Spaarne
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Spaarne | |
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 Mouth of the Spaarne
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| Country | Netherlands |
| State | North Holland |
| Length | 10.5 km (7 mi) |
| Source | Ringvaart |
| - location | Cruquius |
| Mouth | North Sea Canal |
| - location | Spaarndam |
| Major tributaries | |
| - right | De Liede |
 Location of the Spaarne in dark blue.
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The Spaarne is a river, in North Holland, the Netherlands. This partially canalized river connects the Ringvaart to a side branch of the North Sea Canal. It runs through Heemstede, Haarlem, and Spaarndam.
The historic canals of Haarlem's moats are connected to the Spaarne. A lock at Spaarndam separates it from the North Sea Canal.
According to Sterck-Proot, a historican, the name Spaarne probably comes from Spier, which means reed in old Dutch.
[edit] History
The river formerly flowed from the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem Lake) to the IJ Bay, which used to extend from the Zuiderzee all the way to Velsen. In the 13th century, a dam with locks were constructed at the mouth of the Spaarne where the village of Spaarndam then formed.
After a century of planning, Haarlem's Lake was pumped dry in 3 years from 1850-1853 and made into a polder. The Spaarne became a branch of the Ringvaart, lost much of its flow, and became shallower.
The construction of the North Sea Canal (completed in 1876) reduced most of the IJ Bay into polders but a small canalized section of the IJ remained at Spaarndam to connect the Spaarne to the new canal.
The river was deepened for the benefit of industries along its shores.
[edit] Places of interest along the riverbanks
- At the juncture of the river and the Ringvaart is the Cruquius Museum, a museum that resides in one of the three original pumping stations from 1850. Steam engines were used to pump the water out from the Haarlemmermeer polder.
- Castle Heemstede
- Many historic buildings in the centre of Haarlem, including:
- The Weigh House of Haarlem
- Teylers Museum
- Teylers Hofje
- Windmills "De Hommel", and "De Adriaan".
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[edit] References
- J.M Sterck-Proot, Tjeenk Willink, Haarlems oudste tijden: een vroeg-middeleeuwsch stadsbeeld, Haarlem, 1930.
- Bert Sliggers a.o., De loop van het Spaarne; de geschiedenis van een rivier, Haarlem, Schuyt, 1987.
