Monnickendam () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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

Waterland Waterland () is a municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland. It is situated north of Amsterdam, on the western shore of the Markermeer. It is well-known for comprising the touristy towns of Broek in Waterland and M ...

, and lies on the coast of the

Markermeer The Markermeer () is a lake in the central Netherlands in between North Holland, Flevoland, and its smaller and larger neighbors, the IJmeer and IJsselmeer. A shallow lake at 3 to 5 m in depth, matching the reclaimed land to its west, ...

, about southeast of

Purmerend Purmerend () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and in the region of West Friesland. The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster and the Wormer. The city became the tra ...

. It received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1355 and was damaged by the fires of 1500 and 1513.

History

Monnikendam was also the name of a number of warships built at the port of the same name during the

Anglo-Dutch Wars The Anglo–Dutch Wars ( nl, Engels–Nederlandse Oorlogen) were a series of conflicts mainly fought between the Dutch Republic and England (later Great Britain) from mid-17th to late 18th century. The first three wars occurred in the second ...

. The town was founded by monks, the name Monnickendam translates as 'Monk's dam'. Monnickendam was a separate municipality until 1991, when it was merged into Waterland. Although it is a small fishing village today, it was an important port in earlier centuries. It possesses a seventeenth-century

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 ...

, once used by merchants and port officials, and a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

that dates from 1591. The fourteenth century church of St. Nicholas, renovated in 1602, is particularly notable. The

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

was built in 1894.

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

families named Monnikendam trace their roots to this town. The town was the site of an artist's colony in the early twentieth century.

Economy

Monnickendam hosts a number of industries, many related to its history and proximity to the Markermeer. Notably, the city is home to the

Royal Hakvoort Shipyards Royal Hakvoort Shipyards is a shipbuilding company specialized in building large luxury motor yachts. It is located in the municipality of Monnickendam in the Netherlands. History The shipyard was established in 1919 by Albert Hakvoort Sr. whe ...

that has operated for over a century, first catering to the local fishing industry by building vessels for their purpose, and later moving into luxury and pleasure crafts. Other notable organisations include Leguit + Roos, specialising in the renovation and restoration of historical buildings that are plenty in the Waterland area. In recent developments, the derelict business quarter of Galgeriet was demolished in order to make space for the development of new residential buildings. The Dutch government has subsidised this development with € 6,420,240, with the hope of creating 700 homes as well as additional commercial spaces to both alleviate the ailing demography and provide an impetus for further economic growth.

Demographics

In 2001, the town of Monnickendam had 9,546 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was , and contained 3,766 residences.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001'

Statistics are for the continuous built-up area. The wider statistical area of Monnickendam has a population of around 9,680.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Gemeente Op Maat 2004: Waterland'

Notable people

Wendelmoet Claesdochter Wendelmoet Claesdochter ( – 20 November 1527) was a Dutch Lutheran who was executed for heresy by strangulation followed by burning, and is known as the first woman victim to the religious persecutions in the Netherlands during the reign ...

, first female martyr during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, killed in a 1527 in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

* Cornelis Dirkszoon, mayor of Monnickendam during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

* Hermann Jung (1608–1678), prominent

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

theologian and preacher * Simon Lambrechtszoon Mau, captain of the ''Duyfken'' who led the first expedition to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

using a route around Africa *

Marlou van Rhijn Marlou van Rhijn (; born 22 October 1991) is a retired professional Dutch former professional sprint runner. Van Rhijn, who was born without lower legs, is the world record holder for T43 in the 100 and 200 metres events and ran with the aid o ...

, two-time 200 metre gold medal winner at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and 2016 Paralymics

Gallery

File:Monnickendam, sculptuur van een monnik op de brug bij de Waag foto8 2014-05-25 11.09.jpg, Monk sculpture at the bridge near de Waag File:Sint-Nicolaaskerk1 Monnickendam.jpg, Church: de Grote of Sint Nicolaaskerk File:Waag en Speeltoren Monnickendam.jpg, Tower (de Speeltoren) and de Waag File:Monnickendam, zicht op de Haven foto1 2014-05-25 10.52.jpg, View to the port File:Monnickendam, straatzicht Noordeinde met monumentaal pand RM29996 en kerk op achtergrond foto2 2014-05-25 11.18.jpg, View to a street (het Noordeinde) File:Monnickendam (4).jpg, View to the grachten

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Former municipalities of North Holland Populated places in North Holland Waterland