Texel, the largest of the Dutch Wadden islands, is sometimes called 'The Netherlands in a nutshell', as it incorporates all of the most important characteristics of our country in a relatively small area. First, the North Sea coast, with its vast beaches and its rows of dunes, which is so typical for the western part of the Netherlands. Then, behind the dunes, the vast green polder land as far as the eye can sea, below those splendid Dutch cloudscapes that have inspired so many painters.

But there are also bulb fields, woods and even a piece of rolling scenery that reminds of the southern part of Limburg. And then the villages, each with their own character: Den Burg as the bustling and pleasant shopping center of the island, De Koog as the fashionable seaside resort, lively Oudeschild with its harbor, the quiet, rural villages of De Waal and Oosterend, Den Hoorn on the edge of the dunes and the remote De Cocksdorp at the northern point of the island. Also the less favorable elements are there: Texel has traffic lights and sometimes even traffic- jams, in the high season for the ferry terminal.

All of this may contribute to the 'island feeling' being less tangible here on Texel than on the smaller Wadden islands, all the more since those are situated much farther from the mainland. The Marsdiep, the sound that separates Texel from Noord-Holland is only four kilometers wide and the large roll-on-roll-off ferries cross it in less than twenty minutes. Every half hour, at least in the summer season; it's almost like riding to the island across a bridge! And while making the crossing the mainland is never out of sight.

Insula Texla

Among the Wadden islands, to which it is generally considered to belong, Texel holds a special position. Not only because of its size -it's undeniably the largest of these islands- or because of its particular location, within a stone's throw from the mainland of Noord-Holland. But especially because its genesis is clearly different from that of the other islands of the well-known row from ranging Texel till Rottummeroog.

Of course also Texel was a part of the former coastal barrier, which was smashed to pieces and separated from the mainland by storms and floods in the twelfth century, forming the present Wadden Sea and the row of islands. But as the other islands were mainly shaped by wind and water and consist of sand and dunes, enlarged by its inhabitants with polders as a result of the diking of salt marshes in later years, Texel's history goes back much further. Even as far as the prehistory, the Saalien period to be precise, the second-last glacial period in this region that lasted from 200,000 till 130,000 years B.C.

During this period the arctic ice was covering roughly half of the present territory of the Netherlands. In various places you can still see the ranges of hills that were pushed up by the tremendous force of the glaciers moving on. Since then, these heights consisting of boulder clay have been
prominent landmarks in the flat and marshy scenery. They withstood the ravages of time, while the surrounding land was constantly changing under the influence of wind and water. We find this kind of heights in Gaasterland in southwest Friesland, on the Zuyder Zee islands of Urk and Wieringen and also on Texel, in the area that is named 'Hoge Berg' (High Hill), between the villages of Den Burg, De Waal and Oudeschild.

The name 'Hoge Berg' pretends to be more than it really is, as we are talking about differences in height of just a couple of meters. Yet these few meters are important, as for centuries they meant the difference between a safe living or being engulfed by the sea. It is not by chance that people were already living here on Texel long before they did so on what we know now as the other Wadden islands. Archaeological findings prove traces of human presence going back to far beyond the beginning of our age. 

From the point of the history of its development, Texel has more in common with Wieringen than with the other Wadden islands. Wieringen also was formed by being pushed up by the arctic glaciers and Wieringen also saw human settlement early on in history. Until the twelfth century both islands even formed a whole. Presumably in 1170, by the so-called All Saints flooding, the sea forced a breach between Texel and Wieringen, the present Marsdiep sound.
 

It's not sure whether Romans ever lived on Texel. No proof of that has been found anyhow. About the beginning of our age they considered the Rhine more or less as the northern border of the Roman Empire and the seldom ventured into the treacherous marshes inhabited by barbarians beyond that river. Probably expeditions in the region had made them aware of the existence of the island, as in early medieval documents the name 'Insula Texla' (Island of Texel) is mentioned.

However, it is certain that during the Middle Ages, when Texel was still forming a whole with Wieringen and Vlieland, Frisians were living here and that in the ninth century the island was visited frequently by Vikings. The finding of Danish coins and adornments near Westerklief on what is now Wieringen even seems to be proof of a more or less permanent Viking settlement on the then island. The people of Wieringen would be delighted to believe that the famous and dreaded Viking leader Rorik once had his headquarters here! Anyway, on the territory of the present island of Texel findings like those on Wieringen were never made.
 

While other Wadden islands like Terschelling and Ameland were a subject in the struggle for power between Holland and Frisia for several centuries, Texel was the undisputed territory of the counts of Holland since the end of the thirteenth century. It was count Floris V who, in 1289, finally subjected the West Frisians living here, although it would last many years before the Dutch rule had been effectively established in the region.

It marked a long period of relative prosperity on Texel, particularly because the island offered a sheltered anchor place to the developing ocean shipping. As early as at the end of the fourteenth century the 'Rede van Texel' (Texel Roads) already was a household word. It was the place where the sea-going sailing ships anchored, awaiting favorable winds to bring them to their destination. In the fifteenth and sixteenth century those destinations were mainly in the Baltic region, but after the establishment of the VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie - Dutch United East Asia Company) in 1602 Texel became the starting point of almost every journey to the Dutch East Indies. In 1415 the island as a whole was granted privileges of a town and since then Texel is, in the matter of surface area, the largest town in the Netherlands.

Texel also became the place where the ships took in the drinking-water needed for their long journey. The wells on the island produced water of an exceptional good quality that would keep for a long time, because of its high iron content. A tremendous advantage, as the trip to the East Indies might take six to twelve months. The drinking-water, often more than 100,000 liters for a single ship, was transported in casks by little boats to the ships lying in the roadstead.

The crews of the anchored ships were very eager to take this last chance for going ashore and living it up before they put out to sea. And when the homeward bound ships anchored in the roads awaiting a favorable wind for the very last stage to their home port, the sailors could hardly wait to go ashore and squander an advance on their pay on fresh food, booze and women in Oudeschild.

The presence of all those ships -frequently there were more than a hundred lying in the roads- also attracted all kinds of craftsmen and traders to Oudeschild, from shipwrights and rope-makers to barbers, pilots, innkeepers, dealers in ship's stores and supplies, prostitutes and other shady customers. It was also a popular meeting place for sailors looking for a ship to muster in, and for captains seeking sailors to hire. To put it briefly, at that time Oudeschild was a genuine port with everything that comes with it.
 

The hey-day lasted until the end of the eighteenth century. As a result of changes in the political and economical situation the importance and influence of the Dutch Republic lessened then and the focus of world trade shifted to other countries, in particular to England. When in 1799 the VOC went bankrupt that meant the end of prosperity on Texel. Oudeschild harbor went down and the population of Texel were forced to apply themselves to fishing, agriculture and in particular sheep breeding. To this very day Texel is known as the major sheep island of the Netherlands.

To extend the surface area usable for agriculture Texel was enlarged with several polders during the nineteenth century. Already in the eighteenth century a sand dike had been built to link to the small island of Eierland, located just north of Texel. In 1835 the mud flats that had been formed here were diked in to become the Eierlandse Polder. In 1846 the polder De Eendracht (Concord) followed, in 1847 the Prins Hendrikpolder (Prince Henry Polder) and finally, in 1876, the polder Het Noorden (North Polder), giving Texel approximately its present size and shape.

From the beginning of the twentieth century tourism has superseded agriculture and fishing as the major livelihood on Texel. In particular the village of De Koog was and still is the main seaside resort. The first hotel to accommodate the seaside visitors was built here in 1907. Nowadays about 900,000 tourists come to Texel yearly, a number that makes it the most-visited of the Wadden islands by far. During the high season it is pleasantly busy here with lots of places of entertainment, which makes the islands a popular holiday destination among young people. But the islands is never really crowded, thanks to the fact that the local policy is to limit the island's total capacity for overnight accommodation to a maximum of 45,000 beds.
 

Round Texel

The expression 'Round Texel' has a familiar sound, in the Netherlands as well as far beyond its borders, as it's the name of a spectacular sailing event for catamarans that has been held yearly in June since 1977. Many hundreds of competitors are gathering on the beach near Paal 17 just south of De Koog for a race around the island, which takes about three hours to complete. With the years, 'Round Texel' has developed into the largest sailing race for catamarans in the world. But for the 'Round Texel' described on this page we will remain safely on the ground.

A trip to Texel starts in Den Helder, a town with a rich naval tradition as it has been the home base of the Royal Dutch Navy since long. To get to the ferry terminal, located on the northernmost point of the mainland of Noord-Holland, you have to go straight through the town center, along the vast navy complexes with their shipyards, wharfs and barracks. An environment that will bring you automatically in the right mood for a sea trip.

As a result of the cutback on military expenses since the end of the Cold War also the Dutch Navy has been forced to scale down considerably. One of the navy site has even been converted into the amusement park 'Cape Holland'. But still Den Helder remains a real navy town. And the Nationale Vlootdagen (National Days of the Navy), held each year in July, prove that the naval tradition is still alive in this country as the event attracts so many visitors that it's a choc-a-bloc with people here in town.

Once arrived at the ferry terminal you usually don't have to wait for long as the ferries go every hour and during the high season even every half hour. Yet this is not sufficient on peak days during the summer holiday season, when waiting times can easily rise to one or two hours. At the time of my most recent visit to Texel it is November and there are no queues at all. I can instantly board the ferry and only a few minutes later the ship puts to sea.

The ferries of TESO (Texels Eigen Stoomboot Onderneming - Texels Own Steamship Enterprise) are designed to perform their specific job: the short crossing from Den Helder to Texel. As a result, they look less 'sexy' than the sturdy ferries that sail to the islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. In fact they are a kind of bulky, box-shaped, twin-deck floating parking garages, optimally suited to ferry 200 or 250 cars at a time across the Marsdiep. And in the summer of 2005 a new ship will be commissioned, with a capacity of even 300 cars.

 

You cannot really mention the crossing to Texel a sea voyage, as from the departure you can already see your destination across the water. After about twenty minutes the ferry lands at 't Horntje, a small group of houses that hardly deserves to be called a village. Yet, two important scientific institutions are established here. Right beside the ferry terminal is the  NIOZ, het Nationaal Instituut voor Onderzoek der Zee (National Institution for Sea Research). A bit further lies Alterra, a subsidiary of the Research Center of Wageningen University. For the rest, 't Horntje does not have much more to offer than the ferry terminal, a restaurant and a bike rental as on Texel, like on the other Wadden islands, the bicycle is a major means of transport.

It is only since 1962 that the ferries arrive here. Before that time the ferry terminal was in Oudeschild, some kilometers to the north. But because of the growth of tourism the harbor there became too small. Particularly the increasing number of cars to be transported to and from the island required the deployment of bigger roll-on-roll-off ferries and it was decided to build a completely new ferry terminal at 't Horntje where there was plenty of space. Additional advantage was that it halved the crossing time, as 't Horntje is situated almost at the south point of Texel. But the people in Oudeschild badly regretted the loss of the ferry service and feared the worst for the economic activity in their village.
 

Oudeschild is also the first village that we are visiting. It is situated on the east coast of the island and for long it was the only place on Texel with a harbor, which was built in 1780. Before that time the merchantmen had to anchor in the Roads of Texel, a vast area that extended along the whole east coast of the island. Here the ships -often many dozens of them- were lying relatively sheltered against the westerly winds, but not more than that. Once in a while, it could be quite rough here!

After the bankruptcy of the Dutch East Asia Company, the harbor became the territory of the fishing fleet. As fishing developed, the harbor had to be enlarged in 1890. Nowadays the Texel fishing fleet consists of about 20 cutters, fishing for sole, plaice, cod and herring, on the Wadden Sea as well as on the North Sea.

After the loss of the ferry service the villagers feared that the tourists would now ignore Oudeschild, but fortunately that expectation did not come out. On the contrary, Oudeschild developed into a popular port of call for Wadden cruising and in 1973 a completely new marina was opened, because the old harbor became too small. In 2001 it was extended with a new basin for transients.
 

Nowadays Oudeschild, lying hidden behind the high dike, has a population of about 1,300. One of its most typical buildings is the white-painted Sailor's Chapel of 1650. Its name refers to the fact that it was mainly frequented by sailors from the ships lying anchored in the Roads. The church owns three beautiful chandeliers, the first of which was donated by the well-know admiral Cornelis Tromp. His eternal arch-rival Michiel de Ruyter felt that he had to follow suit and donated a bigger one, after which Tromp, in his turn, didn't want to be outdone and gave a third chandelier.

Another eye-catcher is the flourmill 'De Traanroeier' (Train Stirrer) of 1727, which originally stood in the Zaandam region and was moved only in 1902 to Oudeschild the grind the grain until 1960. In that year the mill was converted for the production of electricity and it became the first -and only- classic windmill in the Netherlands that was producing energy. Nowadays the mill is part of the Maritime & Beachcombing Museum and it is being kept operational by volunteers.
 

Here, as on on several other places on the island, the so-called 'tuunwallen' (garden walls) are prominently present. These are age-old hedges made up of piled turf. They form a unique environment for rare plants such as harebells and thrift. Nowhere else in the Netherlands this kind of hedges is found. In the area you can also see some examples of the typical Texel sheep-shed, the flat side with the entry always northeast, as the prevailing wind on Texel is from the southwest. 

In this same area the so-called 'Russian Cemetery' is located, reminding of the tragedy that took place on Texel in the final weeks of the Second World War. From February 1945 a battalion consisting of 800 Georgian prisoners of war under German supervision was quartered on the island. At the beginning of April of that year a quick German defeat seemed to be imminent and in the night of April 5 and 6 the Georgians, headed by Schwalwa Loladze, started a revolt against their German superiors.

Initially the revolt seemed to be successful and several hundreds of German military were killed or captured, but the Georgians failed to secure major military strongholds in the dunes, where the Germans had deployed heavy guns. With those guns they bombarded the villages of Den Burg, Oudeschild and De Waal, making dozens of casualties among the civil population. When the Germans also got reinforcements from the mainland they succeeded to drive the Georgians in a corner on the north point of the island where at last the remaining rebels were forced to surrender, or went into hiding with the locals.
 

It takes about a half hour's walk to get from Den Burg to De Waal, with a population of only 400 the smallest village of the island. On the way you may run into an old carrier tricycle standing unattended along the road, with a pick of Texel produce for sale like sheep's wool, pumpkins and bulbs. Buyers are kindly asked to put the required amount in a cardboard box. Good to see that such things are still possible in the Netherlands of 2004!

From a distance it is clearly visible that De Waal, like Den Burg, has been built on a hill. Before the surrounding land was impoldered in the fifteenth century the village was situated on a small island, only linked with Den Burg by a dike. Of all villages on the island De Waal is the most agrarian. Here you will not find fisherman's houses but mainly farmhouses instead.

The church dominating the village is just of a recent date. It was built in 1952 to replace the original church, which was set afire by the German bombardment during the Georgian uprising in 1945 and completely burned down. The strikingly shaped tower dates from 1961. The church organ was part of the Dutch exhibit on the Brussels World Expo of 1958. When building the church the foundations of a much older chapel were found, which proves that people lived here already in the Middle Ages.

Further the nearby 'Sommeltjesberg' is worth mentioning, a nowadays leveled grave mound that was supposed to be the living place of the 'Sommeltjes', according to an ancient legend. In the Texel folk tales the are a kind of gnome-like goblins who only live at night and change to stones in the daylight. Because of the tourists the Texel people like to keep the legend alive. Close to the church of De Waal you can see a contemporary sculpture of two of these 'Sommeltjes'.
 

Four kilometers beyond De Waal, to the northeast, lies Oosterend, a quiet village with some picturesque little streets around the church in its center. Parts of this church go all the way back to the twelfth century, making it the oldest church on the island. In Oosterend agriculture and fishery go together; fishermen and farmers used to live here side by side. It was not
unusual that a farmer here also owned a fishing boat in Oudeschild. For a brief period in the nineteenth century Oosterend even had its own harbor, which was built in 1843 especially for the oyster fishery. Because of a sharp decline in this business the harbor had to be closed again in 1859.
 

For a long time De Cocksdorp was just an insignificant village to serve the farmers who settled in the new polder. These farmers came from all over the country, which is reflected in the names of many of the farmhouses here like 'New Breda',  'Zeeland' or 'Rotterdam'. Apart from the Dutch Reformed church of 1841 and the Roman Catholic church of 1877 the village doesn't have much to offer, but in the second half of the twentieth century tourism has started to discovere De Cocksdorp. Several larger bungalow parks and camping sites are nowadays established in the direct surroundings and, as a result, more shops, bars and restaurants have opened in the village, giving it a more lively appearance than before. Its population has grown to approx. 1,250.

Just south of De Cocksdorp, in the Polder Eierland, lies the airport 'Vlijt' (Diligence), named after a farmhouse that once stood here. It was opened in 1937 and during the years before WW2 it even had a direct flight to Schiphol Airport twice a day. Nowadays it is primarily used by general aviation, but it is also the home base for helicopters supplying several oil rigs in the North Sea. The field has two grass runways: 04-22 of 1,115 meter and 13-31 of 630 meter long. It is classified as an international airport and its ICAO code is EHTX. On the field the Texel Air Museum is located.
 

On of the major attractions for nature lovers on Texel is the nature reserve De Slufter, situated a few kilometers from De Cocksdorp on the North Sea coast. There is a natural breach in the rows of dunes here, letting the salt sea water pour in twice a day at high tide and creating a scenery of winding creeks and saltwater pools. It's the only place on the Dutch coast where this phenomenon occurs and these unique conditions have created a varied saltwater vegetation and an abundance of bird species in this area. As a result, De Slufter is very well known among nature lovers.
 

Right south of De Slufter is De Muy, a beautiful nature reserve on the edge of dune and polder, between the sea and the sand dike that was built in the eighteenth century to link the little island of Eierland with Texel. On the sea side of that dike new dunes were formed, on the land side the mud flats and salt marshes that were diked in 1835 to become the Polder Eierland. During a heavy storm in 1851 the sea broke through the row of dunes here and formed a breach to let the sea water in. In 1878 attempts to close the gap were successful, something that never worked -fortunately- at De Slufter, a few kilometers to the north!

Going further to we south we eventually arrive in De Koog, the only genuine seaside resort of Texel. Only two rows of dunes separate the village from the beach, and right in between is a camping site stretching for hundreds of meters, which is very popular among young people. Its situation, with the beach on one side and the entertainment of the Koog close at hand on the other, is perfect.

Not much has left of the original village of De Koog, apart from the tiny little Reformed church of 1719. In the Dorpsstraat (Main Street), which has become a pedestrian area since a ring road was built, the bars, restaurants, shops and discos are lining up. The Badweg from the village to the sea is now lead across the dune valley with the camping site via some kind of viaduct. But fortunately the beach remained the same, beautiful as ever.
 

Although De Koog with a population of 1,200 lags far behind Den Burg, it is much more important with regard to tourism, because of its situation directly at the seaside. So here we find the majority of accommodations on the island; in the village itself mainly in hotels, hostels, apartments and also many private guesthouses. In the direct surroundings are several larger bungalow parks and camp sites.

And when for all those thousands of holidaymakers the weather is not inviting to go to the beach, De Koog offers enough alternatives. There is a subtropical leisure pool, an indoor kart track, tennis and squash halls and, of course, EcoMare, the nature center for the Wadden area and the North Sea that is situated a few kilometers south of the village.
 

EcoMare is a mix of museum, zoo and visitors and information center for the Wadden and North Sea area in general and for the island of Texel in particular. It offers instructive exhibitions about the history of the island since its formation in the glacial period and about all kinds of aspects of the sea in relation with human activity. Another exhibition shows various scenarios for the development of the island in the near future, in which a balance has to be found between economics, tourism, culture and nature conservation. In the spectacular Water Hall huge aquariums show the sea as the habitat of fish and other animal species living in these waters.

But more popular is the outside ground, where you can have a look at the bird and seal rehabilitation. Texel has a long tradition in this field. For more than half a century already sick and wounded seals and orphan pups have been taken care of here. That was at a time when seals where still actively hunted in the Dutch coastal waters. From 1962, when the hunt was banned, the rehabilitation policy aims at releasing the animals after they have recuperated.
 

Going further to the south from EcoMare we finally arrive at Den Hoorn, the most southern village on Texel and with a population of only 965 the second-smallest of the island, behind De Waal. But once times were different. In the seventeenth and the eighteenth century the village was considerably larger and much more important, as there were many pilots living here. Piloting the VOC ships returning from their long journeys through the treacherous waters around Texel was one of the major livelihoods on the island. Residents of Den Hoorn were standing on top of a nearby high dune watching for ships that might require a pilot and because they saw such ships generally earlier than their rivals from Oudeschild they often had the leg of them. The dune, with over 24 meters the highest on Texel, is still mentioned Loodsmansduin (Pilot's Dune) to this very day.
 

The 15th-century church bell is still hanging in the tower, although it was confiscated by the German occupying forces in 1944 to be melted down for the purpose of arms industry, as happened with almost all churches in the Netherlands at that time. The bell was shipped with 200 others by boat, but the Dutch skipper intently sank his ship near the island of Urk. After the end of the war the bells could be recovered and so Den Hoorn got its church bell back.

The curious situation of the church, on the edge of the village and not in the center as usual, can be explained by the fact that Den Hoorn was much larger in earlier days. By then the church was in the village center, but when pilotage stopped being a major source of income in the nineteenth century may residents moved away, leaving their houses empty. The houses were broken down and that's how the church became
standing completely detached in the scenery.
 

At De Hors our 'Round Texel' ends. Not that we have seen everything already; the island is too large to be explored thoroughly in just a couple of days. This page cannot give more than a superficial impression. Maybe is has inspired you to plan a visit to the island yourself. For me it was the seventh or the eighth time that I was on Texel in November 2004; I've lost count. But it's almost for sure that it has not been the last time!
 

More about Texel and related information

www.texel.nl
Official website van Municipality of Texel. Dutch language only.

www.texel.net
Website van de Texel Tourist Information Office. Also English and German language versions available..

www.texel.com
Commercial website with information about Texel. Dutch language only.

texel.pagina.nl
Texel island portal site

www.texelsmaritiem.nl
Website of the Maritime & Beachcombing Museum in Oudeschild. English and German language versions available.

www.ecomare.nl
Website of EcoMare, the Center for the Wadden and the North Sea area. English and German language versions available.

voc.texel.net
Website about the history of the VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie - Dutch East Asia Company) in relation to Texel Texel. Dutch only.

www.texeltv.nl
Commercial website with information and videos about Texel. German language version available.

November 2004