Schellingwoude

History

In order to stop the land loss caused by the Zuiderzee, farmers began around 1200 to build the Waterlandse Zeedijk. On this dike, the village Schellingwoude was founded. Sources of income were farming and fishing. During the 14th century, trade began to flourish, and took on greater importance in the 16th century, owing to the growth in shipping in this part of Holland. Competition with Amsterdam was enormous, however, so commerce around shipping declined. In those days Schellingwoude was a village of distinction. For the surrounding villages, the administration of justice took place in Schellingwoude. In 1622, the population of Schellingwoude was 1,048; by 1809 this number had fallen to 684. The decline in the trade and shipping activities was the main cause of this reduction. Activities that remained were farming, fishing and some industrial activity. In 1800, Schellingwoude had two mills. An important complex of locks, the Oranje Locks, together with a steam pumping station, was ready in 1872. King Willem III had laid the first stone on 29 April 1870. The Oranjesluizen and the Schellingwouder Bridge, built in 1957 over the Buiten-IJ, are two landmarks at the east side of the village. With the arrival of the Oranjesluizen, Schellingwoude got a boost. The lock created new jobs and new houses were built. The village supported around five pubs at that time. The villages at the Waterlandse Zeedijk were extremely stricken by the flood of 1916 and could not recover on their own: in 1921, Amsterdam incorporated the villages Buiksloot, Nieuwendam (with Zunderdorp) and Ransdorp (with Schellingwoude, Durgerdam and Holysloot).

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Coot

  Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  50,283
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  47,928
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  45,116
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  41,293
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  40,351
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  40,044
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  35,687
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  35,610

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2008-10-11
  19 km WNW of Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands
• M 3.7 — 2001-09-12
  54 km WNW of Petten, Netherlands
• M 3.4 — 2001-09-10
  10 km W of Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
• M 3.8 — 2001-09-09
  7 km W of Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands