying a sailing vessel in her right hand and a lime kiln in her left. The 19th century brought economical decline caused by the siltation of the Zuiderzee which made the harbor of Makkum unreachable. Only

shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

and potteries remained. Lately tourism has developed strongly in Makkum from the attraction of water sports. Recreational area "De Holle Poarte" with its beach, campsite, holiday homes and boulevard attracts many visitors every year. Besides agriculture, nature plays a large role with thatch cutting in the Makkumerwaard. The nature reserves along the

coast are known for their birdlife and abundance of flora. The ''Preamke'' foundation operates a flat bottom boat for tourists. The WON foundation makes an effort for showing the history of sea fishing on the former Zuiderzee.

Places of interest

The rich history of the village is still very visible. The village has a town-like structure dating from the 17th century. At the

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

are historic merchant houses and village has a

weigh house A weighhouse or weighing house is a public building at or within which goods are weighed. Most of these buildings were built before 1800, prior to the establishment of international standards for weights, and were often a large and representative ...

. The pottery Royal Tichelaar Makkum is one of the oldest companies of the Netherlands. File:Sluis Makkum 05.JPG, Makkum lock File:Haven van Makkum - Bert Kaufmann.jpg, Harbour of Makkum File:Makkum.toepferei.jpg, Royal Tichelaar Makkum File:Doniakerk in Makkum.jpg, Donia church

Community

The organisation for local interests was founded in 1909. The village newspaper is called Makkumer Belboei. In the summer a pop festival is held called Leugenbollepop. Us Stek works on interests in the area of sports and activities. Sint Martinus, It Iepen Stee and De Arke are the three primary schools of the village.

People from Makkum

Cynthia Lenige Cynthia Lenige, also known as Kynke Lenige (6 November 1755 – 3 October 1780), was a Frisian poet. She died young, and her body of work is limited mostly to occasional poetry, though she also wrote a few satirical poems which argued for a ...

, (1755–1780), poet in Dutch and Frisian, after whom a street is named

References

External links

Village website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makkum, Wunseradiel Súdwest-Fryslân Populated places in Friesland