HOORN, a seaport in the province of North Holland, on a bay of the Zuider Zee called the Hoornerhop, and a junction sta tion 231 m. by rail N. by E. of Amsterdam. Pop. (1926) 11,806. Hoorn, latinized as Horna or Hornum, is mentioned in a document of 1311. In 1356 it received municipal privileges, and in 1426 it was surrounded with walls. Here in 1416 the first great net was made for the herring fishery. In 1569 Spanish forces entered the town; but in 1572 it cast in its lot with the states of the Nether lands. Among the celebrities of Hoorn are William Schouten, who discovered in 1616 the passage round Cape Horn, or Hoorn, as he named it in honour of his birthplace ; and Abel Janszoon Tasman, whose fame is associated with Tasmania. Hoorn is distinguished for the beauty of its numerous gabled houses of the 16th and I7th centuries. Many of these are decorated with inscriptions and bas-reliefs, some of which commemorate the battle on the Zuider Zee in 1573. The Gothic bastion tower overlooking the harbour was built in 1532; the East gate not later than 1578. Among the public buildings are the St. John's hospital (1563), now used for military purposes ; the old mint ; the hospital for aged men and women (beginning of 17th century) ; the weigh-house (1609) ; the town hall, in which the states of West Friesland formerly met ; and the old court-house, which dates from the beginning of the 17th century, though parts of it are older. There is a considerable trade with other parts of the Netherlands, especially in cheese and cattle. The small industries include gold and silver work, to bacco factories, sawmills and some boat-building yards, a con siderable number of vessels being engaged in the Zuider Zee fisheries.