LAW 5-2 (03) The Hague Central Station - Katwijk aan Zee

Haaglanden and Midden Delfland -'The fish is paid for dearly\\\', Herman Heijermans aptly described the hard life of the fishermen. About two hundred different species of fish live in the North Sea. In the past, fishing during a major storm at sea meant a life and death struggle. Today fishermen are faced with strict regulations. In the Middle Ages, poor farmers moved to the coast to earn a living as fishermen. This is how fishing developed into an important means of livelihood. When the flat-bottomed boats or'bomschuiten\\\' returned from their catch, they moored on the beach. The fish was unloaded and sold as quickly as possible. From Scheveningen the women went down to The Hague with packed menden on their heads to bring the fresh fish to the men. In The Hague, the route shows you a beautiful mix of city parks and palaces and in Haarlem you pass through the famous courtyards. In Katwijk and Noordwijk, fishermen walked into the water with a'scrub net\\\' to catch fish. Various monuments and buildings in Katwijk refer to a turbulent fishing past. At the white fisherman's church, on the sea side of the Boulevard, there is a monument that reminds one of the many rescues at sea: a six-horse lifeboat.