De Rijp

We ended up visiting the beautiful Dutch village of De Rijp. De Rijp is a village on the edge of Beemster and it is also witness to the changes which happened in this place. Recall that this area was all water before. The Dutch decided to reclaim the Beemster from the sea where it stands now. De Rijp is a city on the borders of this reclamation and it used to be by the water. Unsurprisingly, this village was a fishing village and it was known for herring. This brought prosperity to the village.

Eventually, the surrounding lakes of De Rijp were also pumped dry turning the lakeside village into an inland village. The herring industry disappeared along with the water. Before that, it brought prosperity to the village enabling them to create a beautiful village. It seems to be quite common in Dutch towns and villages but there seemed to be an abundance of water here as well. There are a few canals which pass through the village, making it even more attractive. I like how villages like these are still preserved very well. Then again, there probably wasn’t any need for them to replace everything anyway.

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