Spaarne
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The Spaarne is a river, in North Holland, the Netherlands. The river formerly flowed from the Haarlemmermeer or Haarlem lake to the North sea. After a century of planning, this lake was pumped dry in 3 years from 1850-1853 and made into a polder where currently the landing strips of Schiphol reside. Nowadays the river is more of a canal, connecting the ringvaart to the other canals of Haarlem. A lock at Spaarndam separates this canal system from the North Sea Canal.
The river runs through Heemstede, Haarlem and Spaarndam.
According to Sterck-Proot, a historican, The name Spaarne probably comes from 'Spier', which means reed in old Dutch.
[edit] Places of Interest along the riverbanks
- At the juncture of the river and the ringvaart is the Cruquius Museum, a museum that resides in one of the three original pumping stations from 1850. Steam engines were used to pump the water out.
- Teyler Museum
- Teylers Hofje
- Windmills 'De Hommel', and 'Adriaan'.
[edit] References
- Haarlems oudste tijden: een vroeg-middeleeuwsch stadsbeeld, J.M Sterck-Proot, Tjeenk Willink Haarlem, 1930.
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