Bakery Museum 'In the Crowned Duyvekater', Zaandam

In 1970, a historic building from the Zaanstreek, once home to a bakery for over two centuries, was relocated to the Zaanse Schans. Naturally, this spot became the perfect place for a bakery museum, aptly named "In de Gecroonde Duyvekater" (Duivekater being a traditional bread from the Zaanstreek). The original structure, dating back to 1658, was originally situated at Hazepad 11 in Zaandijk, a path that was part of the 'behind the church' neighborhood, now known as Domineestuin. The dike at Zaandijk is believed to have been built in the late 14th century.

The bakery museum officially opened in 1972, with Queen Juliana presiding over the ceremony during the Zaanse Schans’ 10th-anniversary celebrations. In 2001, Prince Willem Alexander and Maxima paid a visit to this historic shop. The museum is a genuine homage to the old bakers' guild, featuring a 19th-century shop interior filled with traditional Dutch sweets and delicacies. The bakery boasts an authentic stone sawdust oven and a vast collection of antique baking tools, cookie molds, recipe books, tins, and rusk barrels. The museum's name is displayed above the shop's front door.

A Duivekater, pronounced "Deuvekater" in the Zaans dialect, is a festive bread native to the region north of Amsterdam. This elongated, sweet white bread is typically enjoyed around Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas. The genuine North Amsterdam or Zaanse Duivekater is a type of floor bread, baked directly on the oven's plate. Visitors can sample and purchase this bread at the museum. The name "Duivekater" likely originates from the old Germanic term "Deuvels Kakor," meaning Devil's cake, possibly hinting at its ancient roots as a sacrificial bread. In Germanic times, a wild boar was traditionally offered as a grave gift, but as this became wasteful, it was eventually symbolized in bread form. Some Duivekaters even feature four protruding "knobs," representing the boar's rudimentary legs.