Westzaan combines mill history and protected architectural heritage, offering specific themes for a stay. Papermaking and barley peeling sit alongside historic buildings; the water and cycling offer further, distinct ways to explore the area. At the same time, a settlement form about six kilometres long and the polder landscape shape the character of the town. Visitors choosing Westzaan can weigh up local crafts and monuments against getting around by bike or on the water.

Westzaan’s Town and Landscape

Westzaan is a linear settlement about six kilometres long, with the Kerkbuurt at its centre. The protected townscape of the Kerkbuurt includes architecture typical of the Zaanstreek from various periods. This includes mills, wooden houses, industrial heritage and 19th-century villas. Westzaan has 54 national heritage sites (Rijksmonumenten). The combination of an elongated settlement and the central Kerkbuurt gives the town a clearly defined spatial layout.

The Westzijderveld is the polder between Westzaan, Zaandam and Wormerveer, and attracts many meadow birds. It was also part of a mill area with about 150 mills, four of which remain. The Polder Westzaan lies in the wider area around Westzaan; it is a historic wet meadow area on the western edge of Zaanstad. In the Westzijderveld, the history of a large mill area meets a landscape that attracts many meadow birds.

Mills and Crafts

De Schoolmeester is the world’s only wind-powered paper mill where Zaansch Bord is still made. Textile waste such as rags, old rope and fishing nets is pulped to make this paper. Zaansch Bord is used for cards, in bookbinding and by artists. The process, materials and subsequent uses are directly connected here: pulped textile remnants become paper used both for crafts and for artistic work.

Het Prinsenhof stands at the end of the Relkepad in the Westzijderveld and is one of the last barley-peeling mills in the Netherlands. The mill was built in 1722 and served exclusively to peel barley for the following 178 years. Pearl barley is still produced there today. Its former specialisation in barley and the continued production of pearl barley are thus part of the same mill history.

De Jonge Dirk stands on the Weelsloot, east of Het Prinsenhof in Westzaan. The mill’s remains were brought to Westzaan in 1958 and restored there under the name De Jonge Dirk. This story complements the examples of paper and barley processing with the revival of a mill at its present location.

Historic Buildings and Their Details

The Zuidervermaning Westzaan is a barn church built in 1731 and one of Westzaan’s oldest buildings. Its Smuiger fireplace is typical of the Zaanstreek and decorated with 328 tiles. ’t Reghthuys is a Dutch national monument; watercolours and oil paintings inside show what Westzaan looked like in earlier times. The Grote Kerk was built between 1740 and 1741 alongside a Gothic tower dating from around 1300. It brings together an 18th-century church building and a considerably older tower.

Walks, Cycling Route and Waterways

The Historische Vereniging Westzaan organises historical walks through Westzaan. The Monumentenroute Westzaan is a circular cycling route of about 15 kilometres through the town’s historic monuments. The signposted Westzaan canoe route is seven kilometres long and starts and ends at the canoe rental at Middel 180A in Westzaan. It is one of the water routes. SUPFUN rents stand-up paddleboards for trips through the Polder Westzaan.

The route lengths and formats offer a concrete comparison: the circular cycling route covers about 15 kilometres, while the canoe route is seven kilometres long. There are also walks organised by the Historische Vereniging and SUP trips through the polder. This lets visitors combine Westzaan’s cultural history on foot or by bike with a separate choice of activities on the water.

Discover more destinations: Wormerveer, Koog Aan De Zaan, Assendelft, Zaandijk, Zaanstad, Zaandam

Back to the main travel overview: Zaanstad.