Oostzaan

Oostzaan (Template:IPA) is a municipality and a town in the Zaanstreek, Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The municipality had a population of Template:Dutch municipality population in Template:YEAR. Oostzaan has a total area of Template:Convert of which Template:Convert is water.

Oostzaan—together with Westzaan and Assendelft—are considered the "mother towns" of the Zaanstreek (the region around the River Zaan), of which they are the three oldest towns. Oostzaan also played a role in the VOC and WIC shipping and shipbuilding.

17th century Oostzaan was the home of the pirate Claes Compaen. Originally a privateer for the Dutch Republic, he soon began to act as a pirate, capturing several hundred ships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A street in Oostzaan is named after him.

The town has a Reformed church with a cruciform groundplan, the Great Church (1760), which contains two ship models that recall the days when Oostzaan was an important sea-faring community. In the Oostzijderveld area of Oostzaan stands a windmill, De Windjager (The Wind Hunter).

Hamlets

Oostzaan consists of several hamlets,

Achterdichting (Get Behind The Seal),
De Heul,
Kerkbuurt (church neighborhood),
Noordeinde (North end),
Zuideinde (South end).

Kerkbuurt and the northern part of Zuideinde are the center of Oostzaan.

Local government

The municipal council of Oostzaan consists of 13 seats, which at the 2022 municipal elections divided as follows:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Columns-list

Economy

The poultry company Meyn Food Processing Technology is headquartered in Oostzaan.

Notable people

Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (before 1470 – 1533) a Northern Netherlandish designer of woodcuts and a painter
Claes Gerritszoon Compaen (1587 in Oostzaan – 1660 in Oostzaan) a Dutch corsair, merchant, a privateer for the Dutch Republic and pirate
Albert Heijn (1865 in Oostzaan – 1945) a Dutch entrepreneur who founded Albert Heijn, a Dutch supermarket chain
Grietje de Jongh (1924 in Oostzaan – 2002) a Dutch sprinter, competed at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics
Robert Tijdeman (born 1943 in Oostzaan) a Dutch mathematician, specializing in number theory, wrote Tijdeman's theorem
Trijnie Rep (born 1950 in Oostzaan) a Dutch former speed skater, who competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics
Charles Zwolsman Sr. (1955 in Oostzaan – 2011) a Dutch drug dealer and professional racecar driver
Rosemarijn Dral (born 1985 in Oostzaan) a Dutch politician, member of the Dutch House of Representatives since 2024