Broek in Waterland is one of the villages in the Netherlands I do like very much. For me it is almost unbelievable to find such an authentic and picturesque place less than ten kilometres from Amsterdam and without the crowds in other more touristy places around.

Broek in Waterland was originally a fishermen's village and for that reason its church is dedicated to St. Nicolas (PiP 2), the patron saint of seafarers. From the mid 16th century this activity was rapidly replaced by stock farming and the production of dairy. The dairy products were transported to Amsterdam by boat. The harbour - called Havenrak (PiP3) remained important for the village and is still the heart of Broek en Waterland.

In the 17th and 18th century it was a popular village for the extremely rich (grain) merchants of this area and many impressive houses were built. The tiny village offers almost hundred meticulously renovated and preserved state monuments from the Dutch Golden Age period. Much of these traditional ‘Broeker houses’ have just one floor - due to the weak ground - and are constructed with a timber frame and walls. Much of them are nowadays painted in the famous Broeker grijs (main picture).

Broek in Waterland is surrounded by ditches and meadows and the ‘centre’ of the village is the Havenrak, a widening of the Ee rivulet (PiP4), which flows through Broek. The village has a couple of narrow streets, all lined with the traditional ‘Broeker houses’: having just one floor, due to the weak ground, constructed with a timber frame and walls and most of them are painted in the famous ‘Broeker grey’ (main picture). Some of them do have beautifully decorated entrance doors (PiP 1).