Location

Edam

Edam ontstond bij een dam aan de Ye of E die in de Zuiderzee uitmondde. Omstreeks 1230 werden de zeegaten van de Zuiderzee afgedamd. Bij de dam moesten de goederen worden overgeladen en kon tol worden geheven. Zo kon Edam tot een handelsplaats uitgroeien. Scheepsbouw, haringvisserij en kaashandel brachten Edam tot grote bloei.

Kaasmarkt

After being granted the right to a cheese weighing house, Edam had a commercial cheese market until 1922, where farmers from the surrounding area came to trade their cheese. Edam cheese was transported to the market by small boats. After unloading at a special unloading quay, the cheese was brought to the market by cheese carriers. There, the cheese was offered for sale to traders. After first being inspected, the kilogram price of the cheese was determined through praising and bidding, the ‘handshake’. Then the cheeses were loaded back onto a berrie and taken to the weighing scales where the weight was determined. Finally, the cheese was transported by horse and cheese barge to the cheese warehouse to ‘mature’ for some time.

The cheese market was revived in 1989. In summer (July and August), a tourist version of the cheese market is held every Wednesday between 10.30am and 12.30pm.Translated with DeepL.com (free version)