Marken was historically an isolated island community whose residents depended heavily on fishing and seafaring. For some time during the later 19th and early 20th centuries, the village and its inhabitants were the focus of considerable attention by folklorists, ethnographers, and physical anthropologists, who regarded the small fishing town as a relic of the traditional native culture that was destined to disappear as the modernization of the Netherlands gained pace. Because the settlement was vulnerable to flooding, many houses were built on raised earthen mounds or wooden stilts. These elevated homes are among the village’s most distinctive architectural features.

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