Oostzaan

Oostzaan is a municipality and a town in the Zaanstreek, Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The municipality had a population of 0 in. Oostzaan has a total area of undefined km2 of which undefined km2 is water.

Oostzaan&mdash;together with Westzaan and Assendelft&mdash;are considered the "mother towns" of the Zaanstreek (the region around the River Zaan), of which they are the three oldest towns. Oostzaan also played a role in the VOC and WIC shipping and shipbuilding.

17th century Oostzaan was the home of the pirate Claes Compaen. Originally a privateer for the Dutch Republic, he soon began to act as a pirate, capturing several hundred ships. A street in Oostzaan is named after him.

The town has a Reformed church with a cruciform groundplan, the Great Church (1760), which contains two ship models that recall the days when Oostzaan was an important sea-faring community. In the Oostzijderveld area of Oostzaan stands a windmill, De Windjager (The Wind Hunter).

Hamlets
Oostzaan consists of several hamlets, Kerkbuurt and the northern part of Zuideinde are the center of Oostzaan.
 * Achterdichting (Get Behind The Seal),
 * De Heul,
 * Kerkbuurt (church neighborhood),
 * Noordeinde (North end),
 * Zuideinde (South end).

Local government
The municipal council of Oostzaan consists of 13 seats, which at the 2022 municipal elections divided as follows: • VVD - 5 seats

• GroenLinks - 3 seats

• CDA - 2 seats

• PvdA - 2 seats

• D66 - 1 seat

Economy
The poultry company Meyn Food Processing Technology is headquartered in Oostzaan.

Notable people

 * Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (before 1470 – 1533) a Northern Netherlandish designer of woodcuts and a painter
 * Claes Gerritszoon Compaen (1587 in Oostzaan – 1660 in Oostzaan) a Dutch corsair, merchant, a privateer for the Dutch Republic and pirate
 * Albert Heijn (1865 in Oostzaan – 1945) a Dutch entrepreneur who founded Albert Heijn, a Dutch supermarket chain
 * Grietje de Jongh (1924 in Oostzaan – 2002) a Dutch sprinter, competed at the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics
 * Robert Tijdeman (born 1943 in Oostzaan) a Dutch mathematician, specializing in number theory, wrote Tijdeman's theorem
 * Trijnie Rep (born 1950 in Oostzaan) a Dutch former speed skater, who competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics
 * Charles Zwolsman Sr. (1955 in Oostzaan – 2011) a Dutch drug dealer and professional racecar driver
 * Rosemarijn Dral (born 1985 in Oostzaan) a Dutch politician, member of the Dutch House of Representatives since 2024