Old fishing villages

 There was a time when the waters of the Zuiderzee would be the setting for a true armada of fishing boats including pluten, barges, yawls and fishing smacks, spread out in all their glory from the east to the west banks, forever in search of a good catch. The Zuiderzee was rich with a wide variety of fish. It had always been a way of making a living for thousands of families. Around 1900, 1,800 boats were registered, trawling the Zuiderzee the whole year round. You only had to look at the numbers on their sails to know where their home port was... some 60 different ones at the time.

What is the situation now in the 21st century? 

This 21 part series covers life as it once was and as it is now in these former fishing villages along the Zuiderzee...The subjects and images in Holland Heritage® are not simply a reflection of life today, they are a history and as such will always remain topical.