Uithoorn and De Kwakel

The municipality of Uithoorn lies on the Amstel river about 20 kilometres from Amsterdam in the southern part of the province of North-Holland. The municipality consists of the residential nuclei Uithoorn and De Kwakel and counted, on 31 December 2005, 26,850 residents (Uithoorn 22,911 and De Kwakel 3,939).

Uithoorn is located conveniently with respect to Amsterdam, Schiphol airport and the Aalsmeer Flower Auction. That's why it's no surprise that 65% of the working population of Uithoorn works outside the limits of the municipality. Various businesses are located in Uithoorn that are connected in one way or another with the Aalsmeer Flower Auction or Schiphol airport.

The residential nucleus De Kwakel is primarily agriculturally oriented and you will find many greenhouse complexes there.

The Village Centre

The old village centre is located on the whimsical curves of the Amstel river; in the summer the harbour of Uithoorn is pleasantly busy. For water recreation enthusiasts, during the sailing season (April-October) there is a public shower and toilet facility available.

At the quay you will find the tourist office and automobile association (VVV/ANWB), a number of restaurants – some with a terrace on the water, shops and the weekly market on Wednesdays.

Apart from the village centre and neighbourhood-oriented stores there are two large malls, Zijdelwaard and Amsterplein.

Living in Uithoorn

The municipality of Uithoorn is a lovely place to live. Most of the neighbourhoods have a spacious set-up with lots of greenery, water and opportunities for play.

Since 1997 Uithoorn is extending in the western direction, as part of the Legmeer-West plan that offers space to realise a total of 700 houses. In addition, new houses will be built at other locations in Uithoorn and De Kwakel. More information about the various projects can be found on the web page 'Woningbouwprojecten' (in Dutch).

In our municipality there is a thriving social life, in the areas of sports, culture and recreation. You can find more information in the digital municipality guide.

Culture, nature and recreation

The Thamerkerk (1834), which was renovated in July of 1992, is a national monument. It is a beautiful multipurpose building in which exhibitions by visual artists take place on a regular basis. The Uithoorn Foundation for Cultural Activities (Stichting Culturele Activiteiten Uithoorn) organises concerts and theatrical performances in the building as well.

Within the municipality there are two forts from the Defence Line of Amsterdam (Stelling van Amsterdam). Fort aan de Drecht (in Uithoorn) is open to visitors. This fort, which was built in 1911, was thoroughly renovated in 2000. The complete Defence Line of Amsterdam is on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. In Fort aan de Drecht the Gallery Fort a/d Drecht Foundation (Stichting Galerie Fort a/d Drecht) organises temporary exhibitions.

The second fortress within the municipality is Fort De Kwakel. Funnily enough, Fort Uithoorn is not located within our municipality, but on the other side of the Amstel.

Uithoorn is home to a 60 hectare nature area with the Zijdelmeer as the centre and Fort aan de Drecht as the farthest point. This nature area is enclosed for the major part by buildings. Also important for recreation is the park De Biezenwaard, in which the visitor can enjoy greenery and walking paths and which also offers the opportunity for sport and a visit to the children's farm De Olievaar. Within the park a special tree route has been set out.

More information about activities in Uithoorn can be found on the 'Activities and Events' page.