Sailing the Zaan: the history of a working river

A river that has always worked

The Zaan has never been merely pretty. For centuries it was a working river: timber from Scandinavia, grain from the Baltic, whale oil from the whaling fleets and later cocoa from West Africa all arrived here.

On the boat tour you sail that same water. The scale is different, but the river is the same.

Timber, oil and the first industry

The invention of the wind-powered sawmill by Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest, at the end of the 16th century, changed everything. Sawing suddenly became dozens of times faster, and the Zaan region became the timber yard of Europe — wood that went straight to the Amsterdam shipyards.

Then came the oil mills, paper mills and husking mills. At the peak, more than six hundred windmills turned along the Zaan.

From windmills to factories

In the 19th century steam factories took over. The warehouses and silos you see further along the Zaan date from that period. Cocoa, rice and starch: the region kept on processing, just with a different engine.

On some days the smell of cocoa still hangs over the river.

What you see today

From the boat you see all three layers at once: the wooden houses and windmills of the 17th and 18th centuries, the brick factories of the 19th, and today's working industry. That's what makes the Zaan special — it isn't an open-air museum, it's still in business.

Want to hear this story along the way? Our skippers are from the region. Come sailing with us.