Monnickendam

Monnickendam is the quietest of the Waterland harbour towns, with a small old centre, a working fishing and sailing harbour, and rows of low gabled houses along the water. Its landmark is the Speeltoren, a fifteenth-century tower carrying a carillon of 1596 by Peter van den Ghein, one of the older sets of bells in the country: on the hour a set of mechanical figures - armoured horsemen - ride out through an opening in the tower and back, a piece of clockwork that has been doing this for four centuries. The tower holds a small museum. The town also smokes eel, as the whole of Waterland did, and the smokehouses still work. It is a few minutes from Marken and Volendam and gets a fraction of their traffic, which is the reason to stop.

History

The town was founded by monks, and its name means "monks' dam". It received city rights in 1355, was damaged by fires in 1499 and 1513, and was an important port in earlier centuries, with a 17th-century weigh house, a bell tower of 1591 and the 14th-century church of St Nicholas, renovated in 1602 (Wikipedia, Monnickendam).

Highlights

• Mechanical horsemen - riding out of the Speeltoren on the hour, since the 1590s.
• A carillon of 1596 - one of the older sets of bells in the country.
• A working harbour - fishing and sailing boats in a small old port.
• Smoked eel - the Waterland trade still carried on in the town.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Good to know

It is very small - two hours covers it. The tower museum keeps limited seasonal hours. The mechanical figures run on the hour and the show is brief.

Nearby

Marken and Volendam are north-east; Broek in Waterland is south.

Key facts