Volendam and Marken

Volendam & Marken Attractions

Volendam and Marken are actually the names of two different towns. However, it is not known whether they are very close to each other, their names are often mentioned together. We decided not to break this tradition and decided to describe both Volendam and Marken in the same article.

Actually, Volendam is a charming town in the province of Edam on the Dutch mainland. Marken is an islet in the Inland Sea. Although it is an island, there is a thin road connection with the mainland.

Since it is very close to Amsterdam, almost everyone who comes to the Netherlands for a holiday visits Volendam & Marken.

Like many other Dutch city names, the dam is derived from the word “Dam“, meaning dam. “Volen-Dam” literally means “full dam“. The Dutch pronunciation is “Folendam“.

Where is Volendam? How to go?

How to get to Volendam Town and Marken Island, which are very close to Amsterdam?

You can reach the town of Volendam in approximately 20 minutes by car using the N247 motorway. It is 21 km from Amsterdam. It is possible to go with your own private vehicle or by daily tours and shuttle services organized every half an hour.

If you want to use public transport, you can reach Amsterdam city center in approximately 40 minutes by using the Intercity-Sprinter metro line.

In the Netherlands, which is the homeland of cycling, you can travel between Amsterdam and Volendam in 1 hour and 15 minutes by cycling.

How to Get to Marken Island?

Marken Island is located in the Markermeer Sea, which is also the inland sea of the Netherlands, very close to the town of Volendam. Markermeer is just like our Marmara Sea.

Although Marken is physically an island, the sea was filled with stones and a connecting road was added later. You can come to the island by sea or road. It is a fishing town in the old Dutch style. However, nowadays, more touristic aspects come to the fore.

Places to Visit in Volendam

Volendam, a former fishing and seaside town with a population of 22,000, is now more touristy.

1. Volendam Museum

It is a museum where you can see scaled models of traditional Dutch historical figures and works, and even art works by local painters. Mannequins dressed in Dutch clothes are quite remarkable. It opens at 10:00 on weekdays.

Volendam Museum Entrance Fees:

2. Cheese Factory (Gouda)

Henri Willig Cheese Factory, where you can see step by step how traditional Dutch cheese is made. Actually, it would be more accurate to say Cheese Museum. They humorously explain how the famous wheel-shaped Gouda Cheese is made, named after the nearby settlement of Gouda.

In the Netherlands, it is Henri Willig‘s brand that makes Gouda cheese closest to the real thing and is the best-selling. If you are very tempted, you can order online. It arrives with cargo in about 1-2 weeks. However, you can find other Dutch Cheese brands, including this brand, at 5M Migros stores.

You can taste dozens of types of cheddar cheese. There are dozens of different varieties with lavender, thyme, honey, chamomile, St. John’s Wort. If you wish, you can buy the cheese you like in different weights.

1  |  4

marken-peynir-rafi

2  |  4

Traditional Holland Cheese

3  |  4

Hollanda Volendam Henri Willig Peynir Fabrikası

4  |  4

hollanda-peynir-cesitleri

The Cheese Factory is free to visit. However, reservations are required for groups and tour excursions.

How Is Gouda Cheese Made?

Gouda Cheese is produced with an industrial production style completely adapted to traditional methods.

As the first step, the milk obtained from the cows daily is stored in a hygienic way and taken to the milk storage facility without losing time.

Without wasting time, the milk in the warehouse is taken to the pasteurization process. The pasteurized milk is transferred to the large cauldrons shown in the picture below, where it is cooked to a certain temperature. During cooking, it is fermented with “Gouda Cheese Yeast“, the recipe of which is very secret.

Within a few minutes, the milk begins to curdle and clump together. After this stage, it is mixed continuously with the help of thin stretched wires and becomes a watery slurry. It is taken into another container and purified from the whey.

Fresh Gouda Cheese is kept in molds for a while and filtered. While the resulting whey was disposed of as waste in the past, it is now sold to cosmetic companies as a raw material.

After the filtering process is finished, it is compressed in 2 different size molds, which you see on the right in the picture above, and takes its final shape. For ripening Gouda cheese is taken to special warehouses whose humidity and temperature balance can be controlled. Here, after a certain period of time, the outer parts are collected as moldy.

Giethoorn Hobbit Village

The collected moldy cheese wheels are thrown into a rotating drum, where they are rubbed against each other and cleared of their mold.

As a final step, the cheeses are ready for sale by being dipped in traditional yellow wax and immersed in water. Before consumption, the wax layer is peeled off with special cheese peeling knives and the cheese is consumed in this way.

3. Edams Museum

A wonderful museum that sheds light on the history of the town of Volendam with paintings, old maps and antiques. This museum is located in the Edam District, in which Volendam is located.

Artifacts you should see in Edams Museum: Ship models, Dutch-style historical furniture and items, traditional clothes and household items, paintings on historical events, and antique items in the nature of historical artifacts.

Edam Museum is open on weekdays from 10:00 to 16:30.

Edams Museum Entrance Fees:

4. Coastal Road (De Dijk van Volendam)

It is quite pleasant to walk towards the port on the coastal road between the wooden houses built in traditional Dutch architecture and the sea. If you can catch the angle of the sun (golden light), you can take fairy-tale photos with the view of the houses with flowers in front of them.

5. Edam Castle (Fort bij Edam)

The historical Edam Castle is very similar to the castle surrounded by water ditches in the Bugs Bunny cartoons we watched as a child. The castle, which was started to be built at the end of the 19th century, was completed in 1913. It is actually a fairly new castle.

Although it was partially used in the 1st World War, it played an active role against the German attacks in the 2nd World War.

It was built to protect the Dutch waterlines from French attacks. The Netherlands has a very important place in the history of war.

Edam Castle was designed as a museum today and opened to visitors. It exhibits ancient paintings, archaeological artifacts and military items.

Edams Castle Entry Fees:

6. Volendam Beach

Although it is known as a beach, I have not seen anyone swimming here. It has an interesting view when you sit on the beach sand and the benches on it. As you can see in the picture below, a beautiful view emerges with a calm sea and fairy-tale clouds on it.

Seagulls, which are smaller than the gulls in Istanbul, are very humane, they come to your feet. In addition, the shells between the sands add a different depth to the landscape.

7. Marina

For those who prefer the sea route, there is a yacht marina and a few piers. We were fascinated by the splendor of the rich pedestal houses around Marinde. This is a real beach town. In Volendam Marina, there is a Pub&Cafe named “Land En Zeezicht“, designed in a Dutch style. Next to the bar are Dutch houses with their own unique architecture.

8. Paard van Marken (Light House)

The white lighthouse on the island of Marken. It has quite a beautiful view to take pictures. Until the 1970s, there was an old-style lighthouse. A new one was built after this date.

9. Volendam Experience (History Museum and Photo Studio)

A museum where you can find the unique historical clothes and costumes of the Netherlands. In fact, there is much more than a museum. You can take pictures while wearing your clothes.

The 30-minute cinema, where you can witness the history of Volendam very closely with Virtual Reality glasses, costs €4.50 per person.

There are also musical activities similar to the fassi in us. For fee information and reservation:https://www.experiencevolendam.nl/

10. Visafslag

This part of town frankly resembles a Hollywood movie set. It’s such a beautiful view that you think it can’t be real. Then you close your eyes and realize that it is real, that you are not dreaming.

Here, we witness the historical neighborhood culture of the Netherlands. The harmony that emerges with the clothes hanging on the rope in the garden, the tables and chairs and even the houses are lined up at the bottom is definitely worth seeing.

11. Water Canals

Wherever you go in the water country of the Netherlands, you will definitely see a water channel. A water channel in Volendam, right between the houses in the neighborhood. Since it is very small, vehicles such as rafts and boats cannot enter. However, it still makes for a nice sight.

12. Gift Shops

When you continue on the coastal road, you will be greeted by the boutique bazaar with restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops. There are more affordable souvenir shops in Volendam compared to other parts of the Netherlands. Moreover, many varieties are offered.

How are Taxfree Returns Made?

You can get the famous wooden Klompen shoes of the Netherlands very cheap here. There are traditional Klompen shoes in all sizes, from keychain size to coffee table size. The most preferred Klompen shoes are Yellow, Red and Blue ones.

If you enter the gift shop as a group, you will be presented with a documentary about the history of the Netherlands and Volendam. You can watch this presentation, which lasts about 10 minutes, in many languages, including Turkish.

13. Other Must-See Places in Volendam

We have listed the must-see places in Volendam, the Netherlands, in order of importance. If you have time, there are a few more places to go.

1. Parkeergarage Havenhof (Fisherman’s Wharf)
2. Foto de Boer (Costume Photographer)
3. The Story of Edam Cheese (The Story of Cheese)
4. Halve Maen (Historical Dutch Ship)
5. Dutch Market Volendam (Gift Shop)
6. Kwakelbrug (Traditional Dutch Suspension Bridges)
7. Grote Kerk Church
8. Sint-Vincentiuskerk cathedral
9. Baanbrug (Water canal)

Volendam Weather

It has a climate very similar to Amsterdam. In other words, it is usually light rainy until noon and sunny in the afternoon. The air temperature, which is 10-15 degrees even in winter, rises above 20 degrees in summer. However, since there is short-term rain in almost all seasons, it is recommended that you choose your clothes in this direction.

Important Information About Volendam and Marken

From the famous Gouda cheese to the colorful Dutch wooden Klompen shoes, our followers have questions about Volendam and Marken.

Volendam History

The Edam region, where almost the same events happened with the historical biography of the Dutch, has been a strategic region for the Netherlands as a siege and defense line throughout history. It played a big role both during the 1st World War and even in the 2nd World War. The historic Edam Fortress was actively deployed as a defensive line in battle.

Preparations Before Going Abroad

In addition to witnessing wars, it has also had its share of natural disasters. Although it is not located on the active earthquake lines as a geological structure, many casualties were experienced during the floods.

Klompen Shoes

I even want to give an interesting information. Floods played a big part in the invention of traditional Klompen shoes. During the periods when the swamps were rehabilitated with windmills, the Dutch people lost many shoes in the swamp and water during the raid. Sailors looking for a solution to this situation find the solution in wooden carved shoes.

Because these shoes, called Klompen, are wooden, even if they come off in water, they come to the surface thanks to the buoyancy of the water and do not disappear. It is also much easier to manufacture than other shoes. Shoe mastery used to be passed down from father to son. However, today it is known that it is produced by industrial methods.

Today, traditional Dutch Klompen shoes are preferred as gifts. You can see Klompen shoes, from mascot size to gigantic sizes, all over the Netherlands, like Volendam.

The colors of Klompen shoes also have a meaning. It means that he is married/single according to the color and lines of the shoes. The shine of the polish on it, on the other hand, symbolizes a show off and its wealth and wealth. The patterns, on the other hand, symbolize cultures that change from region to region and even from city to city.

What to Eat in Volendam? What to Drink

There is a maritime culture here that has been going on throughout history. As a natural result of this, we come across a varied menu consisting of seafood. Dishes made by frying seafood such as shrimp, salmon and sardines are in weight.

On the beach side where souvenir shops are located, there is a fast food restaurant with the flags of the countries of the world. There is also the Turkish Flag. Even the employees can speak a smattering of Turkish. We are proud 🙂

Generally, visitors prefer this place to eat. I shared the picture above. It’s almost impossible not to see. You can also find alternative foods such as chicken and french fries at this establishment called Food Corner.

Food Corner is mostly preferred for those who like fast food fried foods. However, there are pub & cafe and a la carte sea restaurants in the area where the yacht marina is located. Those who want can also choose these places.