Zaanstad (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzaːnstɑt] ) is a Dutch municipality in the province of North Holland, situated northwest of Amsterdam. Its main city is Zaandam. It is part of the conurbation and metropolitan area of Amsterdam. It had a population of 156,901 in 2021.

Topography

Population centres

The municipality of Zaanstad is a conurbation itself and consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Assendelft, Koog aan de Zaan, Krommenie, Westzaan, Wormerveer, Zaandam, Zaandijk. However, being surrounded by countryside and due to its relatively protracted shape that follows the river Zaan, a rural atmosphere is always nearby.

Railway stations in Zaanstad

• Koog aan de Zaan railway station (formerly Koog Bloemwijk)
• Krommenie-Assendelft railway station
• Wormerveer railway station
• Zaandam railway station
• Zaandam Kogerveld railway station
• Zaandijk Zaanse Schans railway station (formerly Koog-Zaandijk)

Local government

The municipal council of Zaanstad consists of 39 seats, which are divided as follows:

POV (6), PvdA (5), VVD (5), ROSA (4), DZ (4), GroenLinks (3), D66 (2), Party for Freedom (2), CDA (2), DENK (2), PvdD (2), CU (1), SP (1).

Notable tourist attractions

• Zaans Museum
• Zaanse Schans
• Czar Peter House
• Gedempte Gracht, a shopping street in Zaandam

Notable people from Zaanstad

The arts

• Pieter Jansz. Saenredam (1597–c. 1665), a painter of the Dutch Golden Age
• Anton Mauve (1838–1888), realist painter, leading member of the Hague School
• Jan Verkade (1868-1946), post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter
• Piet Zwart (1885–1977), graphic designer, industrial designer and typographer
• Dick Laan (1894–1973), children's writer and film pioneer
• Aafje Heynis (1924–2015), contralto
• Piet Kee (1927–2018), organist and composer
• Han Bennink (born 1942), jazz drummer and percussionist
• Kathinka Pasveer (born 1959), flautist

Public thinking & public service

• Adriaan Pelt (1892–1981), journalist, international civil servant and diplomat
• Johannes Kleiman (1896–1959), resident who helped hide Anne Frank and her family
• Hanneke Ippisch (1925–2012), member of the Dutch resistance in World War II
• Tom Viezee (born 1950), Christian minister and former politician, Mayor of Zeewolde 1999-2004
• Emine Bozkurt (born 1967), politician

Science & business

• Pieter Bleeker (1819–1878), medical doctor, ichthyologist, and herpetologist
• Christiaan Eijkman (1858–1930), physician and professor of physiology, joint winner the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1929 for the discovery of vitamins
• Cornelis Zwikker (1900–1985), scientist, mostly in physics, chemistry and acoustics
• E. G. van de Stadt (1910–1999), yacht designer
• Simon de Wit (1912–1976), rower and CEO of the supermarket chain Simon de Wit
• Gerrit Jan Heijn (1931–1987), businessman with Ahold, kidnapped and murdered
• Floris Takens (1940–2010), mathematician

Sport

• Jaap Boot (1903-1986), athlete, bronze medallist in the 1924 Summer Olympics
• Jaap Kraaier (1913–2004), flatwater canoeist, bronze medallist at the 1936 Summer Olympics
• Nicolaas Tates (1915–1990), canoeist, bronze medallist at the 1936 Summer Olympics
• Mieke Jaapies (born 1943), sprint canoer, silver medallist in the 1972 Summer Olympics
• Cees Stam (born 1945), a former track cyclist and four-time world champion stayer
• Toos Beumer (born 1947), swimmer, team bronze medallist at the 1964 Summer Olympics
• Johnny Rep (born 1951), former footballer
• Annemarie Sanders (born 1958), an equestrian, silver medallist in the Team Dressage 1992 Summer Olympics
• Luc Nijholt (born 1961), football manager and a former player
• Ronald Koeman (born 1963), retired footballer and ex-manager of the Barcelona since 2020.
• Erwin Koeman (born 1961), retired footballer
• Wietse van Alten (born 1978), an archer, bronze medallist 2000 Summer Olympics
• Bilal Başaçıkoğlu (born 1995), footballer

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Zaanstad is twinned with:

Marino, Italy

Pančevo, Serbia

Zwickau, Saxony, Germany

Gallery

• 
  Zaanstad windmill at the beginning of the 20th century
• 
  River Zaan
• 
  Windmill Museum, Zaanstad
• 
  Zaandam, sluice
• 
  Assendelft, church: the Sint-Odulphuskerk
• 
  Westknollendam, ditch: de Tapsloot
• 
  The fort near Krommeniedijk