page_title: Zandvoort
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Zandvoort / History
context_page_description: Zandvoort is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach, bordered by coastal dunes. It is also the site of the country's most important auto racing circuit, Circuit Zandvoort.
  There is a nudist beach located about 2 km to the south, with 6 cafés or restaurants; it extends several kilometers further south. The municipality of Zandvoort consists of the communities of Bentveld and Zandvoort; it had a population of 16,954 in 2017.
context_section_description: Zandvoort is known to exist in 1100, called Sandevoerde (a combination of "sand" and "voorde", meaning ford; compare English Sandford). Until 1722 the area was under the control of the Lords of Brederode. The village was dependent on fishing for many centuries until the 19th century when it started to transform itself into a seaside resort, following the pattern set by similar towns in the United Kingdom. In 1828 the first resort was inaugurated. Thereafter many notable persons would visit Zandvoort, including Elisabeth of Bavaria in 1884 and 1885. In the middle of the same century, potato cultivation started in the dunes.
  In 1881 the railway station near the coast opened, followed by tram connection to Haarlem in 1899, which greatly increased the beach tourism. In 1905 one of the earliest Dutch fictional films was shot in the town, De mésaventure van een Fransch heertje zonder pantalon aan het strand te Zandvoort. During World War II, Zandvoort was heavily damaged. On May 23, 1942, beach access was no longer permitted and several months later the town was almost completely vacated. Resorts and avenues were demolished to make way for the coastal fortifications of the Atlantic Wall.
  After the war, the town's growth accelerated, matching the growth in tourism. In 1948, Circuit Zandvoort was built, hosting the Dutch Grand Prix for several decades, until 1985. The Dutch GP will return in 2021, in the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Zandvoort continues to be a major Dutch resort location, where nearly half of all employment is related to tourism. The Dutch singer Willem Duyn's De Eerste Trein Naar Zandvoort ("First train to Zandvoort"), modeled on the American song Chattanooga Choo Choo and chronicling chaos and mayhem on the first seaside train, was a hit in the summer of 1983.
caption: Organ Grinder in Zandvoort, 1883 painting by Fritz von Uhde.
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