Tijdschrift voor Historische Geografie - Volume 8, Issue 3, 2023

Schagen and de Zijpe. Two undetermined names

It is usually assumed that the meaning of geographical names is unambiguously fixed, but this is not always the case. Those who are insufficiently aware of the possibility that the meanings of geographical names can change over time, put themselves on the wrong track when interpreting historical sources. Using the names Schagen and de Zijpe as examples, this article demonstrates that these names have not always had the same meaning in the past and misunderstandings can arise as a result. The name Schagen originally referred to a large area belonging to the original parish of Schagen. After the mother parish was divided into smaller parishes, the name Schagen continued to exist, but designated a smaller area as the mother church of the original parish. In the case of the name Zijpe, something else occurred and a generic name became a proper name. The name Zijpe is usually explained as a breakthrough of the sandbar coast, although not every breakthrough of coast was referred to as Zijpe. It remains uncertain, however, whether the sea basin that was diked in 1597 was also created by a breakthrough of the sandbar coast.

Invisible scars in the landscape

The influence of the German occupation on nature reserves

The aim of this article is to give an overview of the influence of the German occupation (1940-1945) on Dutch nature reserves. Nature management in The Netherlands was, and is, carried out by different governmental and non-governmental organizations. These were allowed to operate during the occupation. However, most of the nature reserves were more or less damaged during this period.

In the course of the war, the nature reserves became more and more affected. For example, the confiscation of wood in the forests and the building of military installations on confiscated grounds had profound implications. Later, the liberation brought battle and destruction to nature reserves. Shortly after the war the organizations were able to restore the damage in the nature reserves. This explains why nowadays it is difficult to find traces of the war in these terrains.

A castle encampment of Floris V near Edam?

Traces in the landscape as possible remnants of a vanished architectural structure

In 2018 a sunken structure was discovered on the LiDAR map of the Netherlands in a meadow near Edam, on the shore of the former Purmermeer. Due to its rectangular shape, the structure was interpreted as an unknown castle or walled encampment of Count Floris v of Holland. Until about 1322, the site was located in an undyked area, owned by the residents. In 1282, Floris v bought the Waterland region and the Zeevang north of Amsterdam from the Kennemer family Persijn, who were based in Monnickendam in the castrum (castle) ‘Swaensborch’. At that time, the inhabitants wrested themselves from the medieval feudal power structures and resisted the Count’s claims to the common lands. The structure may have been a 14th-century farmer’s rampart to protect cattle. Another possibility is a water canal around a green area, which can also be found in the drained Purmermeer (1612).