Hoorn | |
---|---|
City and municipality | |
Nicknames: | |
Coordinates: 52°39′N 5°4′E / 52.650°N 5.067°E | |
Country | Netherlands |
Province | North Holland |
Subregion | West Friesland |
City rights | 1357 (667 years ago) |
Government | |
• Body | Municipal council |
• Mayor | Jan Nieuwenburg (PvdA) |
Area | |
• Total | 53.46 km2 (20.64 sq mi) |
• Land | 20.38 km2 (7.87 sq mi) |
• Water | 33.08 km2 (12.77 sq mi) |
Elevation | −1 m (−3 ft) |
Population (1 January 2021)[3] | |
• Total | 73,619 |
• Density | 3,613/km2 (9,360/sq mi) |
Demonym | Hoornaar or Horinees |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 1620–1628, 1689, 1695 |
Area code | 0229 |
Website | www |
Hoorn (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦoːr(ə)n] ) is a city and municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the largest town and the traditional capital of the region of West Friesland.[5] Hoorn is located on the Markermeer, 20 kilometers (12 mi) east of Alkmaar and 35 kilometers (22 mi) north of Amsterdam. The municipality has just over 73,000 inhabitants and a land area of 20.38 km2 (7.87 sq mi), making it the third most densely populated municipality in North Holland after Haarlem and Amsterdam.[3] Apart from the city of Hoorn, the municipality includes the villages of Blokker and Zwaag, as well as parts of the hamlets De Bangert , De Hulk and Munnickaij .
Hoorn is well known in the Netherlands for its rich history.[6] The town acquired city rights in 1357 and flourished during the Dutch Golden Age.[2] In this period, Hoorn developed into a prosperous port city, being home to one of the six chambers of the Dutch East India Company (VOC).[6] Towards the end of the eighteenth century, however, it started to become increasingly more difficult for Hoorn to keep competing with nearby Amsterdam.[5] Ultimately, it lost its function as port city and became a regional center of trade, mainly serving the smaller villages of West Friesland.[5] Nowadays, Hoorn is a city with modern residential areas and a historic city center that, due to its proximity to Amsterdam, is sometimes considered to be part of the Randstad metropolitan area.[7] Cape Horn and the Hoorn Islands were both named after this city.[8]