Waterland

This article is about Waterland, Netherlands. For other uses, see Waterland (disambiguation).

Waterland (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋaːtərlɑnt] ^ⓘ) is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is situated north of Amsterdam, on the western shore of the Markermeer. It includes the tourist towns of Broek in Waterland and Marken.

Waterland
Municipality
Marken, municipality of Waterland
Flag Coat of arms
Location in North Holland
Coordinates: 52°27′N 5°2′E
Country	Netherlands
Province	North Holland
Established	1 January 1991
Government [1]
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Marian van der Weele (D66)
Area [2]
• Total	115.66 km2 (44.66 sq mi)
• Land	52.11 km2 (20.12 sq mi)
• Water	63.55 km2 (24.54 sq mi)
Elevation [3]	−1 m (−3 ft)
Population  (January 2021)[4]
• Total	17,312
• Density	332/km2 (860/sq mi)
Demonym	Waterlander
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode	1140–1156, 1452–1454
Area code	0299
Website	www.waterland.nl

Population centres

The municipality of Waterland contains the following city, small towns and villages:

• Broek in Waterland
• Ilpendam
• Katwoude
• Marken
• Monnickendam
• Overleek
• Purmer
• Uitdam
• Watergang
• Zuiderwoude

Topography

Map of the municipality of Waterland, 2013.

History

The area was populated since the 11th century. Between 1619 and 1811, the villages of Ransdorp, Zunderdorp, Schellingwoude, Landsmeer, Broek in Waterland, en Zuiderwoude formed a union, known as the Waterland Union (Dutch: Unie van Waterland), mainly with the goal of joint maintenance of the coast. On the other hand, Monnickendam was a seat of a bailiff and has never been part of this union. In 1921, Ransdorp (with Schellingwoude) and Zunderdorp were merged into the city of Amsterdam.^[5]

The municipality of Waterland was established in 1991 by merging together of the municipalities of Broek in Waterland, Katwoude, Marken, and Monnickendam, as well as parts of the municipalities of Ilpendam (the village of Ilpendam) and Landsmeer (the villages of Watergang and Schouw). Monnickendam became the municipality seat.^[5]

Geography

The lands of the municipality are mainly peat.^[5] Marken is a former island.

Local government

The municipal council of Waterland consists of 17 seats, which at the 2022 election divided as follows:^[6]

WaterlandNatuurlijk – 5 seats GroenLinks – 3 seats

CDA – 3 seats D66 – 2 seats

PvdA – 2 seats VVD – 2 seats

Notable people

Wim Polak, 1982

Sita Vermeulen, 2011

• Pieter Floriszoon (1602 or 1606 in Monnickendam–1658) a Dutch Vice Admiral in the Battle of the Sound
• Alexander Johan Berman (1828 in Zierikzee–1886) the Dutch Reformed minister of Watergang
• Pieter Groenhart (1894 in Ilpendam – 1965) a Dutch lichenologist, researched tropical Asian lichens
• Wim Polak (1924–1999) a Dutch politician, lived in Ilpendam, Mayor of Amsterdam 1977/1983
• Peter Spier (1927–2017) a Dutch-American illustrator and writer of children's books, grew up in Broek in Waterland
• Michaël Zeeman (1958 in Marken – 2009) a Dutch journalist, author, editor, columnist and literary critic
• Sita (born 1980 in Ilpendam) aka Sita Maria Vermeulen, a Dutch pop singer ^[7]

Sport

• Jurjaan Koolen (1938 in Monnickendam–2020) a Dutch volleyball player, competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics
• Marko Klok (born 1968 in Monnickendam) a volleyball player, silver medallist in the 1992 Summer Olympics
• Annette Gerritsen (born 1985 in Ilpendam) a Dutch former speed skater, silver medallist at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Gallery

• 
  Broek in Waterland
• 
  Monnickendam
• 
  Paard van Marken
• 
  Katwoude