Alongside cheese, tulips and windmills, klompen, the wooden clogs, are regarded as a national symbol of the Netherlands.
Practical beginnings
DutchReview dates clogs in the Netherlands to the early thirteenth century. They protected labourers such as farmers and fishermen, and the shape varied by trade: peat diggers wore a squarer toe to stop them sinking in mud, while fishermen wore sharper, pointed ones. Decorated pairs were kept for church and weddings.
Making and wearing clogs
Makers usually choose willow or poplar, hollowing and drying the blocks for several weeks before sanding and sometimes painting them. Roughly three million pairs are made each year, and tourist souvenirs account for a large share of sales, though some farmers and market gardeners still wear them daily. Traditional all-wooden clogs are even accredited as safety shoes under the CE mark. Few makers remain, though: DutchReview estimates only about ten official clog makers are left in the country.
Sources: Wikipedia: Klomp, DutchReview: Dutch clogs.
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