The average length of Texel is 20 km and the average width 8 km. Texel has almost 144,000 inhabitants. The first occupants of Texel were probably during the mid-Stone Age (8000-4500 BC). In 1415, Texel gained a city charter (the entire island). This made it the largest city in the Netherlands. The island of Texel actually comprises two islands: the southern Texel and the more northerly Eierland. The Zanddijk was completed in 1630. This sand dike connected the two islands.
