history

Purmerend was built on favourable soil: the south bank of the small Weere river, which used to connect the former Purmer lake and Beemster lake. The name Purmerend is first mentioned in documents dating from around 1340. In 1395 Purmerend became a seperate parish, with a church which stood on the very same place where the Koepelkerk on the Kaasmarkt stands today. In 1410 Pumerend, together with the villages of Purmer and Purmerland, was made a Seigneurie (an area in which a lord - the seigneur - had certain powers of jurisdiction and administration). William VI, Count of Holland, gave the seigneurie to a rich banker from Amsterdam, Willem Eggert, in return for the financial assistance he had received. Eggert started building the castle of Purmersteijn, which dominated the Purmerend skyline until 1741, when it was demolished. In the fifteenth century Purmerend was granted an urban charter and under the successive seigneurs trade and fishing, mainly for eel, brought prosperity to the town. An important event in the town's history was the granting of a market privilege. Jan van Egmond granted the town the right tot hold twon annual fairs and a weekly market, as from 14 april 1484. By 1500 Purmerend had grown considerably, as can be seen on maps dating from that time. They show that the town had a rectangular shape and was crossed by two roads: one leading north-south, the other east-west. The Kaasmarkt is where the roads crossed. When in 1572 work on the defences started some additional tracts of land were added tot the town's area. In the seventeenth century the Koemarkt became part of Purmerend. The draining of the Beemster lake in 1612 and the Purmer lake in 1622 meant a great loss in fishing grounds to Purmerend. However, the new and fertile soil favoured agriculture and livestock breeding, making Purmerend prosperous again. Purmerend now became the centre of an agricultural region, the prooduce of which was sold on the markets of Purmerend.