Oterleek is a village 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. It is a part of the municipality of Alkmaar, and lies about 4 km south 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 ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1256 as Oterleke, and is a combination of "outwards" and "natural stream". Oterleek developed on the old land outside of the

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

which was ''poldered'' between 1629 and 1631. Before the Schermer and the Heerhugowaard were polder, the village was located on an island between the two lakes. In 1573, the village was burnt by

Diederik Sonoy Diederik Sonoy or Snoey ( Kalkar (Duchy of Cleves), 1529 - Pieterburen, 2 June 1597) was a leader of the Geuzen during the Eighty Years' War. Biography Diderick Sonoy was born about 1529 in the Duchy of Cleves, but afterwards resided mostly in ...

for conspiring with the Spanish. A large part of the village burnt down 1922. There are three ''polder'' mills and one

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

in Oterleek. Oterleek was home to 230 people in 1840. It was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1970, when it was merged with

Schermer Schermer () is a former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The name came from "''skir mere''", which means "bright lake" (ref. Groenedijk, 2000). Since 2015 it has been a part of Alkmaar. The municipality of Sche ...

. In 2015, it became part of the municipality of Alkmaar.

People from Oterleek

* Jacob Gelt Dekker (1948-2019), dentist by trade, entrepreneur, and author of The Caribbean msterdam Publishers, 2018

Gallery

File:Oterleek, korenmolen De Otter RM33097 foto6 2015-10-11 16.14.jpg, Windmill: korenmolen De Otter File:Oterleek.jpg, Street view

References

Alkmaar Populated places in North Holland Former municipalities of North Holland {{NorthHolland-geo-stub