# Zaanstad

Zaanstad (Dutch pronunciation: ) is a Dutch municipality in the province of North Holland, situated northwest of Amsterdam. Its main city is Zaandam. It is part of the conurbation and metropolitan area of Amsterdam. It had a population of 156,901 in 2021.

## 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:
| Marino, Italy | Pančevo, Serbia | Zwickau, Saxony, Germany |

## Gallery

* Zaanstad windmill at the beginning of the 20th century
* River Zaan
* Windmill Museum, Zaanstad
* Zaandam, sluice
* Assendelft, church: the Sint-Odulphuskerk
* Westknollendam, ditch: de Tapsloot
* The fort near Krommeniedijk