Weesp (Nederland)

Weesp is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It had a population of in.

Weesp lies next to the rivers de Vecht and Smal Weesp and also next to the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. It is in an area called the "Vechtstreek". It is only 3 km from the end of the Amsterdam metro, but the wide Amsterdam-Rhine Canal keeps it geographically separate. The town is surrounded by open grassland.

Economy

The most famed product of Weesp is Van Houten chocolate. Before cocoa production, the local economy has been based on beer breweries, jenever distilleries, production of Weesper porselein, and trade, due to its location on a branch point of waterways. In the 21st century, the economy is very diverse. There were large facilities of Solvay Pharmaceuticals, until February 2010 when Abbott Laboratories of North Chicago, IL, USA acquired Solvay Pharmaceuticals. At this site there is a chemical plant which manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredient for Abbott brands Duphalac and Duphaston and a biologic plant which manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredient for Abbott's flu vaccine Influvac. The local specialty is the Weesper Mop cookie, which is based on mashed almond.