Marken 2015 – Kerkbuurt

The Kerkbuurt is one of the neighbourhoods on Marken. It is located on the (artificial) hill around the church.

Marken is an island originally located in the Zuyderzee. Before the Afsluitdijk (Closing Dam) the island of Marken was subjected to frequent flooding. Houses were built on artificial hills and on stilts. In the 1930s the Afsluitdijk was built and the Zuyderzee became the IJsselmeer. Although Marken no longer suffered floods, they could not earn money with fishing either, as there was no longer a connection with the North Sea. It remained an relatively isolated island until the late 1950, when a dam was made to connect Marken to the mainland. The people now had access to basic services as running water, gas and electricity. The children could go to school on the mainland too. Thanks to the relative isolation, the inhabitants of Marken remained rather traditional, wearing their beautiful local dress. That attracted the tourists too, so you can find pictures of the people of Marken from the beginning of modern tourism. See for instance here, at the photostream of the Library of Congress: