Netherlands 22: Riding around Hembrug

Located on the North Sea Canal, facing Amsterdam and below Zaandam is the area of Hembrug or Hembrugterrein. The name Hembrug originates from a train bridge that used to connect Amsterdam to Zaandam across the North Sea Canal, which was eventually replaced with the Hemtunnel and removed in 1985. The bridge was located next to the ferry, which we took when we visited Amsterdam.

Former Hembrug bridge, Beeldbank VenW / Afdeling Multimedia Rijkswaterstaat, via Wikimedia Commons

Hembrug has a history as a site for the production of arms and munitions for the Dutch army, starting in 1895. Production was carried out by the government owned Artillery Inrichtingen or A.I. In 1973 the Dutch government separated A.I. in two different companies, EuroMetaal and Hembrug. In 1982 Hembrug was privatized and moved to Haarlem and continues to trade today.

After production stopped on the site in 2003, Hembrug was abandoned for a number of years, until work was done to revive the area. It is now being home to many creative and innovative entrepreneurs, as well as studios and event spaces, but there are plans to develop Hembrug further.

Hembrug today, courtesy of Biedboek.nl, the Central Government Real Estate Agency

The Central Government Real Estate Agency sold the Hembrug site for €41m to ABC Planontwikkeling BV, who bought 30 hectares of the 42.5 hectare site, including the approximate 70 buildings on it. They plan to build around 1,000 homes, which will be available for both sale and rent, including 20% for social rent.

In addition to the homes, there will be companies, shops and offices, which will provide around 650 jobs. There will also be cultural venues and a theatre, not just for residents of Hembrug, but for visitors from Zaanstad and tourists. Meanwhile, some of the tenants of the existing buildings will have opportunity to buy their buildings.

ABC Planontwikkeling BV have high ambitions for preserving and strengthening the unique character of Hembrug, which is good to hear. There are also plans for the existing forest that covers a large amount of the site to go to the municipality of Zaanstad and be accessible to the public at some point.

Now, we weren’t really aware of Hembrug or its history before our stay in Zaandam. It was only after getting the nearby ferry to Amsterdam and doing some research about the area that we found out more and thought it was worth a visit. So on our last in Zaandam, we arrange to go over to Hembrug and see what’s there.

Riding to Hembrug

Getting to Hembrug was just a short ride from our holiday home, giving us chance to go through Zaandam again. On the way there, we passed by a lovely little playground, in the square at Apolloplantsoen.

The playground was recently renovated, according to Google Maps. This has gone from something that looked quite uninviting and grey, into a very welcoming, green space for kids. We would have loved to live somewhere like here when our kids were young. Everywhere should have more squares like this and kids should have much more access to green spaces and playgrounds.

Fantastic playground in the middle of housing on Apolloplantsoen

From there, we continued on to the square at De Dam. This was pretty quiet as it was still morning, though there were a few places open and people around. I love these European squares, with their cafés, bars and restaurants spilling out onto the square. Sadly, we don’t see too many squares like this in the UK.

We got back on our bikes and continued on towards Hembrug. From De Dam, we headed through Inverdan, then onto the S152. From there, we went south, riding along wide high quality two-way cycle paths. Along the way, we crossed the S150, passing under in an underpass decorated with mosaics.

A little after the S150 underpass, we turned left at a roundabout, then continued along Artillerieweg. This road takes you into Hembrug, passing the fences and open gates, which would have been there to protect the area.

On the local streets, near our holiday home

Modal filter done correctly — On the local streets, near our holiday home

Riding around Hembrug

After arriving at Hembrug, we set out for ride around the area. Near the entrance, was part of the Hembrug Museum, in what used to be two transformer buildings. Around there was lots of details on the history of the Hebrug site and its previous life in arms and munitions production. There’s also guided tours, but unfortunately we weren’t able to do that on this day.

Riding around Hembrug, you really do get a sense of its previous life, not just in the buildings, which have been sensitively converted to other uses, but also in the industrial landscape and elements you see between the buildings.

In many ways, there’s similarities with the nearby NDSM area, we visited earlier in the week. Especially in the large concrete paving slabs and paved brickwork, but also in style of some of the buildings, which are of a much larger scale at NDSM, due to their original use in shipbuilding.

It’s not long before you get to the North Sea Canal, which Hembrug faces on to. From the waterfront, you see boats of all shapes and sizes passing along there, as well as views across to the Amsterdam side and the Kissing Couple XXXL artwork.

Tugboat on the North Sea Canal, Kissing Couple XXXL artwork behind

We decided to stop for lunch at one of the places to eat on Hebrug, Lab-44. The name refers to the original function and address (Middenweg 44), as the building served as a laboratory for the former arms and munitions factory.

Like with the other buildings in Hembrug, this has been sensitively converted to a new use, while retaining much of its original character. While there was a fantastic interior, it was too hot and sunny to sit indoors, so we sat out in the very pleasant shaded garden area to eat.

After lunch, we headed over to Artzaanstad, which is a contemporary art gallery, located in what used to be a turning shop for cartridge shells, with a reinforced concrete shelter and an underground emergency station next door.

It’s a terrific setting for a gallery, with the industrial building providing a great backdrop for the artwork. Interestingly, in addition to selling artwork, Artzaanstad have artwork available for monthly rental, to both individuals and businesses.

Next, we cycled over to the Museum of Humanity, a museum about the beauty and dignity of humanity, initiated by documentary photographer Ruben Timman. He started portraying people from all over the world as a response to a dream he had in 2001.

This evocative and unique collection of portraits of people from all over the world, shows the beauty and dignity of people in the midst of a decaying world. All portraits all being shot the same way, from the front, with a neutral expression.

After the Museum of Humanity, we explored Hembrug further on our bikes, cycling around more of the buildings and some of the green spaces in between.

It was great to see Hembrug before the future development begins. While the proposed work promises to be sensitive to the site, it’s reasonable to expect it will still change significantly from what it is today. It would be great to return some time in the future to see what becomes of both Hembrug and NDSM.

Arriving at Hembrug, with the Museum and Artzaanstad

Artzaanstad building — Arriving at Hembrug, with the Museum and Artzaanstad

Riding back

After our enjoyable afternoon at Hembrug, we set off back to our holiday home, for our last evening in Zaandam, which involved going for a boat ride, then heading into the centre for a meal. We followed largely the same route back as we came, which gave us opportunity to take in views of Oude Haven and Voorzan, while riding through the centre of Zaandam.