Founded in 1300, Hoorn was named for its horn-shaped harbor along the Ijsselmeer, the artificial lake created by the construction of massive dams. Long before the dams, sailors had easy access to the North Sea from here, and this bolstered the success of the Dutch East India Company. A major trader with Asia and the most powerful company in the world, it made Hoorn one of its six home bases. The Dutch navigator Willem Corneliszoon Schouten was born in Hoorn; he is best known as the man who rounded the southern tip of South America in 1616 and named it “Cape Horn” for his birthplace. Brimming with history, the city’s cobblestone streets and age-old cheese warehouses are a delight to explore.