History: the 18th and 19th centuries come to life at the Zaanse Schans

The mid-19th century saw the start of the industrial revolution in the Zaan district. What you see today on the Zaanse Schans is how a living and working community in the Zaan district looked back then: farmsteads, paths, wooden houses, warehouses and windmills, ditches and fields. Read here about the evolution of this special spot in the Zaan district:

The Zaanse Schans offers a glimpse into the Zaan region’s most important heyday: the 18th and 19th centuries. The Zaan region, the oldest industrial area in Western Europe, once simultaneously had around six hundred windmills operating. This was a direct result of trade in the Dutch Golden Age (17th century). Thanks to creative Zaan entrepreneurs, numerous products rolled out of the industrial mills.

An important invention preceded the Zaanse bloom period, the golden age. This was the invention of the crankshaft by compatriot Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest in 1594. This was because the crankshaft made it possible to convert the horizontal wind direction on the mill sails, into a vertical sawing motion. This suddenly allowed mills to industrially cut much more wood than was ever possible by hand. This provided enormous additional building opportunities.

The very prosperous 17^th century – the Golden Age – was a great catalyst for shipbuilding and industrial mills in the Zaan region. The region’s location, on the water and under the smoke of Amsterdam, was ideal during the Golden Age. Thanks to the Zaan entrepreneurial spirit, the Zaan region grew into the centre of commercial shipbuilding in Europe in the 17^th century. As many as 26 shipyards launched between 100 and 150 ships a year. In this light, it is special to report that until the mid-nineteenth century, the Zaan region had an important share in whaling, among other things.

In its heyday, the Zaan region developed into an unprecedented industrial area at the time, with over six hundred, active mills at its peak: wind-powered wooden factories. This increased production capacity enormously. Subsequently, the people of Zaan developed various types of industrial mills through all kinds of handy inventions, from which all sorts of things rolled out. Machine-sawn wood, paper, ground spices, oil for food and paint, dyes, all kinds of fibres, flour, cocoa powder, and much more. Needless to say, these developments, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, brought a lot of money to the Zaan region. Incidentally, Zaankanters not only traditionally excelled in entrepreneurial spirit, but also in community spirit. For instance, they shared technological innovations and entered into mutual ‘fire contracts’ as insurance against mill fires.

Prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries is visible in many ways in the Zaan region. Alongside mills, barns and other buildings, beautiful houses of wealthy mill owners, traders and dignitaries rose up. These houses often had a beautiful front and back façade (status symbols) and stood on the dike along the river Zaan, at that time a very important traffic artery. If things were going well for the owner, he would build a ‘wellington’ to his house. And for those who could afford it, the house had a so-called “overtuin”, separated from the house by a road or water. The garden served for growing vegetables, as an ornamental garden or as a bleaching field for laundry. There were also several, luxurious teahouses in the Zaan region. The Zaan region offered a colourful sight. Especially the residential houses used to display a rich range of colours from various shades of green to beige and light blue. And apart from the exterior, the Zaan interior also had a colourful palette. All these special, regional characteristics, make the Zaan region a unique area.

The mills, workshops and houses you see at Zaanse Schans are the result of a fruitful period in our history. See the growth and flowering of the Industrial Revolution in North Holland.