Katwijk aan Zee

Katwijk aan Zee (literally, "Katwijk-on-Sea") is a seaside resort located on the North Sea at the mouth of the Oude Rijn. It is situated in the municipality of Katwijk and the province of South Holland.

History

The name "Katwijk" probably has its origins in the name of a Germanic tribe called the Chatten (Chatti). The Dutch word "wijk" means "area", so the name probably meant something like "the Chatti area".

In Roman times, Katwijk was a place of strategic importance. It was located at the Roman Empire's northern border, at the mouth of the Rhine river, which in Roman times was larger in this area than it is today. There was a good deal of traffic along the Rhine. Katwijk was also a jumping-off point for the voyage to Britain. Built during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54), the town's name was "Lugdunum". The town's name was later associated with the name of the city of Leiden, but this is now thought to be incorrect.

After the Romans left the settlement was abandoned and the area largely depopulated, except for small, isolated groups of Frisians ekeing out a living along the changing coast. The area was Christianised by British and Irish missionaries around the 9th century.

Starting around the 12th century the population began to grow. In 1231, the first reference to "Catwijck" appeared in the records. At this time Katwijk aan Zee was little more than a few wooden houses.

A reference to a fish market on the beach appeared in the records around 150 years later. In 1388, the fish market was moved from Katwijk aan den Rijn to Katwijk aan Zee. Katwijk aan Zee and Katwijk aan den Rijn were part of the same heerlijkheid called "Beide de Katwijken en 't Zand" (or something similar). They have been administratively joined for centuries.

In 1520 a Roman ruin known as "Brittenburg" emerged from the shifting sands on the beach just south of the mouth of the Oude Rijn, much to everyone's astonishment. It became the subject of a number of prints and paintings. It was square in shape, each side measuring 75 m, and the ruins stood about 3 m high. Eventually it disappeared back under the shifting sands. Attempts have been made to find it again, but to no avail.

Katwijk aan Zee emerged from the Reformation as a staunchly Protestant town (a reputation it still has today).

From the 16th to 19th centuries, Katwijk aan Zee continued its existence as a quiet, close-knit North Sea fishing village. It had close ties to the neighbouring fishing villages of Scheveningen and Noordwijk aan Zee. Although fishing is not a major activity in the village today, it has a long and proud fishing tradition that still survives in certain ways. Katwijk aan Zee had its own unique dialect, called Katwijks or "Strand-Hollands". (This dialect is still spoken there by a considerable number of people. It is one of the few active dialects of Hollandic still in active use.)

Over the course of time the mouth of the Oude Rijn silted up. However, a locks was constructed at the mouth of the river in 1807 by engineer F. W. Conrad (d. 1808). After this the Old Rhine (here called the "Uitwateringskanaal") did not flow naturally into the sea, but was held back by a lock. When necessary, the lock can be opened to allow the river to flow out to sea. The shore and the entrance to the canal were also strengthened by dikes.

During World War II, most of the buildings of Katwijk aan Zee were demolished by the Germans to make way for the Atlantic Wall. In the dunes south of Katwijk, many bunkers from World War II can still be found.

In 2006 it became part of a larger municipality of Katwijk that included Valkenburg and Rijnsburg.

Other facts

Katwijk aan Zee is the landing place for a large number of international and intercontinental Transatlantic telephone cables such as the TAT-14.

Notes

Photographs

External links

* [http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=52.202005,4.400196&spn=0.015097,0.034418&z=15 Map of Katwijk aan Zee on Google Maps]
* [http://www.livius.org/ga-gh/germania/lugdunum.html Jona Lendering's site on "Lugdunum (Brittenburg)"]
* [http://www.zuid-holland.com/content/cityguide.asp?menu=00600000000_000320_000001_000097 South Holland's tourist web page on Katwijk aan Zee]
* [http://katwijkswoordenboek.nl/ Katwijks-Dutch Dictionary] (Dutch only)
* [http://home-1.tiscali.nl/~dparlevl/historie/historieindex.htm Dick Parlevliet's history of Katwijk and detailed description of Brittenburg] (in Dutch only)
* [http://www.katwijksmuseum.nl/ Katwijk Museum] (mostly in Dutch)