In the Roman era, this Velsen district was already inhabited, and archaeological finds at the impoldered lake of Wijkermeer indicate there was a North Sea port of some regional importance built here. Present day IJmuiden includes four harbors: the vissershaven (Ship's code IJM), a fishing dock (visafslag), the haringhaven, the IJmondhaven and theSeaport Marina IJmuiden, a harbour for pleasure craft. IJmuiden became the largest fishing port of the Netherlands after the island of Urk became closed in by the Afsluitdijk. The town suffered heavy damage and demolition during World War II, because of its maritime importance.
Mouth of the IJ
Before the present IJmuiden was built, the area was known as Breesaap; it was a desolate plain where only a handful of farmers strived to make a living.
Plans to connect Amsterdam with a canal to the North Sea, with its mouth in this area, had been drawn up already since 1626, but were only set into motion in the 19th Century, when in 1851 the whole area was sold to the entrepreneurs Bik and Arnold. The first spade hit the ground on 8 April 1865.
IJmuiden is the newest city in North Holland, and only came into existence on November 1, 1876, when the North Sea Canal was officially opened by William III of the Netherlands, connecting the Amsterdam harbors to the open sea. He dubbed the town "IJmuiden" after passing the locks from the North Sea into the canal. After his ship, the paddle steamer'Stad Breda' built by the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland, passed, the first ship from Amsterdam, the 'SS Rembrandt' built by the Royal Netherlands Steamship Company (KNSM), passed the other way. The workers who dug the canal later settled there; they found work after the canal was finished in the fishing industry, but many also suffered extreme poverty.
The IJmuiden name literally means “mouth of the IJ”, which is a hint to the importance the town has for the Amsterdam
