Beemster (population: 8,541 in 2004) is a municipality in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The municipality covers an area of 72.08 km² (of which 1.54 km² water).

The Beemster area was created in the year 1612, making it the first so-called polder in the world that was extracted from a lake, of which the water was pumped out by windmills. Originally, farmers occupied its lands for growing the crops necessary for long sea journeys by the VOC to the East Indies. Currently, although the major part of Beemster is still in use for farming, the majority of the population lives in one of its four villages: Middenbeemster, Noordbeemster, Westbeemster, and Zuidoostbeemster.

Because of its historical relevance, and because the original structure of the area is still mainly intact, Beemster is on the Unesco World Heritage list.

External links

• Official Website (http://www.beemster.net)

Beemster = 7 - MapQuest map of Beemster (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?city=Beemster&country=nl)