IJmuiden – M.A. Jacobson + G. Eikelenboom, 1933

IJMUIDEN AS A MODERN HARBOUR TOWN

“Plattegrond der Gemeente Velsen bevattende IJmuiden” [Plan of the Municipality of Velsen, including IJmuiden]. Colour lithograph made by M.A. Jacobson in Haarlem and published in 1933 by G. Eikelenboom in collaboration with the municipal authorities of Velsen. Size: 59.5 × 83 cm.

This detailed town plan focuses on IJmuiden and the lock and harbour complex at the mouth of the North Sea Canal. It covers the area from the harbours and locks by the North Sea to the eastern districts of IJmuiden, with the Hoogovens steelworks, the Hoogoven Harbour, the Nieuwe Rijksbinnenhaven [New State Inner Harbour] and the P.E.N. power station at Velsen-Noord on the opposite bank of the canal.

The hydraulic-engineering core of the town is rendered with great precision. The Noordersluis, Middensluis and older locks lie between the outer canal and the North Sea Canal, flanked by the outer and inner approach canals. To the south, the Vissershaven and Haringhaven adjoin the densely built-up town; to the north lie the harbours, railway lines and industrial premises of Hoogovens. Completed in 1928, the Noordersluis was then among the largest ship locks in the world and enabled larger oceangoing vessels to reach Amsterdam.

IJmuiden itself appears as a compact harbour town developed according to a coherent plan. Orange denotes existing built-up areas, while pale pink distinguishes land allocated for future development. The plan thus records not only the town as already laid out, but also the anticipated expansion of residential districts, traffic infrastructure and public facilities. Its letter-and-number grid was designed for practical use with a street index.

The map records a particularly significant moment. Since the first blast furnace began operating in 1924, the Hoogovens works had rapidly transformed the landscape north of the canal from dune terrain into an industrial complex with its own harbours, railways and installations. The arrival of the steelworks marked a fundamental change for Velsen: alongside fishing, shipping and the locks, heavy industry became a defining economic force.

At the same time, the map preserves pre-war IJmuiden in its original spatial coherence: the harbour town, station district, locks and docks form a closely integrated whole. This gives the sheet particular historical importance. During the German occupation, a large part of IJmuiden’s pre-war fabric disappeared through demolitions undertaken for Festung IJmuiden. After 1945, the town was rebuilt substantially anew according to an urban plan by Willem Marinus Dudok.

Price: Euro 175,-