The Causeway (Verbindingsdam)

The Verbindingsdam is the causeway that connects Marken to the mainland, and it changed the island's fate. For centuries, Marken was a real island in the Zuiderzee, reached only by boat, and its people lived from fishing, particularly for herring and anchovies, and in earlier times from whaling. Their isolation shaped a distinctive culture, with its own dress, dialect and wooden houses on mounds. The causeway, built in 1957, turned Marken into a peninsula and opened it to the outside world.

The background to the causeway lies in the history of the Zuiderzee. The sea inlet had always been dangerous, and in January 1916 a great storm flooded large areas around it, including Marken, where water rose over the village and caused widespread damage. The disaster strengthened the case for the Zuiderzee Works, the engineering project to close off and drain the sea, which began with the Afsluitdijk in 1932. When the Zuiderzee became the freshwater IJsselmeer, and the Markermeer was later separated from it by a dike, the fishing industry of Marken collapsed, because the saltwater fish disappeared.

The islanders faced hard times. With fishing no longer viable, they needed new livelihoods, and the connection to the mainland was a lifeline. The causeway, about two kilometres long, allowed workers to commute to jobs elsewhere, goods to be delivered by road and visitors to arrive. Over the following decades, tourism became the main economic activity, and the village has been preserved as a heritage site, with its traditional houses and costumes attracting large numbers of day-trippers.

Today the causeway is part of everyday life, and it offers a pleasant route in its own right. A road runs across it, with a cycle path alongside, and cyclists can ride out from Monnickendam, enjoying the open water on both sides and the sense of approaching an island. The view of the village on the horizon, with its houses and the lighthouse called the Paard van Marken, is one of the best ways to appreciate Marken's setting. Birds gather on the lake, and the light at sunset can be memorable.

The causeway suits cyclists, photographers and those curious about the Zuiderzee story. Bring a windproof jacket, as the causeway is exposed. Buses also serve the route, and boats run from Volendam. Combine the ride with a visit to the harbour and the Marker Museum.