Purmerend (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌpʏrməˈrɛnt] ⓘ) is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.

This expansion has turned Purmerend into a commuter town; many inhabitants (14,200 in 2011)[5] work, go to school or spend leisure time in Amsterdam.

However, the new and fertile soil favoured agriculture and livestock breeding, making Purmerend prosperous again.

Ships from Norway, Sweden, Russia and America then started to make direct trips to Purmerend to bring wood.

By about 1880 this boom period for Purmerend was ending, because the new North Sea Canal diverted traffic elsewhere.

[15] Purmerend was named Kermisstad van Nederland (Funfair City of the Netherlands) in 2003.

This was done for various reasons, including reduced traffic congestion and more parking space in the city centre, as well as more room for auction grounds and ease of moving trucks at the new site.

When the first settlers began cultivating the land, it consisted mostly of turf (veen), they dug ditches that run parallel to each other to drain excess water.

This applied to Purmerend which was built on the bank of the river De Where, that linked the former Beemster and Purmer lakes.

Historically, a tram ("'t Boemeltje") ran from Amsterdam Centraal to Purmerend, ending at the Tramplein.

[citation needed] In 1951 The Ramblers had a hit commemorating the tram service "’t Boemeltje van Purmerend".

In 2019, the province of North Holland revealed plans to extend the Amsterdam Metro's Noord-Zuidlijn from Noord station to Purmerend.