Egmond aan Zee

The route starts on the boulevard of the beautiful seaside resort of Egmond aan Zee. Enjoy a cup of coffee on one of the terraces and the sound of the waves, and then … on your way.

In the year 977, the village of Egmond aan Zee is said to have emerged behind the dunes. The story goes that a certain Walgerus, a local farmer from Egmond-Binnen, built ten houses for a number of poor families. They were allowed to live there for free and had the right to fish at sea on the condition that they would give ten percent of their catch to the abbey in Egmond-Binnen. He is also said to have founded the little church that is now the current Old-Catholic St. Agnes Church. He would have built the church in honor of St. Agnes.

Egmond aan Zee then developed into a real fishing village. Around the year 1400, the so-called Pinck emerged, a flat-bottomed little vessel of about 5.5 by 2.5 meters. The boat was built with a flat bottom, allowing it to be rolled from the boat shed to the beach.

Due to coastal erosion, fifty houses in Egmond aan Zee disappeared into the sea during the All Saints' flood on November 1, 1570. In the Christmas Storm of November 1741, 36 houses and the church with its tower were swallowed by the sea.

In the 1950s, many 'bleekneusjes' from other parts of the Netherlands were sent to the holiday colony Prinses Beatrix to gain strength. The building was located high in the dunes. There was a strict regime. Not every child truly recovered there; some suffered greatly from homesickness.

Hans van Meerendonk