Environment

Durgerdam has arisen to a dike, which was raised after the saint Elisabethsvloed of 1421. The position at the Zuiderzee made of the here resident community a fisherman village.In the flowering period the fleet existed from approximately 75 botters, with which one caught anchovy and herring. The trade was brought in Amsterdam on the market.

With mooring "de Afsluitdijk" gave the fishing trade on the "Zuiderzee" finishing stroke. The botter-port is now a yachting-port and the "Durgerdammerdijk" is in the summertime a popular bicycle route.

At north of the ring road the green "Waterland" starts. A part of this falls within the limits of our part of town. Known as "Landelijk Noord". With Durgerdam and Schellingwoude on the waterside, Holysloot, Ransdorp and Zunderdorp lie among the pastures. The area is cut through by many small ditches and some narrow roads. It is ideal for bicycle-, scating- and hiking. In Holysloot one can use the small ferry. Outside the villages there are, spread over the country, several typical Dutch farms.

The "Waterlandse Zeedijk" which runs from Oostzaan over Schellingwoude to Monnickendam, has protected Waterland for ages against the wild water of the IJ and Zuiderzee. Not always successfully: in 1625, 1687, 1825 en 1916 there were dam-bursts. In that last year, the dam burst at three different places, Waterland became a watery land indeed. With the construction of the "Afsluitdijk" in 1932 the flood danger was over.

At the VVV you can buy the Waterland-east bicycle route. It wil take you at De Oude Taveerne at Durgerdam and to al those other beautiful villages such as "Broek in Waterland".