"Is this truely Amsterdam???" a Durgerdam Travel Page by Pavlik_NL

Along the dike that safeguards Amsterdam against floadings from the "Markermeer" (a part of the larger "IJsselmeer") there is a small village that is the last open part of Amsterdam. When you are here you can't imagine that it actually belongs to our nation's capitol, but the sign at the beginning of the village indeed says "Gemeente Amsterdam" (manucipality of Amsterdam). How long it will stay this way? ... Nobody knows ...

Durgerdam is a little secret that not many foreign visitors will easily find or even be presented to. Attacked in the back by the large construction areas of the constant expanding Amsterdam and even from the waterside through the new islands that the city is planning there, Durgerdam survives until now. It owuld also be a shame when it would disappear, as it is a small gem in the huge Amsterdam crown that should be preserved.

Durgerdam is built along the dike that protects "Waterland" (a Dutch manucipality) against the raging waters of the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea). Now-a-days the waters are tamed and the water is called "Markermeer (meer = lake). Watersport is the number one attraction of Durgerdam, but also for some wealthy Dutchmen living here, close to the capitol and still completely in the green (and blue) is beautiful. It is said that almost half of the population of Durgerdam consists of KLM and other pilots, which - if true - shows that this profession pays rather well.