Puttershoek

Puttershoek is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands. It is located on the banks of the Oude Maas, on the island Hoeksche Waard, in the province of South Holland. On January 1, 1984, the municipality of Puttershoek was merged with several others into Binnenmaas. With 6,293 inhabitants (1 January 2005) Puttershoek was the largest settlement in the municipality of Binnenmaas until 's-Gravendeel joined Binnenmaas in 2007.

History

Flag of Puttershoek.

Before the St. Elizabeth's flood (1421) a township named Hoecke was located on the spot of the present-day town. The name Hoecke (meaning Hook) is probably derived from the sharp angle the dike around the former Grote or Zuid-Hollandsche Waard island took here. After the St. Elizabeth's flood, the land was owned by the Lords of Putten, who loaned it to a vassal lord. The first four vassal lords of Hoecke were all named Pieter. It remains unclear if the name Puttershoek is taken from Pietershoeck, or if it is a reference to the Lords of Putten.

Until the 19th century, Puttershoek was a small and remote village, where reed cutting was the main source of income. However, in 1912 a large sugar beet processing plant was built in the village, bringing not only employment and a sweet odour during fall, but also employees from the Catholic North Brabant province. A thriving Catholic community was founded in the very Protestant village, building one of only two Catholic churches on the Hoeksche Waard island. At the end of 2004, the sugar mill closed its doors, after all production was transferred to Poland.

After the big North Sea flood of 1953, a large part of the old town was torn down in favour of a higher and stronger dike. Sadly most of the old town was lost in so doing, many have argued that the whole undertaking could have been done with more care for heritage, but in those days reckless development was all too commonplace. Reckless and sly attitudes towards cultural heritage has not gone away as was made clear when Puttershoek's most outstanding farm hove, "Rustenburg' dating from 1640, mysteriously burnt down in the 1990s. This after several years of wrangling between the neighbouring Sugar Mill and other interests, who were after the land it stood on.

Architecture and attractions

The 16th century harbour of Puttershoek

Only the 16th century harbour (the smallest open harbour in the Netherlands), the Schouteneinde street and a part of the old village heart around the Kerkstoep/Arent van Lierstraat are still intact.^{[citation needed]} In the old village heart one can find the old town hall of Puttershoek (recognized by the old town coat-of-arms: three sable lilies on a crest of argent) and the old post office Het Springende Peerd (with step gable and gable stone) that are reminiscent of the times when Puttershoek was a stop on the postway from Rotterdam to Antwerp. Opposite is the Reformed church, a classic example of Dutch church architecture. Thankfully, a small section of an old thorp, narrow alley way is left intact here giving some sense of the charm that must have been in much of the now lost sections of Puttershoek.

Another place worth a visit is the windmill De Lelie (the Lily). Every so often, Puttershoek has been the victim of cultural vandalism at the hands of those who show little to no care for this little town, for across the road from the windmill, until 2008 one could find the museum Poldermuseum Zuidhollandse Eilanden, it was once housed in the former steam engine pump building Het Hooft van Benthuizen, the latter which also has been leveled. Many Puttershoekers long to keep what is true to the town but are often not with the means to do a great deal.

Puttershoek has a number of quaint 'corners' (hoeken) or areas which are cultural entities in their own right. These are pockets of Scandinavian homes sent to house those who lost their homes during the 1953 flood. They form still and charming havens within the thorp itself. One of these cultural havens is tucked behind the post war shopping centre. Although the shopping centre is practical, (sadly, in its design) there was no thought of it reflecting Dutch culture, instead it has been a steady development of shops with flats along the trend set by the industrial minded, Bauhaus movement that has swept across most of the Netherlands since World War II.

The other Scandinavian style quarter is along the "Vliet", this is a 'fleet' or straightened waterway that links Puttershoek to Maasdam and the old and former, River Maas of the pre-middle ages, now landlocked and called the Binnenmaas. This fleet, once, was also linked to the busy Oude Maas upon which the old heart of Puttershoek sits, by way of a shipping lock. When the 'wreckers of Puttershoek' as some call them, leveled much of the town after the 1953 flood (doing more harm than the flood itself), they also ripped out the old characteristic draw bridge and locks that graced the harbour. This fleet gives much needed charm to Puttershoek. It is worth a walk from the harbour, down past the church, past boat houses and to the Scandinavian quarter. In an effort to recapture some of Puttershoek's soul, another ex-Puttershoeker, Johannes Verhoeff, persuaded council to build a bridge where a footbridge once stood across the Vliet, with a replica of the long lost drawbridge that spanned the equally long gone, locks. The council agreed. Now a vista of Puttershoek can be captured on camera looking towards the traditional styled Dutch, drawbridge, the Scandinavian quarter, the church, and harbour.

Puttershoek has a few bars and cafés and a large night club.

Famous residents

The most renowned inhabitant is Kees Verkerk who won a gold medal for speed skating during the 1968 Winter Olympics. Presently, Verkerk lives in Norway, but his birth house still hosts the bar his father founded, Het Veerhuis, found at the harbourside.

Some Puttershoekers have found a way to keep a bit of Puttershoek alive elsewhere. Such is the case of ex-Puttershoeker, Pleun Hitzert who migrated to Western Australia where he built a new 'De Lelie' windmill near the Sterling Range. There in the Australian landscape sits a small outpost of Puttershoek; the Lilly windmill and a few Dutch cottages with stepped gables.