Het Spaarne is a river in North Holland, the Netherlands. The river flows through Haarlem to Spaarndam. The name Spaarne is probably derived from 'Spier', which means reed.
Originally the Spaarne formed a connection between the Haarlemmermeer and the IJ. In the 13th century, at the mouth of the IJ, a dam with sluices was constructed in the Spaarne as part of the Spaarndammerdijk. This is where the village of Spaarndam came into being. For shipping there came the Kolksluis and centuries later the Grote Sluis. Because this is one of the most important drains of the storage basin water of the Rhineland Water Board, a steam pumping station was built in 1844, the Boezem pumping station Spaarndam.
After the reclamation of the Haarlemmermeer (1852), the Spaarne became a side arm of the Ring canal of the Haarlemmermeer polder. During the construction of the North Sea Canal (completed in 1876) large parts of the IJ were reclaimed; at Spaarndam a part of the IJ was spared. From Spaarndam the North Sea Canal can be reached via the Zijkanaal C.
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