Zaandijk is a town in the Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 province of North Holland

North Holland

North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...

. It is a part of the municipality of Zaanstad

Zaanstad

Zaanstad is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its main town is Zaandam. It is part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam.-Population centres:...

, and lies about 11 km northwest of Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

.

Zaandijk has a population of around 9040.

History

The first citizens of Zaandijk were members of the family of Hendrik Pietersz who moved into 'de Lage dijk' (The Lower Dike) in the year 1494. De Lagedijk still exists in Zaandijk. In 1570 the town consisted of 19 houses. These dwellings were burned by the Spaniards in 1572, during the Eighty Years' War. The town began to prosper and grow following the return of the populace.
Zaandijk was a separate municipality until 1974, when it became a part of the new municipality Zaanstad.