At around the year 1000 there were two settlements on the spot where where Enkhuizen currently is located. There was Gommerkerspel, which was inland and Enkhuizen where the fishermen lived. These villages merged together and in 1355 Enkhuizen received its city rights.

In 1572 Enkhuizen was one of the first towns in the Netherlands to revolt against the Spanish and is still today predominantly Protestant.

The town gained importance during the 16th and 17th centuries as a centre for fishing and shipping. Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbour towns of the VOC. It was from these towns that overseas trade with the East Indies was conducted and it became one of the most important Zuiderzee cities. In 1622 the population of Enkhuizen was 22,000, the fifth largest in Holland. However, during the second half of the golden age many of the merchants moved to Amsterdam and the population subsequently declined. There were several reasons for this but most notably was the silting up of the Zuiderzee in the late 17th century. By 1850 the city’s population was only 5000 and it became one of the ‘dead’ cities around the Zuiderzee.

Due to the construction of a railway between Enkhuizen and Amsterdam at the end of the 19th century the town started to grow again. The emergence of seed cultivation and seed trade also brought prosperity to the city.

In 1932 Enkhuizen was cut off from the sea when the Afsluitdijk (Enclosing Dam) turned the Zuiderzee into an inland lake.

The population of Enkhuizen today is approximately 18,000 which is less than its heyday during the 17th century.

The most prominent and most well known building in Enkhuizen is the Drommedaris which overlooks the harbour. It was built in 1540. I remember the tapestries and pictures of the Drommedaris that used to be on the walls of my Omas home. Not only does the building have significance for the history of Enkhuizen but it also conjures great personal memories of my Oma and it is always on the top of places to visit when I’m in Enkhuizen.