Great Lakes Cruise

We often arrange this tour in combination with other fun activities, such as:

• City walk through Alkmaar with City Guild guide
• Escape room
• Minigolf
• Solex tour with guide
• A nice bike ride with a guide
• Visit beer museum

Send us a message or call 072 515 94 90 for your own “customized day trip”. Prices on request.

History of the Alkmaardermeer

The Alkmaardermeer was originally, just like most of Holland, peat area formed from swamp. In the Middle Ages, peat was cultivated as an agricultural area. For this, ditches were dug to drain away the excess water to the peat river that flowed through the area. Dehydration was the reason that the peat settled more and more in the long run.

During storms and high water conditions, entire pieces of land were washed away along the river, creating more and more open water. This reached a peak at the Allerheiligen flood of 1170. Due to the consequences of that flood, Alkmaardermeer, like many other lakes in North Holland, has largely taken its final shape. A river ran along the length of the present-day Alkmaardermeer, connecting the Oer-ij with the Schermer, among other things. A river that connected to it was the Taurus that flowed to Lake Starn.

It is very likely that people lived along the river from which the Alkmaardermeer originated. However, none of these settlements can be found. There are a number of islands in the lake that are remnants of the land that used to be there. Examples are the “Saskerlij”, the “Nes” and the “Dijker Hemme”. Over the centuries, the part of the Oer-ij that came out on the Alkmaardermeer has gradually clogged up and in the 17th century the Schermer was drained.

In addition to recreation, the Alkmaardermeer is used throughout the year as a sailing route for ships that sail from the Zaanstreek to the Noordhollandsch Kanaal to reach Alkmaar or Den Helder for example.

Source: Wikipedia

Origin of De Woude

Around 4000 BC the sea level rise declined. During this period, a lot of sand was deposited along the coast, gradually creating beach walls. The beach wall west of Uitgeest, Akersloot and Boekel was built around 2500 BC. formed. The coast was built up in a westerly direction during this period. Around 1500 BC. the Oer-IJ was the only connection to the sea.

Behind the beach walls lay lower sections, which became increasingly wet because of reduced drainage possibilities. Base peat could arise due to increasingly wet conditions. The dewatering was done via peat streams in the direction of the Oer-IJ. A junction can be seen in a system of peat streams, at the location of the Alkmaardermeer.

The Enge Stierop, south of the Westwouderpolder, is a remnant of such a peat stream. During the transitional phases, peat streams functioned as supply possibilities for the sea. The sea, among other things, deposited a thin layer of clay along the Enge Taurus.

The erosive effect of the sea and westerly wind caused the broad peat streams to increase in size. This is how the Alkmaardermeer came into being. Between 1150 and 1500, a number of areas around Alkmaardermeer were protected against the erosive effects of the sea and wind. However, the Westwouderpolder remained outside the dikes.

Open water connections with the sea were dammed in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the 17th century, the Schermer could be milled dry. The Markervaart was dug around 1630 for the benefit of the Schermer. As a result, the Westwouderpolder that was not yet flooded became separate from the Oostwouder polder. A higher level had meanwhile been achieved in the Schermerboezem, which made it necessary to embank the polders around Alkmaardermeer in the 17th century.

The same applies to the Westwouderpolder. The people went to live in the peat area along the extraction base. This is usually in the form of a dyke or along the edges of the peat bogs. Similarly, the De Woude and Stierop cores lie on the edge of the polder along and on a dike. The origin and historical development of De Woude is completely different from that of Akersloot.

In the time of the birth of Akersloot, the authority of the landlords, the counts (of Holland) and bishops was already so strong that they interfered with the extraction; they had acquired the so-called wilderness regale, a Frankish royal right, which meant that they were only entitled to spend the rugged land for exploitation. In most cases, the form in which that happened was also prescribed; this was characterized by a large regularity.

As these lands were mostly issued to groups of settlers for exploitation and were actually purchased by them, these exploits are called “copen”; in the case of Akersloot, access was made from a north-south route on the highest point of the beach wall to, among others, the Akersloterwoude (nowadays De Woude).

The dikes of De Woude

The peat was dewatered by the extraction and collapsed due to its own gravity (settling); ground level reduction was further enhanced by inflow and oxidation of the peat. As a result, the land was lower compared to the surrounding water and this eventually made it necessary to separate the ditches that originally ran directly into the open water, since the reverse situation was to arise. Dike is the only answer to this and from the 10th century many dikes have been created in this part of Noord-Holland, which sometimes influence the water management and state divisions.

Due to the relatively high location of De Woude, the construction of the dike around De Woude only took place around 1650 after a patent had been granted on January 15, 1647; the resolution of the States of 14 June 1651 approved the expansion of the area to be flooded. New was the fact that the maintenance of the dikes was borne by all residents and that the traditional raising of the dyke was not decided.

In 1651, the mill “de Woudaap” was put into operation and in 1877 a switch was made to pumping through a steam pumping station; the building, which housed the steam engine and pump, is still present in the north of De Woude and is a potential municipal monument.

As a result of this development, there is generally a change in the use of the land; after the extraction of the peat, a lot of arable farming is involved in the first instance; because of the higher water level as a result of subsidence, this form of land use is no longer possible and people are forced to switch to livestock farming almost everywhere. Occasionally, arable farming sometimes returns in the form of cultivation of hemp, of which rope and tarpaulin was made for sailing, but it is not known whether this is also the case with De Woude.

The disclosure

The road structure is not recorded cadastral as a separate parcel or plots, but is legally based solely on the right of way across the land of third parties. With regard to this unique situation, the necessary comments can be made and the history of De Woude has shown, insofar as it has been recorded, that this fact is not entirely without problems.

In earlier times, transport has always taken place over water and the presence of a road access has not been experienced as necessary. In the course of the 19th century and especially in the 20th century, water transport was increasingly replaced by road transport; which De Woude has not escaped.

A map is already indicated on the cadastral map of 1832 that connects the drawbridge with the dike; for farmers whose farms were not on this road, they had to reach the ferry via the land of other farmers; remains of this route are still present in the form of dams.

It is assumed that Zuidlaan has been part of such a route. This situation has not changed on the cadastral map of 1872, but the buildings are somewhat expanded. A road commission has been set up to manage this connection, the year of establishment of which is not known, but was at least in the 19th century; This road commission not only manages the road, but also the bridges and receives a subsidy for this from the municipality of Akersloot.

The presidency was regularly held by the dyke. On March 30, 1914, the city council decided to increase the annual subsidy from NLG 60 to NLG 100; Traditionally, attempts have been made to bring the subsidy amount more in line with the costs to be incurred, but in vain.

The scarce information about this committee shows that the financial position of the committee over the years has been far from rosy; the necessary maintenance and further explanation of the road are brought about by self-employment but also by bank advances and interest-free loans from a few residents; in 1952 the amount from 1914 is doubled.

Because the residents of De Woude are of the opinion that they are at a disadvantage compared to the other residents of Akersloot, in 1958 the municipal authorities are asked to take over the entire maintenance. However, the municipality did not respond to this request.

The last section of road that has been laid is that of Zuidlaan; entirely in the old tradition this was done by the future residents of nrs. 1, 2 and 3 themselves; After the construction of Zuidlaan 4 and 5, the residents of this street have made agreements regarding the distribution of costs of this avenue and the access road. In recent years, however, the municipal administration has regularly lend a helping hand with the maintenance and re-paving of road sections.

The extraction of De Woude

In contrast to Akersloot itself, located on the beach ramparts, De Woude is situated in the peat and therefore has a completely different extraction method; this can still be clearly seen in the main subdivision. If the subdivision of the former is a strip subdivision perpendicular to the axis of the beach wall with occupation on the plot, at De Woude the old parcel with parallel ditches is present in the northern and western part of the area in an east-westerly direction, aimed at the Schermer.

The southern part is focused on the Stierop; this, together with that of Uitgeesterwoude, forms a spring subdivision, which may have originally had a flow direction to the east. This allotment would then date back to the time when there was already a connection with the lower reaches of the present Zaan; according to J.K. de Cock is his thesis (1965), this allotment could date back to the 11th century.

De Woude was part of a forest belt, which also included Scharwoude (Schoorlwoud), Wouthuysen, Uitgeesterwoude, Woudvierendeel (Assendelft), Spaarnwoude and Haarlemmerliede; these places are usually connected to streams, as is also the case with De Woude. The extraction of many forest lands started from the villages, which is also assumed at De Woude, possibly from the 12th century.