Petten

Petten is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Schagen, and lies about 15 km northwest of Alkmaar, on the North Sea. The population is ca. 1900.

Petten's economy is based on agriculture (bulb cultivation), and tourism. A particular type sand can be found on the beach of Petten, of sanded quartz with granite. Since 1997 a plan has been developed for a marina with 600 places; called Marina Petten.

Somewhat to the south of Petten, the dunes have been eroded, as a result of which a dike had to be built, the Hondsbossche - and Pettemer zeewering.

History

Petten could have been founded in 739. The name refers to the three wells (Dutch: putten) which are located there. There was already a mention of a sand dike in 1388 between Petten and 't Oghe (Callantsoog). In the St. Elizabeth's flood (1421), Petten was entirely washed away, and the dunes were damaged. A sleeper dike was built behind the dunes in 1432 and from 1506 active coastal defense took place, with pile heads of beams from Norway and Sweden and stone from Vilvoorde, Belgium. Even so, more than 100 houses were washed away in 1625, plus the church of Petten. The construction of the Hondsbossche zeewering began in 1793.