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Volendam is a former fisherman's village, 30 minutes to the north of
Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Volendam came into being nearby the old entry
of the harbour of Edam. This old harbour became filled ('vol') because of the digging of a
new port for Edam. After the closing of the 'Zuyder Zee' in 1932, many fishermen had to
find another way of living. The IJselmeer was formed, which was a freshwater lake. Only a
dozen of fishermen could make a living by fishing mainly for eel. For the smoked eel
Volendam is now still famous. |
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After 1932 slowly more and more trade and industry developed. The village Volendam expanded and became even bigger than the city Edam. This resulted in a change of the districtname to Edam-Volendam in 1975. The people of Volendam nowadays
work in the building industry, fishprocessing industry and more and more in the provision
of services. For this latter, many work in the capital city Amsterdam. The picture of the original village is still preserved. Nearby the unique
open picturesque harbour there is still a labyrinth of small fisherman's houses. Volendam
also has a wooden church on a stone foundation from 1658. This and the pretty traditional
costume of the olden days form the attraction for the tourism. |
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Volendam is not only famous for his smoked eel and the
picturesque harbour, but also for his many singers. In the sixties and seventies you must
have heard of 'The Cats'. They scored several hits, like 'One way wind' and 'Why'. In
Holland, the 'BZN' is yet for more than 25 years active, and still in the charts.
Recently, a boy of eleven years old, called 'Jantje Smit', made a hit by coming into the
charts directly at number 1. His CD is sold in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Those
singers, and many more, are all born and still living in Volendam. |
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But Volendam brought not only singers, but also some great football players, who played in the world's best footballteams. Years ago you must have heard from the names 'Gerry and Arnold Muhren', and more recently 'Wim Jonk', who played for 2 seasons in Inter Milan. And there were more... |
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