- Zaandam
Dutch town locator maps
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caption = Zaandam in the municipality of Zaanstad.Zaandam (coord|52|26|N|4|50|E|type:city(71780)_region:NL) is a town in the Dutch province of
North Holland . It is the main city of the municipality ofZaanstad , and received city rights in 1811. It is located on theZaan , close to theNorth Sea Canal , and is in close proximity to the capitalAmsterdam .The statistical district "Zaandam", which covers the village and the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 71,780.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), "Statline: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2003-2005" [http://statline.cbs.nl/] . As of
January 1 ,2005 .]Zaandam was a separate municipality until 1974, when it became a part of the new municipality of Zaanstad. [Repertorium Nederlandse Gemeenten]
History
Zaandam and the surrounding Zaan River region, called the
Zaanstreek , have a history that is intimately connected with industry. Zaandam was a leading city in the firstIndustrial Revolution . In the Golden Age, Zaandam served as a large milling center. Thousands ofwindmills powered saws that were processing Scandinavian wood for the shipbuilding and paper industries.Zaandam is also historically linked with the
whaling industry.Into the second half of the 20th century, Zaandam was still an important lumber port. A statue was commissioned from the Yugoslav sculptor Slavomir Miletić in honor of this era, and the statue, “The Woodworker” ("“De Houtwerker”") was installed on
June 20 2004 .Peter I of Russia spent some time in Zaandam in 1697, studying shipbuilding. The house where he stayed is preserved as a museum, the Czar Peter House.
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