Story of Unique Shoes Klomp

When we hear or read about the Dutch, usually with our necessarily connect it with the typical symbol of the country such as cheese, windmills, or tulips. Such association is almost identical with the understanding that the Netherlands is synonymous with "cheese country", "land windmill", or "tulip country." There's even a nickname used by typical Dutch people say their country is kikkerland or "frog country" because everywhere there is water. So far, the dominant symbols are apparently obscures our association that the Netherlands turned out to have another icon. Therefore, this feature introduces a distinctive icon for the Dutch who may not yet familiar in our thinking that is associated wooden shoes, Clogs or klompen said the Englishman in the Dutch language.

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 is also widely used by farmers and workers in other European countries. Variations of wood shoe last is terompa trippe or wood in our language, namely wooden sandals with straps of leather. In Vlaams region (northern Belgium, which borders the southern Netherlands), a term that refers klompen wooden shoes for women, whereas for men, shoes are named holleblokken.

From the cultural side, these wooden shoes as if attached to the original character of the Netherlands, both philosophically and materially. Philosophically, the Dutch national character is identical with the mentality "panggaleh" which zakelijk, efficient, practical, tough and economical, and creed "Tigo furnace sajarangan" Dutch version developed by Adalbero van Laon in 1000 AD, that is bidden meaningful worship, or Vechten fight, and that means working werken (De Nederlandse geschiedenis in een notendop, 1998). Therefore, klompen simple but has many advantages, material is easily obtained and made, very popular with Dutch society.

While from the point of material, wooden shoe that provides warmth in the feet in winter and coolness in summer because the wood has a good temperature absorption, protect the feet when stepping on a dirty street in the Middle Ages, did not prevent foot buried in the soft soil and muddy because this kind of typology of land in the Dutch plural. For farmers, good-iron, or a milking cow, of course this is very useful klompen protect legs while working.

Another benefit of wooden shoes is a container storing small items, piggy bank bridge or gate keeper to take money out of the boat or vessel that uses the facility, as a flower vase, toy ship, even as the hammer, and when it can become obsolete as firewood for heating in winter. There's even a little anecdote says that klompen senofobis can be used as a float when flooding occurs.
Each area usually has a wooden shoe that is symbolically characterize their respective regions. Even in the Netherlands there are two areas which are named "De Klomp", a village in Ede (Gelderland province), and a place in Weesp (Noord-Holland province).