From 1865 on, when the construction on the North Sea Canal began, the town of Velsen, which originated in Roman times, was split in two parts. The northern part was known as Wijkeroog. Circa 1920, when municipality Beverwijk was planning to annex its surrounding villages, Velsen renamed Wijkeroog to Velsen-Noord (and Velsen itself to Velsen-Zuid) to indicate clearly that it was part of the municipality.
