| IJmuiden | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Satellite photo of IJmuiden and Velsen area | |
| IJmuiden in the municipality of Velsen | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | Noord-Holland |
| Municipality | Velsen |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 48,320 |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | |
IJmuiden (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌɛi̯ˈmœy̯də(n)], approx. ei mouden) is a port city in the Dutch province of North Holland, and it is the main town of the municipality of Velsen. It is located at the start of the North Sea Canal to Amsterdam, and is approximately 17 kilometres (10 mi) north of Haarlem.
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In the Roman era, this Velsen district was already inhabited, and archeological finds at the impoldered lake of Wijkermeer[1] indicate there was a North Sea port of some regional importance built here[2]. Present day IJmuiden includes four harbors: the vissershaven (Ship's code IJM), a fishing dock (visafslag), the haringhaven, the IJmondhaven and the Seaport Marina IJmuiden, a harbour for pleasure craft. IJmuiden became the largest fishing port of the Netherlands after the island of Urk became closed in by the Afsluitdijk. The town suffered heavy damage and demolition during World War II, because of its maritime importance.
IJmuiden is the newest city in North Holland, and only came into existence on November 1, 1876, when the North Sea Canal was officially opened by William III of the Netherlands, connecting the Amsterdam harbors to the open sea. He dubbed the town "IJmuiden" after passing the locks from the North Sea into the canal. After his ship, the paddle steamer 'Stad Breda' built by the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland, passed, the first ship from Amsterdam, the 'SS Rembrandt' built by the Royal Netherlands Steamship Company (KNSM), passed the other way.[3] The workers who dug the canal later settled there; they found work after the canal was finished in the fishing industry, but many also suffered extreme poverty. Before the present IJmuiden was built, the area was known as Breesaap; it was a desolate plain where only a handful of farmers strived to make a living. In 1851 the whole area was sold to the entrepreneurs Bik and Arnold, who finally set into motion plans that had been drawn up already since 1626. The first spade hit the ground on 8 April 1865.
The IJmuiden name literally means “mouth of the IJ”, which is a hint to the importance the town has for the Amsterdam harbor. The name “IJmuiden” first appeared as IJ-muiden in lines written in 1848 by the professor and journalist (and, later, a liberal finance minister in the Van Lynden van Sandenburg Cabinet) Simon Vissering. The present IJmuiden form was eventually adopted in 1876, as the North Sea Canal was being completed in this section.
In 1890 it had about 1,500 inhabitants, but boomed when the Koninklijke Nederlandse Hoogovens steelworks settled in IJmuiden in 1918. At that time shipping was at a low, because during World War I minesweepers laid many mines off the coast of IJmuiden.[4] Also the canal mouth needed constant dredging due to the littoral drift in both directions on an open, sandy coast, due to winds blowing alternately from opposite quarters, sand accumulates in the sheltered angles outside the harbour between each converging breakwater and the shore.[5]
When the second world war began, on May 12, 1940 the Dutch royal couple left the country at 23.00 in the evening on board the H.M.S. Codrington from IJmuiden to England. The quays at IJmuiden were crowded at that time with people desperate to be transported across the channel, sometimes at great expense. During the German occupation the canal was out of operation and the Germans destroyed most of IJmuiden to create their Festung IJmuiden. The story of IJmuiden during the war period can be viewed in the Bunker Museum IJmuiden.
After the war, the town was rebuilt according to a plan by the architect Willem Marinus Dudok. The statistical area IJmuiden, which includes the surrounding countryside, has a population of 30,466. The headquarters of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij is located in IJmuiden.
The North Sea Canal connects the North Sea with the IJ Bay in Amsterdam, and the importance of this ship canal has been recognized with the introduction of the "Holland Route" along the canal by the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH). The places to see on this route are the Hoogovens Museum, the system of sluice gates at the mouth of the canal, and the Zee- en Haven Museum in IJmuiden.
Besides the Velsen Municipality Hall (Raadhuis van de gemeente Velsen), designed by the architect Willem Dudok as a centerpiece to his plan for a new IJmuiden, important sights in IJmuiden are the North Sea locks. The latter are among the largest in the world and one set is able to close off a shipping lane 50 metres (164 ft) wide and 12 meters (39 ft) deep. There are plans to enlarge or build a new set to facilitate passage for even larger vessels.
DFDS Seaways serve a route between Amsterdam and Newcastle via IJmuiden. A new roll-on/roll-off ferry route between IJmuiden and Great Yarmouth in the United Kingdom was considered.[6] Any plans in that direction appear to have been abandoned by the relevant authorities.
