Zijper Museum
Schagerweg 97B, 1751 CB Schagerbrug
The Zijper Museum focuses on the history of ‘de Zijpe’. This polder* lies in between the West Frisian Omringdijk near Schagen and the coastal strip from Petten to beyond Callantsoog. Together with the Hazepolder, the Zijpe was diked in 1597. The initiative for the reclamation, the first time such a large area (about 6,700 ha) was diked in the Netherlands, was taken by the versatile ‘da Vinci of the North’ Jan van Scorel.
The museum has numerous old texts and historical maps describing the fascinating genesis and further development of the Zijpe. Among the maps mentioned is the beautiful reproduction of Jan van Scorel’s artist impression of his embankment plan. Also a very detailed map of Hollands Noorderkwartier, made by Johannes Dou.
