Halfweg in Haarlemmermeer, North Holland, Netherlands — Northwestern Europe

Vaart
⎯⎯⎯
Haarlem canal and towpath

Vaart Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 18, 2025

1. Vaart Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Voor u raast het verkeer tussen Amsterdam en Haarlem. Weet u dat het water langs de weg ooit de Haarlemmertrekvaart was, waar paarden trekschuiten door voorttrokken? Dat was 400 jaar geleden de hoofdverbinding tussen beide steden. De reis per trekvaart was veiliger dan over het IJ en duurde 'maar' drie uur. Reizigers moesten hier uitstappen, een stukje lopen en overstappen op een andere trekschuit. De smalle strook land tussen het IJ en het Haarlemmermeer mocht niet verzwakken door een doorgetrokken vaart. Naast de trekvaart kwam een zandweg en in 1839 de eerste spoorlijn van Nederland. De zandweg is nu de snelweg.

(English translation:)
Standing before you, the traffic between Amsterdam and Haarlem roars. Did you know that the water along the road was once the Haarlemmertrekvaart (Haarlem canal and towpath), where horses pulled barges? That was the main connection between the two cities 400 years ago. The journey by barge was safer than across the waters of the IJ and took 'only' three hours. Travellers had to get off here, walk a bit and transfer to another barge. The narrow strip

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of land between the IJ and the Haarlemmermeer was not to be weakened by a continuous canal. A dirt road was built beside to the barge route and in 1839 became the alignment for the first railway line in the Netherlands. That dirt road is now the motorway.

Erected by Haarlemmermeermuseum de Cruquius. (Marker Number 21.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Roads & Vehicles • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1839.

Location. 52° 23.046′ N, 4° 45.257′ E. Marker is in Halfweg, Noord-Holland (North Holland), in Haarlemmermeer. It is at the intersection of Dubbele Buurt and Noord-Holland Route N200 on Dubbele Buurt. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Halfweg, Noord-Holland 1165, Netherlands. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Europe,

the European Union,

Atlantic Europe,

the Benelux Low Countries,

the Schengen Area,

Western Europe,

and the Western World.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire

and specifically also the Holy Roman Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: IJsteeg / Ij Alley (about 180 meters away, measured in a direct line); Huis ter Hart (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Sluizen, Sluiseiland en Spoorbrug / Sluices and Railway Bridge (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Stoomgemaal Halfweg / Halfweg Steam Pumping Station (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); 19th Century Section of the Sugar Factory (approx. half a kilometer away); Haarlemmerstraatweg 15-31 (approx. 0.6 kilometers

Vaart / Haarlem canal and towpath marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 18, 2025

2. Vaart / Haarlem canal and towpath marker

away); Raadhuis / Town Hall (approx. 0.8 kilometers away); Voormalige Tuinderswoning / Former Gardener's House (approx. 0.9 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Halfweg.

Also see . . . Haarlemmertrekvaart (Wikipedia). Excerpt:

Haarlemmertrekvaart (Haarlem's Tow-Canal) is a canal between Amsterdam and Haarlem in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. It was dug in 1631, making it the oldest tow-canal in Holland. Travel on such canals was historically done by barges (or trekschuit in Dutch) which were towed by animals (and sometimes by man-power) on a path along the canal's edge (towpath).

The first trekschuit 'sailed' in 1632 between Amsterdam and Haarlem, and could carry 30 passengers. Because of the sluice gate between the Haarlem Lake and the IJ, the canal was not continuous. The passengers needed to disembark and change boats at this point, which was halfway, and where the town of Halfweg (meaning "halfway") formed. Commercial freight was not allowed to use the canal, and a complicated tax system on water transport kept the trekschuit system a stable means of passenger transport for centuries…

A railway parallel to the canal was built in 1839 which rendered passenger transport on the Haarlemmertrekvaart
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 18, 2025

3. Vaart / Haarlem canal and towpath marker - wider view
With the former canal visible beyond the marker, and beyond that, the former towpath (now a major roadway).
obsolete. While there is no longer any shipping on the canal, it is still being used for water management.

(Submitted on April 4, 2025.)

Looking east along the former barge canal back towards Amsterdam image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, March 18, 2025

4. Looking east along the former barge canal back towards Amsterdam

Credits. This page was last revised on April 4, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 4, 2025, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 136 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 4, 2025, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.

Vaart⎯⎯⎯Haarlem canal and towpath

Vaart
⎯⎯⎯
Haarlem canal and towpath