⚓ Pastime #7 — Hoorn: The Golden Age and Its Black Edge 🖤

#### Hoorn · Sunday 30 August 2026 · 14:30

A small, pretty harbour town in Noord-Holland. Narrow bridges, wide docks, gabled houses. And a history that helped build a world empire — and paid for it with other people's lives. ⚓

Pastime continues its walk through Dutch history, and this time we land in the 17th century, in a town that most visitors today would call charming. And it is. But Hoorn was once one of the richest and most powerful cities in the Netherlands — a place from which ships set sail for Asia and the Americas, and which hosted the headquarters of both the great trading companies: the VOC (East India Company) and the WIC (West India Company).

This is the story of how the Netherlands became a world power. Not only through trade — but through war and exploitation. It's the Golden Age with a black edge, and we're going looking for its traces in the streets. 🖤

***

##### 🚶 The walk

We'll follow a 4.2 km route, beginning at the edges of the old town by the Oosterpoort — the gate built to keep enemies out — before diving into old Hoorn. We'll cross narrow little bridges, walk along the broad harbours, find the stately former headquarters of the VOC and WIC, and stand on the jetties beneath the Hoofdtoren, looking out toward the horizon over what was once the Zuiderzee.
From right here, the ships left for the other side of the world.

I'll tell the story as we walk — the wealth, the ambition, the violence, and what all of it was built on. It's a beautiful town, and an uncomfortable one, and that tension is exactly what makes it worth walking. 🚢

***

##### 🍺 And then — a drink on the Rode Steen

We'll finish at De Klinker, the most characterful café in town, on the Rode Steen — the main square, and the site of the fiercely contested statue of the man they call the Butcher of Banda. A fittingly loaded place to sit down and talk about everything we've just seen. 🗿

The beer's excellent, too: alongside brews from the local Rotjoch brewery, they keep a strong selection from all over Europe. 🍻

***

##### 🗓️ Practical info

• 📅 When: Sunday 30 August 2026 · 14:30
• 📍 Meeting point: Hoorn station
• 🚶 The walk: ~4.2 km through gates, bridges, harbours and quays
• 🍺 After: De Klinker, on the Rode Steen
• 🌐 Language: English

What to bring: comfortable walking shoes, weather-appropriate layers, and an appetite for history that doesn't flatter itself.

***

##### 👀 Who's this for?

Anyone who likes their history honest — the grandeur and the cost. Anyone who enjoys discovering a town on foot, and anyone who wants to understand how a country this small once reached so far across the world. You don't need any background: that's what the walk is for. And there's a very good beer waiting at the end. ⚓

See you at Hoorn station.