VOC-PAKHUIZEN

The warehouses at Onder de Boompjes are silent witnesses to the bustling period of the Golden Age. In 1606, the Dutch East India Company had its first building built in Hoorn.
A bag of merchandise is depicted on the facade stone of the right warehouse. This bag is filled with pepper, because the warehouses in Hoorn were intended as storage for spices. Trade with the East Indies often involved spices, which were very valuable at the time. Pepper was very important, as it was used in medicine and cooking. It was even one of the reasons for the founding of the VOC. Pepper was extracted in South-East Asia where the VOC was active. The pepper trade was very profitable and despite competition from the British East India Company, Dutch merchants traded more than 50% of the total European consumption of pepper. No wonder that Hoorn became a wealthy city in the Golden Age.
After the VOC fell into decline, the warehouses were used for grain storage. After the 18th century, the warehouses had different functions. They were previously used as a shelter for soldiers, a library, a bicycle shop and much more. After numerous restorations over the centuries, the warehouses have been in good condition again since 2005.
Underneath Boompjes 22 there is still a place where valuable information is stored. As an association and exhibition building for the Oud Hoorn Association, it houses many historical treasures from the city's rich history.

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