The Texel Roads

The Texel Roads became famous in the 15th century. Ships leaving harbours on the Zuider Zee sailed to Texel and anchored there, waiting for favourable winds to set sail. The ships lay in harbour for weeks and sometimes even months, waiting for supplies, crew and a favourable east or north east wind. The Texel Roads was a hub of activity in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.

Loaded and unloaded

Alongside VOC ships were also whale catchers, West Indian Company ships and battleships. Ships were loaded and unloaded by pilot boats and supply boats, whilst passers by watched the action from the dyke.

Gathered in groups

The larger ships often gathered in groups and each ‘branch' had its own place on the Roads. The ships preparing to set sail for the Baltic Sea and the White Sea gathered on the Moscow Roads, to the north of Oudeschild. Ships heading to Europe and the East waited on the Koopvaders Roads, stretching from the former village of Nieuweschild to the southernmost point of Texel.

No harbour

It was usually sheltered on the Texel Roads, but not always safe. Heavy storms caused havoc and the freezing of the sea during cold winters sent some ships to the bottom. It was only in 1780 that a harbour was built in Oudeschild. Until then larger ships had to be anchored on the Roads and smaller ships were moored on the dyke.

Heavy storm on the Texel Roads

There was a famous storm on the Texel Roads on the 24th of December 1593, during which 150 ships were waiting to set sail. Some ships lost their anchorage and rammed into other ships. Forty four merchant ships were lost and about one thousand crew members drowned.

Maria Tesselschade

The famous Amsterdam grain merchant and poet Roemer Visscher was one of those whose ships suffered much damage during the storm. His youngest daughter, born a few months after the disaster, was named Maria Tesselschade. She became a well known poet and was referred to as the muse of the Muiderkring.

Nieuweschild

The Texel Roads covered the area between Den Helder and the south west of Terschelling. Texel was the middle point, and the village of Oudeschild was at the heart of the Roads. Extension of the inhabited area was necessary due to the successful development of Oudeschild. For this reason the village of Nieuweschild was established in the seventeenth century.

Nieuweschild decreased in size with the declining importance of the Texel Roads at the end of the VOC era. Nowadays there is little left to be seen of the village