Cows in the church of Durgerdam

This is the Durgerdam church during the floods of 1916. Because the water rose to such a high level, the cows were brought to the only safe place: the church. The dikes of Waterland were broken through on several places and the independent villages were all heavily damaged by the water. After the floods the villages never really recovered the financial damages they suffered. Gratefully Amsterdam stepped in after the floods and bought the area north of 't IJ for a relative small sum of money. This means that in reality Noord is a ninety year old colony of Amsterdam! Some villages are still trying to cultivate their own cultural identity by organizing their own events. A good example of this are the events surrounded the welcoming of Sinterklaas.