0 Typical Dutch Shoes

What does shoe mates remember when I called a Dutch? usually we immediately connect with the typical symbol of the country such as cheese, windmills, or tulips flower. These associations are almost the same with the understanding that the Netherlands is synonymous with "the land of cheese", "land of windmills", or "the land of tulips". There's even a typical epithets used by the Dutch to mention his country is kikkerland or "land of frogs" because everywhere there is water. But do you know that the Dutch state also has other icons? The other icon is wooden shoes.  British people call it clogs, or klompen in Dutch.

Historically, wooden shoes that are well known in the Netherlands since the year 1270 AD Wooden shoes are not only popular in the Netherlands but in the Middle Ages also widely used by farmers and workers in other European countries. Also in the Dutch colonies had these shoes are very famous. As in Indonesia, which is called bakiak. Variations of shoe sandal wood is wood that has a strap of leather. In the Vlaams (northern Belgium bordering the southern Netherlands), a term that refers klompen wooden shoes for women, while for men, shoes are named holleblokken.

Klompen, Dutch Shoes

In cultural sdie, wooden shoes as if attached to the original character of the Netherlands, both philosophically and materially. Philosophically, the character of the Dutch mentality synonymous with "panggaleh" which Zakelijk, efficient, practical, and economically resilient, and creed. Dutch version developed by van Adalbero Laon in 1000 AD, which is bidden meaningful worship, vechten or fight, and that means working Werken (De Nederlandse geschiedenis in een notendop, 1998). Therefore, klompen simple but have many advantages, the material is easily available and is, very popular in the Netherlands.

While from the point of material, wooden shoe that provides warmth in the feet in the winter and coolness in the summer because the wood has a good absorption temperature, protect the foot while stepping on the dirty streets of the Middle Ages, to prevent the legs are not buried in the soft earth and muddy soil typologies such as plural in the Netherlands. For farmers, smart-iron, or milking the cow, of course this is very useful klompen protect your feet while working.

Another benefit of wooden shoes is a container storing small items, piggy bank or a bridge guard sluice to take money from a boat or ship that uses the facility, as flower vases, toy boats, even as a hammer, and if it can be worn as firewood for heating in winter. There's even a little anecdote says that klompen senofobis can be used as a float in the event of flooding. Well, klompen shoes is great. Shoes that are multifunctional.

Each area usually has a symbolic wooden shoe characterize each area. Even in the Netherlands there are two areas, named "De Klomp", a village in Ede (province of Gelderland), and a place in Weesp (province of Noord-Holland).

From an economic standpoint, klompen significant value because it supports the tourism industry, a sector which is quite important for the Dutch economy. In 2003, tourism's contribution to GNP of more than 2.5% with revenues of about € 8 billion. In the same period, about 9.2 million tourists visited the Netherlands ('Toerisme en Recreatie in cijfers 2004', Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 12/11/04). From the tourism sector, the wooden shoe has become one of the most typical souvenir from Holland. Small in size, usually also made a key chain, or a miniature sailing ship, or ceramic Delft blue.

In ancient times, almost every village and the area has a wooden shoe maker. But this time only about 30 makers alone, which produces about 800 thousand pairs per year klompen. These days, not much else is wearing klompen in Netherlands in everyday life. Only some farmers, fishermen, or people who work cleaning the garden or yard that still use it. In other words, klompen who used a device for day-to-day becomes more symbolic and economic value.

There are at least two lessons we can take from this that the Dutch culture klompen importance of maintaining a distinctive tradition and expand it so that it has an economic value. If the shoes are typical in your area is what? If it is unique, you can really promote, who knows be global like this klompen shoes. Source