Zaanstad

Population centres

The municipality of Zaanstad is a conurbation consisting of the cities, towns and villages of: Assendelft, Koog aan de Zaan, Krommenie, Westzaan, Wormerveer, Zaandam and Zaandijk. However, being surrounded by countryside and due to its relatively protracted shape that follows the river Zaan, a rural atmosphere is always nearby.

Railway stations in Zaanstad

• Koog aan de Zaan railway station (formerly Koog Bloemwijk)
• Krommenie-Assendelft railway station
• Wormerveer railway station
• Zaandam railway station
• Zaandam Kogerveld railway station
• Zaandijk Zaanse Schans railway station (formerly Koog-Zaandijk)

Local government

The municipal council of Zaanstad consists of 39 seats, which at the 2022 local elections divided as follows:

• Partij voor Ouderen en Veiligheid - 6,
• PvdA - 5,
• VVD - 5,
• ROSA - 4,
• Democratisch Zaanstad - 4,
• GroenLinks - 3,
• D66 - 2,
• Party for Freedom - 2,
• CDA - 2,
• DENK - 2,
• PvdD - 2,
• CU - 1,
• SP - 1.

Notable tourist attractions

• Zaans Museum
• Zaanse Schans
• Czar Peter House
• Gedempte Gracht, a shopping street in Zaandam

Notable people from Zaanstad

The arts

• Pieter Jansz. Saenredam (1597–c. 1665), a painter of the Dutch Golden Age
• Anton Mauve (1838–1888), realist painter, leading member of the Hague School
• Jan Verkade (1868-1946), post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter
• Piet Zwart (1885–1977), graphic designer, industrial designer and typographer
• Dick Laan (1894–1973), children's writer and film pioneer
• Aafje Heynis (1924–2015), contralto
• Piet Kee (1927–2018), organist and composer
• Han Bennink (born 1942), jazz drummer and percussionist
• Kathinka Pasveer (born 1959), flautist

Public thinking & public service

• Adriaan Pelt (1892–1981), journalist, international civil servant and diplomat
• Johannes Kleiman (1896–1959), resident who helped hide Anne Frank and her family
• Hanneke Ippisch (1925–2012), member of the Dutch resistance in World War II
• Tom Viezee (born 1950), Christian minister and former politician, Mayor of Zeewolde 1999–2004
• Emine Bozkurt (born 1967), politician

Science & business

• Pieter Bleeker (1819–1878), medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist
• Christiaan Eijkman (1858–1930), physician and professor of physiology, joint winner the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1929 for the discovery of vitamins
• Cornelis Zwikker (1900–1985), scientist, mostly in physics, chemistry and acoustics
• E. G. van de Stadt (1910–1999), yacht designer
• Simon de Wit (1912–1976), rower and CEO of the supermarket chain Simon de Wit
• Gerrit Jan Heijn (1931–1987), businessman with Ahold, kidnapped and murdered
• Floris Takens (1940–2010), mathematician

Sport

• Jaap Boot (1903-1986), athlete, bronze medallist in the 1924 Summer Olympics
• Jaap Kraaier (1913–2004), flatwater canoeist, bronze medallist at the 1936 Summer Olympics
• Nicolaas Tates (1915–1990), canoeist, bronze medallist at the 1936 Summer Olympics
• Mieke Jaapies (born 1943), sprint canoer, silver medallist in the 1972 Summer Olympics
• Cees Stam (born 1945), a former track cyclist and four-time world champion stayer
• Toos Beumer (born 1947), swimmer, team bronze medallist at the 1964 Summer Olympics
• Johnny Rep (born 1951), former footballer
• Annemarie Sanders (born 1958), an equestrian, silver medallist in the Team Dressage 1992 Summer Olympics
• Luc Nijholt (born 1961), football manager and a former player
• Erwin Koeman (born 1961), retired footballer
• Ronald Koeman (born 1963), retired footballer and ex-manager of the Barcelona since 2020.
• Wietse van Alten (born 1978), an archer, bronze medallist 2000 Summer Olympics
• Bilal Başaçıkoğlu (born 1995), footballer

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Zaanstad is twinned with: