Zaanstad () is a Dutch municipality in the province of North Holland, situated northwest of Amsterdam. Its main city is Zaandam. It is part of the conurbation and metropolitan area of Amsterdam. It had a population of in .

Topography

left|275px|thumb|Dutch Topographic map of Zaanstad, 2014

Population centres

The municipality of Zaanstad is a conurbation consisting of the cities, towns and villages of: Assendelft, Koog aan de Zaan, Krommenie, Westzaan, Wormerveer, Zaandam and Zaandijk. However, being surrounded by countryside and due to its relatively protracted shape that follows the river Zaan, a rural atmosphere is always nearby.

Railway stations in Zaanstad

  • Koog aan de Zaan railway station (formerly Koog Bloemwijk)
  • Krommenie-Assendelft railway station
  • Wormerveer railway station
  • Zaandam railway station
  • Zaandam Kogerveld railway station
  • Zaandijk Zaanse Schans railway station (formerly Koog-Zaandijk)

Local government

The municipal council of Zaanstad consists of 39 seats, which at the 2022 local elections divided as follows:

Notable tourist attractions

  • Zaans Museum
  • Zaanse Schans
  • Czar Peter House
  • Gedempte Gracht, a shopping street in Zaandam

Notable people from Zaanstad

The arts

140px|thumb|Jan Verkade, 1946

  • Pieter Jansz. Saenredam (1597–), a painter of the Dutch Golden Age
  • Anton Mauve (1838–1888), realist painter, leading member of the Hague School
  • Jan Verkade (1868-1946), post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter
  • Piet Zwart (1885–1977), graphic designer, industrial designer and typographer
  • Dick Laan (1894–1973), children's writer and film pioneer
  • Aafje Heynis (1924–2015), contralto
  • Piet Kee (1927–2018), organist and composer
  • Han Bennink (born 1942), jazz drummer and percussionist
  • Kathinka Pasveer (born 1959), flautist

Public thinking & public service

140px|thumb|Adriaan Pelt, 1940s

  • Adriaan Pelt (1892–1981), journalist, international civil servant and diplomat
  • Johannes Kleiman (1896–1959), resident who helped hide Anne Frank and her family
  • Hanneke Ippisch (1925–2012), member of the Dutch resistance in World War II
  • Tom Viezee (born 1950), Christian minister and former politician, Mayor of Zeewolde 1999–2004
  • Emine Bozkurt (born 1967), politician

Science & business

140px|thumb|Christiaan Eijkman

  • Pieter Bleeker (1819–1878), medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist
  • Christiaan Eijkman (1858–1930), physician and professor of physiology, joint winner the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1929 for the discovery of vitamins
  • Cornelis Zwikker (1900–1985), scientist, mostly in physics, chemistry and acoustics
  • E. G. van de Stadt (1910–1999), yacht designer
  • Simon de Wit (1912–1976), rower and CEO of the supermarket chain Simon de Wit
  • Gerrit Jan Heijn (1931–1987), businessman with Ahold, kidnapped and murdered
  • Floris Takens (1940–2010), mathematician

Sport

140px|thumb|Toos Beumer, 1963

  • Jaap Boot (1903-1986), athlete, bronze medallist in the 1924 Summer Olympics
  • Jaap Kraaier (1913–2004), flatwater canoeist, bronze medallist at the 1936 Summer Olympics
  • Nicolaas Tates (1915–1990), canoeist, bronze medallist at the 1936 Summer Olympics
  • Mieke Jaapies (born 1943), sprint canoer, silver medallist in the 1972 Summer Olympics
  • Cees Stam (born 1945), a former track cyclist and four-time world champion stayer
  • Toos Beumer (born 1947), swimmer, team bronze medallist at the 1964 Summer Olympics
  • Johnny Rep (born 1951), former footballer
  • Annemarie Sanders (born 1958), an equestrian, silver medallist in the Team Dressage 1992 Summer Olympics
  • Luc Nijholt (born 1961), football manager and a former player
  • Erwin Koeman (born 1961), retired footballer
  • Ronald Koeman (born 1963), retired footballer and ex-manager of the Barcelona since 2020.
  • Wietse van Alten (born 1978), an archer, bronze medallist 2000 Summer Olympics
  • Bilal Başaçıkoğlu (born 1995), footballer

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Zaanstad is twinned with:

{| class="wikitable"

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  • Marino, Italy

||

  • Pančevo, Serbia

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  • Zwickau, Saxony, Germany

|}

<gallery mode=packed>

File:Holland - Twee molens 1900.jpg|Zaanstad windmill at the beginning of the 20th century

File:River Zaan.jpg|River Zaan

File:Windmill museum Zaanstad.jpg|Windmill Museum, Zaanstad

Image:Zaandam, sluis foto3 2011-04-17 16.05.JPG|Zaandam, sluice

File:Assendelft, de Sint-Odulphuskerk RM39923 IMG 9872 2019-06-17 13.48.jpg|Assendelft, church: the Sint-Odulphuskerk

File:Westknollendam, de Tapsloot IMG 1519 2017-10-15 11.14.jpg|Westknollendam, ditch: de Tapsloot

File:Krommeniedijk, het fort bij Krommeniedijk IMG 9884 2019-06-17 14.37.jpg|The fort near Krommeniedijk

</gallery>

References

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