Velsen () is a municipality in 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 ...

, in the province of North Holland. It is located on both sides of the

North Sea Canal The North Sea Canal ( nl, Noordzeekanaal) is a Dutch ship canal from Amsterdam to the North Sea at IJmuiden, constructed between 1865 and 1876 to enable seafaring vessels to reach the port of Amsterdam. This man-made channel terminates at Amster ...

. On the north side of the North Sea Canal there is a major steel plant,

Tata Steel Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group. Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata S ...

IJmuiden, formerly known as ''

Koninklijke Hoogovens Koninklijke Hoogovens known as Koninklijke Nederlandse Hoogovens en Staalfabrieken (KNHS) until 1996 or informally Hoogovens. was a Dutch steel producer founded in 1918. Since 2010, the plant is named Tata Steel IJmuiden. The IJmuiden steelwor ...

'' (the town of IJmuiden is actually located south of the canal). The headquarters of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij is located in IJmuiden. The Kennemerstrand beach on the south side of the canal is at the end of the Kennemerboulevard, which runs south of the Seaport Marina. To the south is the beach of

Bloemendaal aan Zee Bloemendaal aan Zee is a seaside resort and neighbourhood in the municipality Bloemendaal, in North Holland province, the Netherlands. It is between the beaches of IJmuiden to the north and Zandvoort to the south and surrounded by the dunes of ...

. In between is a

nude beach A nude beach, sometimes called a clothing-optional or free beach, is a beach where users are at liberty to be nude. Nude beaches usually have mixed bathing. Such beaches are usually on public lands, and any member of the public is allowed to ...

Population centres

The municipality of Velsen consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: * on the north of the North Sea Canal: **

Velsen-Noord Velsen-Noord is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Velsen, and lies about 10 km north of Haarlem. From 1865 on, when the construction on the North Sea Canal began, the town of Velsen, which ...

* on the south of the North Sea Canal: **

Velsen-Zuid Velsen-Zuid is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Velsen, and lies about 9 km north of Haarlem. Velsen-Zuid developed around the church founded by Willibrord in the 8th century. Between 1865 and ...

Driehuis Driehuis is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Velsen, and lies about 8 km north of Haarlem. History It was first mentioned in 1680 as Drie Huysen, and means "three houses". Driehuizen dev ...

, IJmuiden,

Santpoort-Noord Santpoort-Noord () or North Santpoort is a village in the municipality of Velsen in the Dutch province of North Holland. It lies about 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Haarlem. Santpoort developed in the dunes near the Brederode Castle. In 1870, a ...

Santpoort-Zuid {{Infobox settlement , name = Santpoort-Zuid , settlement_type = Village , other_name = , native_name = , native_name_lang = nl , image_skyline = 37110 Ruine van Brederode ...

and

Velserbroek Velserbroek is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Velsen. Velserbroek is planned town for the Velsen region and was developed from 1985 onwards. Notable residents *Linda Bolder Linda Bolder (Heb ...

, and the parts Oosterbroek and Buitenhuizen of the recreation area

Spaarnwoude Spaarnwoude is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer and lies about northeast of Haarlem. Overview The village was first mentioned in the first half of the 11th century as Spirnere ...

''Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Velsen, June 2015''

Transport

In Velsen, there are the following connections across the North Sea Canal: * A railway

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

between the railway stations of Driehuis and

Beverwijk Beverwijk () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town is located about northwest of Amsterdam in the Randstad metropolitan area, north of the North Sea Canal very close to the North Sea coast. A ...

. * Road tunnels, from north to south: ** Wijker Tunnel ** Velser Tunnel next to the railway tunnel. * A ferry * A road across the lock complex * Railway stations:

, Santpoort Noord, Santpoort Zuid Also there used to be the Fast Flying Ferry to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. There used to be a railway link between IJmuiden and Amsterdam, the IJmondlijn until 1999, when it was closed.

Local government

The municipal council of Velsen consists of 33 seats, which are divided now (2022) as follows: * VL - 7 seats * D66V - 6 seats *

VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberalRudy Andeweg, Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingsto ...

- 4 seats * GL - 3 seats * PvdA - 3 seats * LGV - 3 seats * CDA - 2 seats * Forza! IJmond - 2 seats *

Forum for Democracy Forum for Democracy ( nl, Forum voor Democratie, FvD) is a right-wing populist Eurosceptic political party in the Netherlands that was founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and Henk Otten in 2016. The party first participated in elections ...

- 2 seats * CU - 1 seat

History

The ruins of a Roman naval base at Velsen discovered starting in 1945 are believed to be ancient

Flevum Flevum was a castrum and port of the Romans in Frisia (actual northern Netherlands), built when emperor Augustus wanted to conquer the German populated territories between the Rhine river and the Elbe river. History Two Roman fortifications (u ...

, which is listed as Phleoum, Romanized to Phleum, in

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

(2.10).

Twin towns

Velsen is twinned with

Notable people

* Saint Engelmund of Velsen (died ca.739) an English-born missionary to Frisia * Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Colclough Watson VC (1867 in Velsen – 1917) a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

* Jan van der Hoeve (1878 in Santpoort – 1952) a Dutch ophthalmologist who described

Waardenburg syndrome Waardenburg syndrome is a group of rare genetic conditions characterised by at least some degree of congenital hearing loss and pigmentation deficiencies, which can include bright blue eyes (or one blue eye and one brown eye), a white foreloc ...

in 1916 *

Karel Niessen Karel Frederik Niessen (1895 in Velsen – 1967) was a Dutch theoretical physicist who made contributions to quantum mechanics and is known for the Pauli–Niessen model. Education Niessen began his studies in physics at the University of Utrech ...

(1895 in Velsen – 1967) a theoretical physicist, studied

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...

Joop Doderer Johan Heinrich (Joop) Doderer (28 August 1921 – 22 September 2005) was a Dutch actor, well known for his role as the tramp Swiebertje in the eponymous television series. The series ran for 17 seasons between 1955 and 1975, and was broadcast by ...

(1921 in Velsen – 2005) a Dutch actor who played Swiebertje *

Annie Palmen Annie Palmen (born Anna Maria Palmen; 19 August 1926 – 15 January 2000) was a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest. Early career Palmen was born in IJmuiden. She started her career singing wi ...

(1926 in IJmuiden – 2000) a singer, participated in the

1963 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was the eighth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest and took place in London, United Kingdom. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporat ...

* Hans de Boer (born 1937 in Velsen) a retired Dutch politician and former minister * Cornelis Vreeswijk (1937 in IJmuiden – 1987) a Swedish singer-songwriter, poet and actor *

Pim Fortuyn Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (; 19 February 1948 – 6 May 2002), was a Dutch politician, author, civil servant, businessman, sociologist and academic who founded the party Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn or LPF) ...

(1948 in Driehuis – 2002) a controversial politician who was assassinated *

Jan Luiten van Zanden Jan Luiten van Zanden (born 15 November 1955) is a Dutch economic historian and professor of Global Economic History at Utrecht University. He is a widely acknowledged specialist in Dutch, European and Global Economic History. Career Van Zand ...

(born 1955 in IJmuiden) a Dutch economic historian and academic *

Peter Klashorst Peter Klashorst (born Peter van de Klashorst; born 11 February 1957) is a Dutch painter, sculptor, and photographer. Biography Klashorst was always based in the Tabakspanden on the Spuistraat in Amsterdam. But he's also produced works in ci ...

(born 1957 in Santpoort) a Dutch painter, sculptor and photographer * Hans van de Ven (born 1958 in Velsen) an academic authority on the recent history of China * Bernard Berkhout (born 1961 in Santpoort) a family doctor and a jazz clarinetist *

Franc Weerwind Franciscus Max "Franc" Weerwind (born 22 September 1964) is a Dutch politician of Democrats 66 (D66) who has been serving as minister for legal protection in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mark Rutte since 10 January 2022. Early life and educ ...

(born 1964) a Dutch politician, Mayor of Velsen 2009 to 2015 *

Cees Krijnen Cornelis Hendrik "Cees" Krijnen (born 29 May 1969 in Velsen) is a Dutch artist. Krijnen studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and the post-academic education DasArts, both in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 1999 he won the Dutch art prize Prix de Rom ...

(born 1969 in Velsen) a Dutch artist and a theatre actor IMDb Database
retrieved 11 December 2019 * Marie-José van der Kolk (born 1974 in IJmuiden), stage name

Loona Loona (commonly stylized in all caps or as LOOΠΔ; ; ja, 今月の少女, Kongetsu no Shōjo, Girl of the Month) is a South Korean girl group formed by Blockberry Creative. The group was introduced to the public through a pre-debut project t ...

, a singer, songwriter and dancer * Lenneke Ruiten (born 1984 in Velsen) a Dutch soprano

Sport

Adriaan de Groot Adrianus Dingeman (Adriaan) de Groot ( Santpoort, 26 October 1914 – Schiermonnikoog, 14 August 2006) was a Dutch chess master and psychologist, who conducted some of the most famous chess experiments of all time in the 1940s-60. In 1946 h ...

(1914 in Santpoort – 2006) a Dutch chess master and psychologist *

Gerrit Voorting Gerardus "Gerrit" Petrus Voorting (18 January 1923 – 30 January 2015) was a Dutch road cyclist who was active between 1947 and 1960. As an amateur he won the silver medal in the individual road race at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. In h ...

(1923 in Velsen – 2015) a Dutch road cyclist, silver medallist at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

* Ilja Keizer (born 1944 in IJmuiden) a retired middle-distance runner, competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics *

Piet Huyg Piet Huyg (19 March 1951 – 6 December 2019) was a Dutch footballer who played as a defender. He played 349 games with HFC Haarlem, mostly in the Dutch Eerste Divisie. Haarlem qualified for the 1982–83 UEFA Cup and Huyg scored the team’s ...

(1951–2019) a Dutch footballer, 349 club caps with HFC Haarlem * Eltjo Schutter (born 1953 in Driehuis) a retired Dutch decathlete and gynaecologist, competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics * Olga Commandeur (born 1958 in Velsen) track and field athlete, competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics *

Ingrid Haringa Ingrid Roelinda Haringa (born 11 July 1964) is a police officer and a former Dutch speed skater and racing cyclist. Biography Skating Ingrid Haringa began her career as a speed skater. During the late eighties she was considered one of the bes ...

(born 1964 in Velsen) a police officer, former speed skater and racing cyclist * Stella de Heij (born 1968 in Driehuis) a former field hockey goalkeeper, team bronze medallist at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

* René Bot (born 1978 in Velsen) a retired footballer with 262 club caps with De Graafschap * Ronny van Es (born 1978 in Velsen) a Dutch retired footballer with 380 club caps *

Linda Bolder Linda Bolder (Hebrew: לינדה בולדר, born 3 July 1988 in Velserbroek, Netherlands) is a Dutch-born Israeli Olympic judoka. A three-time European age-group judo champion as a junior, two-time Dutch senior women's champion, and silver m ...

(born 1988 in Velserbroek) a Dutch-born Israeli Olympic judoka * Joël Veltman (born 1992 in IJmuiden) a Dutch professional footballer with 160 caps with

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

;and * the Lords of

Van Brederode The Lords of Van Brederode (''Heeren van Brederode'') were a noble family from Holland who played an important role during the Middle Ages and the Early modern period. The family had a high noble rank and hold the titles ''Count of Brederode'', ...

, from the 12thC. to the 17thC., a noble family from

Brederode Castle Brederode Castle ( nl, Kasteel Brederode), also called the Ruins of Brederode ( nl, Ruïne van Brederode), is located near Santpoort-Zuid. The castle was founded in the second half of the 13th century by William I van Brederode (1215–1285). W ...

near

Santpoort {{Infobox settlement , name = Santpoort-Zuid , settlement_type = Village , other_name = , native_name = , native_name_lang = nl , image_skyline = 37110 Ruine van Brederode ...

Gallery

File:Landfront IJmuiden, W.N. 92, Panzersperre 5.JPG, Landfront IJmuiden File:Santpoort - 2011 - panoramio (4).jpg, Santpoort - panoramio File:Recreatiegebied Spaarnwoude, sculptuur van Frans de Wit zonder titel foto6 2015-08-29 13.09.jpg, Recreatiegebied Spaarnwoude File:Zakkenroller (121419823).jpeg, Zakkenroller

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of North Holland Port cities and towns of the North Sea