The Heicopper Bridge

The Heicopper Bridge

A beautiful statue of Kockenezen on the wooden drawbridge over the Heicop at the beginning of the 20th century. Young and old had come out to pose for the photographer, a welcome distraction in those days! In 1901 the village had 876 inhabitants, exactly the same number of men and women.

For centuries, the population of Kockengen consisted largely of cattle farmers, cheese makers (self-barracks), hemp growers, hoop benders, reed workers, cigar makers, beer brewers, milk merchants and craftsmen. There were also two shipwrights shops in the village. Around 1900, 16 ships of ten tons and more had their berth here.

The village was completely self-sufficient and even in 1959 still had seven (!) grocers, four bakers, three cigar shopkeepers, three textile merchants, two greengrocers, two butchers, a market gardener, a hairdresser, a blacksmith and a shoemaker. The number of shops also had to do with the pillarisation: each religion bought from tradesmen of its own faith.

There were water pavements on both sides of the bridge. These were used for various household purposes, such as rinsing buckets or collecting water for cleaning.

Route: Continue until you reach the next lamppost.

ZichtopdeVechtstreek