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Alkmaar
Interesting places in Alkmaar:Alkmaar's cheese market is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. The cheese market traditionally takes place every Friday morning between April and October. It is one of only four traditional Dutch cheese markets still in existence. The traditional fare of this cheese market are those cheeses made in the local area, as opposed to the well-known brands of Dutch cheeses, i.e. Edam cheese and Gouda cheese. It is not actually possible to buy cheese at the market itself, which is really only a demonstration of how this merchants' market operated in times gone by. However, the show, which takes place in front of the medieval weighing house, is surrounded by many specialized stalls where it is possible to buy all kinds of cheese (and non-cheese) related products.
The old city of Alkmaar is approximately an oval, south-east of the station. It is about one kilometer from east to west, so everything is within walking distance. Shops and public buildings are concentrated in the western part, nearest the station, the east and south are residential. There is one shopping centre just outside the old city, Noorderarcade, accessible by footbridge across the North Holland Canal. The old city contains most of the historic buildings: all descriptions are from the city website . (It has a clickable map of historical buildings in the old center: Dutch text, with one or two images of each item).
From the station: turn left as you leave the station, along Stationsweg. Turn right along Scharlo, cross the bridge over the Singelgracht (the old moat), and you are in the old city. The bridge is 5-10 minutes walk from the station.
The west side
The bridge into the old city is called the Bergerbrug, the Bergen bridge; this is the old route to Bergen. The city gate here (Bergerpoort) was demolished in the 19th century. On the corner just after the bridge, at Zevenhuizen 13-23, is the . A is an almshouse, especially from before 1850, often built around an enclosed courtyard. They were funded by legacies of wealthy citizens and usually bore their names. This one was funded by a legacy of Pieter Claez Paling and Josina van Foreest, around 1540: their family coats of arms are above the door. Originally only Catholic women could live here: Protestants were admitted from 1670, but lived separately. With 19th-century additions, the hofje now forms a block around an enclosed garden.
Most of the moat around the old city has survived, its present extent dates from about 1590. On the north side it is now the Noordhollands kanaal, a shipping route, and the quayside is a busy road. On the west and south, the old bastions are planted with trees, and there is a footpath along the waters edge. A small section of the old city (around Heiligland) was cut off when the Noordhollands kanaal was built (in 1824).
The Clarissenbolwerk is the best preserved section along the old moat. The footpath passes an arched door leading to a vault: this is the former gunpowder magazine, converted to an around 1850. (The ice was cut from the moat in winter, and used to cool the vault until the summer). The vault is now home to Alkmaar's bats. The footpath also passes a small water gate, Lamoraalsluis: boats entered the small harbour here, Scheteldoekshaven, which connects to the Lindegracht and the Oude Gracht. The curving street Geest was also a canal, until 1899. The many breweries in Alkmaar were concentrated on the Lindegracht, when the harbour was still in use. Small canals linked Alkmaar to Egmond and to Bergen.
- At Kanisstraat 1, on the corner with Geest, is one of the oldest surviving houses in Alkmaar, restored in the 19th century. (The original settlement of Alkmaar had only wooden houses: brick and stone houses were gradually made compulsory in medieval towns, because of the repeated fires).
- Across the Singelgracht, at the end of the footbridge, is the St Joseph's Church, Nassaulaan 2. It is a typical example of the , built in the Netherlands from the mid 19th century until the First World War. This one was consecrated in 1910, and was designed by the office of Margry and associates, followers of the neo-gothic specialist and Rijksmuseum architect P.J.H. Cuypers. Cuypers himself designed the Catholic Sint Laurentiuskerk at Verdronkenoord 78. The Margry churches are described and illustrated at .
At the south end of the Clarissenbolwek is the only windmill in the center, the 'Molen van Piet'. It is informally named after the family Piet, who own and run it. Windmills were often placed on the bastions and ramparts of the city walls around Dutch cities, so that they could catch more wind. In Alkmaar, there were ten windmills on the walls, and one was built here in 1605. The present windmill, a grain mill, was built in 1769.
Laurenskerk and Langestraat
The old city has two main squares: the one nearest the station is the Canadaplein, on the north side of Alkmaar's main church, the Sint Laurenskerk. Also known as the Grote Kerk, it was built between 1470 and 1520, at the highest point on the sand ridge. The late-gothic church is built in Brabant Gothic style: it contains the early-Renaissance tomb of Floris V, Count of Holland (1254 -1296). The church is open daily in summer, but it is now mainly used for conferences, receptions, and concerts. The Canadaplein is enclosed by the new city library and museum, and the theater / cultural centre De Vest.
- The Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar is a good regional museum, covering the history of Alkmaar and the region, especially the 16th and 17th century, and the growth of modern Alkmaar, with paintings from both periods. Open Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 5 pm, Saturday, Sunday and holidays 1 pm - 5 pm. Closed Mondays, entrance € 4 for adults, under 18 free. Website .
- Opposite the Laurenskerk, at St. Laurensstraat 1-3, is , a neo-mediaeval insurance office completed in 1931. The architect, A. J. Kropholler was a Catholic traditionalist who designed insurance offices and churches. His traditionalism was his downfall: he was accused of collaboration with Nazi ideology during the German occupation, and could only work with difficulty after 1945.
The is the Langestraat, which starts at the Sint Laurenskerk, and ends just south of the Waagplein. Halfway along the street is the late-gothic Stadhuis or Town Hall, built in 1509 - 1520. The building and the tower were restored in 1911-1913, and the present facade is in fact a copy of the original. The extension on the corner with Schoutenstraat, was rebuilt in 1694 in classicist style. The door displays the coats of arms of former mayors, and allegorical figures of Prudence and Justice. The hall contains two monochrome allegorical paintings (ca. 1694) by Romeyn de Hooghe.
At Langestraat 93 is a patrician house from the same period as Huize Egmont (below), the Moriaanshoofd. Built in 1748, it is now used as part of the Town Hall. The name is from an earlier tavern on the site and means "The Moor's Head". Above the entrance is a bay window, topped by a polychrome sculpture. The interior has a hall in Italian marble, and stucco walls and ceilings.
At Langestraat 114 is Huize Egmont, a house with decorated sandstone facade, built in 1742 in Louis XIV style for Carel de Dieu, mayor of Alkmaar. Impress you friends by pointing out the alternation of grooved triglyphs and plain metopes on the cornice. Refer them to for the origin of triglyphs and metopes. The architect of Huize Egmont was Jean Coulon from Amsterdam, the son of a Huguenot refugee, and the pioneer of the Louis XIV style in the Netherlands. The sculptors Asmus Frauen (Amsterdam) and Willem Straetmans (Alkmaar) worked on the interior, and collaborated again in the reconstruction of the Kapelkerk. Coulon was the architect of Herengracht 539 in Amsterdam, which has many examples of this style.
North of the Langestraat, and parallel to it, is the Gedempte Nieuwesloot, meaning the 'filled-in new ditch'. Halfway along the street is the Hof van Sonoy, which is also a street name.
- The Hof van Sonoy is a larger version of a hofje, incorporating part of the former convent of Maria Magdalena. During the Siege of Alkmaar, the convent was used to house those displaced by new defensive works. After the siege, it was sold to Diederik (Dietrich) Sonoy. The notorious Sonoy was a nobleman from Kalkar, in the Duchy of Cleves , who choose the side of William of Orange in the conflict with the Spanish court. He was appointed governor of 'Holland's Northern Quarter', the region around Alkmaar, and played an important role in defeating the Siege of Alkmaar. However, he was not a 'liberator': like some other leaders of the revolt, he was a religious fanatic. He burnt the Abbey of Egmond, and persecuted, tortured, and and killed Catholics. (Mutual resentment among Catholics and Protestants played an important role in Dutch social history: the issue was not fully resolved until the mid-20th-century). The next owner, Willem van Bardes, added the tower and the gate, carrying his coat of arms (early 17th century). In 1743 the building was acquired by the Reformed Church, who used it as to house the needy elderly. Part of the Hof van Sonoy is now a restaurant.
Beside the Hof van Sonoy is the , at Lombardsteeg 23. This is another almshouse, for eight elderly men - hence the name (House of Eight). Its official name is the Provenhuis van Johan van Nordingen, founded with Nordingen's legacy in 1657. The figures on the Renaissance facade, and the wood carvings in the hall, indicate its function as a hospice for men. The windows of the eight rooms are visible on the Veerstraat and Lombardsteeg side. On the Nieuwesloot side is the regents chamber, and the house of the supervisor. Inside, a covered passage encloses a garden.
Further north, parallel to Gedempte Nieuwesloot, is the Koningsweg. The first stone for the was laid in August 1598. The side walls and the ceilings are original, the wooden frame of the house (Scandinavian oak) has been reconstructed. The present bell gable facade dates from 1787, enlarged 1925. The house had a sunken bed alcove, and its own well and cistern at the rear.
Around the Waag
The main market square is the Waagplein, with the most photogenic building of Alkmaar, the Waag or weighing-house. It forms the backdrop for most postcards of the Alkmaar cheese market. The Waag now houses the Kaasmuseum (Cheese Museum). The building was originally a chapel, built around 1390, and converted to a municipal weigh-house in 1582.
- The famous cheese market is no longer a real market, but a show for tourists. Cheese is no longer traded among cheese-traders, but produced and distributed from factories, like most food products. The replica cheese market, with cheese porters in traditional costumes, is held every Friday morning in spring and summer, from 10.00 to 12.30.
- The Cheese Museum is open from 27 March to 4 November, from 10.00 to 16.00, open one hour earlier on Friday, closed Sunday, entrance € 2,50.
- The city's tourist office or VVV is located in the ground floor of the Waag, and forms the entrance to the Cheese Museum. VVV, Waagplein 2, 1811 JP Alkmaar. Tel. 072 - 5114284, fax 072 - 5117513, e-mail: info@vvvalkmaar.nl.
Just north of the Waagplein is the national beer museum, Biermuseum de Boom, housed in a 17th-century brewery at Houttil 2. This was one of the largest breweries in Alkmaar. Beer was drunk in huge quantities in medieval towns, which rarely had a safe supply of drinking water. Alkmaar brewers brought clean water in barrels, from streams or ponds in the dunes: at the quayside they were lifted by a special crane. Open Tuesday to Friday 12.00 - 17.00, Saturday and Sunday 13.00 - 16.00, during the cheese market 10.00 - 17.00. The bar serves 86 kinds of beer. Entrance € 3.50, children € 1.75. Museum website: .
South of the Waagplein is the Vismarkt or fish market, at the corner of Mient and Verdronkenoord. Until the 19th century, most food and agricultural products were traded on street markets. The larger the town, the more specialized street markets it had. The names of these markets survive as street names in old European cities: for instance, Haymarket / Heumarkt / Hooimarkt. has a Kalvermarkt, Varkenmarkt, and a Dagelijkse Groenmarkt - calves market, pigs market, and daily vegetable market. Alkmaar also has a Paardenmarkt (horse market) and a Turfmarkt: turf was the main domestic fuel until about 1870.
- The simple covered were first built in the 16th century, and renovated around 1755. In the 19th century. Fish were sold here until 1998. The columns (first wood, later stone) were replaced with cast-iron pillars. The fish were sold on the stone tables, usually after being kept in baskets in the canal behind the stall. The door gave access to the canal, which was also to transport the fish: similar fish stalls in other old towns also back onto a canal. The pomp dates from 1785, and was renewed in 1882. Another typical feature of these fish stalls are the copper grilles on the drains: the salt (used to preserve fish) would corrode iron grilles.
Oude Gracht
The longest canal in the old city is the Oude Gracht, with its continuation the Lindegracht. On this relatively wide canal, parallel to the Langestraat, are several historic houses.
At Ritsevoort 2, on the corner with Oude Gracht, is the Hofje van Splinter. This hofje was founded in 1646, with a legacy from Margaretha Splinter. It was rebuilt after her death as a hofje for eight unmarried ladies, in needy circumstances but of good family. The Splinter coat of arms is on the facade. The unmarked door beside the lawyers office leads to a small covered passage, along the eight tiny houses. The hofje is private, but the door is often open for visitors, on the expectation they will visit quietly.
At Oudegracht 247 is , an originally 17th-century house, renovated in the 18th century. The facade is in neo-classical style: the transom window (above the door) depicts a double coat of arms. The marble-floored hall leads to the main garden room, with stucco ceiling and mantelpiece.
At Oudegracht 239-241 are two photogenic : the house with the corbel gable has a stone indicating the date, 1623. The frieze includes two lion masks, the other house has two canons and two ships on the facade. The stone (now polychrome) possibly refers to the Alkmaar sea-captain who had the house built.
- Just off the canal, in the Hofstraat (nr 15), is the former synagogue - now used as a Baptist church. Jews were officially admitted to Alkmaar in 1604, the building was bought in 1802, expanded, and converted to a synagogue. Behind it was a school, and there was a house for the rabbi and a 'mikwe' (ritual bath). The dates on the facade are the Jewish-calender dates of renovation, 1826 en 1844. The Alkmaar Jews were arrested in March 1942, and almost all of them were murdered. The building stood derelict until the Baptists bought it in 1952, there are now plans to re-convert it to a synagogue and Jewish centre.
At Oudegracht 187 is the , built in 1692. The exterior is simple: the interior has a wooden barrel vault with raised centre section, and a decorated porch. The 1754 organ has rococo carvings: the swan on the organ is a symbol of Luther, and of the Lutheran church.
At Oudegracht 45-91 is a large hofje, the Wildemanshofje. This one was founded by Gerrit Florisz. Wildeman - built in in 1717, rebuilt in 1849. To honour the founder, there is a statue of a Wild Man with club, in the decorated porch. The Wild Man - a figure from mediaeval and early-modern European mythology - was also included in the Wildeman coat of arms, a tradition also in Germany. The other allegorical figures represent Age and Poverty, the statue is by the Alkmaar sculptor Jacob van der Beek: there is a second statue in the symmetrical enclosed garden. The hofje housed 24 elderly women.
At the corner with Keetgracht is the , or former municipal workshop (literally 'city carpenters wharf'). Most Dutch cities had similar workshops and yards: this one started as a shed around 1600, and was considerably expanded in 1726. The corbel in the facade indicates that a second storey has been added.
Verdronken Oord
Verdronken Oord ('drowned place') is the second main canal of Alkmaar. In the Kapelsteeg, just off the canal, is the second church of late mediaeval Alkmaar, the Kapelkerk. It was first built between 1500 and 1540, in the Brabant gothic style. The church was reconstructed in Dutch classicist style in 1707: a transept and domed spire were added. It was rebuilt again (after a fire) in 1762. When the church was built, the Laat was a canal, so the entrance is in an alley.
The exterior has 'speklagen', alternating layers of stone and brick, a feature of late Gothic architecture. In the interior is a closed bench for the magistrates (council) of the city, in Louis XIV style (1707). A second pair of benches was added in 1762, for army officers, regents of almshouses, and similar notables. The 1762 rebuilding included a rococo chancel with screen and an organ-case, by the sculptors Asmus Frauen and Willem Straetmans, who also worked on Huize Egmont (Langestraat 114). The organ itself is by Christian Müller. The present stained-glass windows date from much later, 1920-1940. There is detailed description (in Dutch, with images of the interior) at the church website .
At Verdronkenoord 78 is the Catholic Sint Laurentiuskerk: like the Laurenskerk it is dedicated to Saint Lawrence , an early Christian martyr who was roasted to death. Duplicate churches are common in the Netherlands: the older Laurenskerk is of course Protestant since the Reformation. This Catholic version was built in neo-gothic style in 1859-1861, and was an early work by the most prominent Dutch neo-gothic architect, Pierre Cuypers. The interior is also neo-gothic, with marlstone reliefs, and a fresco depicting the Blood Miracle of Alkmaar (1429). This was one of the many mediaeval miracle stories associated with the Catholic belief in the transformation of of bread and wine into the Body of Christ, transubstantiation. The piece of cloth with three drops of 'blood' is still kept in this church, and still revered by traditionalist Catholics.
At Verdronkenoord 45 is a substantial 17th century warehouse with a decorated gable, named De Vigilantie (Vigilance). The gable has a split arch with vase, two oval cartouches and other floral decorations. The facade is in the style of the Amsterdam architect Philip Vingboons, compare the house at Rokin 145 or the Cromhout houses in Amsterdam.
Luttik Oudorp
The third main canal in the old city is Luttik Oudorp. On the corner with Appelsteeg is the only surviving wooden-fronted house in Alkmaar, Het huis met de kogel. The 'house with the cannonball' gets its name from the fact that it was struck by a Spanish cannonball, during the Siege of Alkmaar in 1573. There is still a cannonball on the facade as a reminder. The occupants, the Calvinist preacher Jan Arendsz and his family, were unharmed.
Across the bridge from the cannonball house is a shorter canal, the photogenic Kooltuin, with a quay on one side only (the other houses back onto the water). The parallel narrow street, Achterdam, (at the front of these houses) forms the entire red light district of Alkmaar. Achterdam is one of four streets around a rectangular block. Their names indicate it is a unit, in fact a late 15th-century land reclamation: Dijk, Voordam, Achterdam, Zijdam - dike, front dam, rear dam and side dam.
The canals in the old cities of Holland had an economic function: they were a vital means of transport. Warehouses and the few industries were located on the quayside. Goods were unloaded from barges, and often hoisted into the upper stories. At Luttik Oudorp 81 is a typical large warehouse with a projecting beam for the hoist, De Korenschoof ('The Wheatsheaf'). The warehouse has double access doors on four stories, and next to them arched windows (originally with shutters in place of glass). The sandstone blocks alongside the door carried the original heavy hinges. The upper storey (with the three arched windows) is the hoist floor, the hoist wheel survives. The hoist could be worked from any of the floors below.
In the long narrow street Fnidsen, parallel to Luttik Oudorp, is a simple Remonstrant church (Fnidsen 35-39). This is a schuilkerk, or 'hidden church'. After the Reformation, the Dutch Reformed Church was the only legal religion. As time went on, Catholics and non-conformist Protestant sects, were allowed to practice their religion, but only out of public view. Chapels inside private houses were tolerated, and later small churches, so long as they did not look like churches. This one was built in 1658, to replace a secret meeting place in a mill. The gate with the two flanking houses was built later, in 1728. The wrought iron above the door incorporates the letters RK (Remonstrantse Kerk), the interior has a 17th-century chancel with 18th-century baptistery screen, and copper chandeliers from the same periods, and a deal floor (traditionally covered with sand).
The northern side
On the northern side of the old city, almost all traces of the city wall have gone. The moat was enlarged in 1824 to become the Noordhollands kanaal, and the canal quayside was later used as a harbour. The quayside road (Kanaalkade) is now the main road around the city centre, so it is unpleasantly busy.
At the beginning of Kanaalkade there is a 'peninsula' in the canal, with the new municipal offices (Stadskantoor, 2001) and the 1980's Alkmaar police station. (The city website has an iPix panorama photo, taken from the opposite bank: ).
Opposite the police station is a purpose-built cheese warehouse, built for the North Holland Cooperative Dairy Export Association in 1919, and later used by the Eyssen company. The style is a simplified late Jugendstil, by the Frisian architect Zytse Feddema, who designed several other cheese warehouses. The offices were on the ground floor, the cheeses were stored above. The small windows are typical of cheese warehouses: they are intended for ventilation, not for light. The building is now in temporary use as artists studios.
Further along Kanaalkade is a footbridge, linking the old city to the redeveloped northern bank, with apartments and a shopping centre on a former industrial area. (Alkmaars factories are concentrated along the shipping canal). After the next bridge (Friesebrug), there is a small 19th-century park, Victoriepark, with a statue of Alcmaria Victrix by F. Stracké (1873). The winged figure commemorates the victory in the Siege of Alkmaar, and is an informal symbol of Alkmaar - several local sports teams are named 'Alcmaria Victrix'. The barely noticeable brick wall along Wageweg, at the edge of the park, is part of the original city wall.
The Bierkade, or 'beer quay', forms the eastern edge of the centre. At Bierkade 10 is the , the museum for ovens, stoves, hearths, and cooking ranges, a small museum is run by volunteers, with limited opening times.
- Kachelmuseum, Bierkade 10, 1811 NJ Alkmaar. Tel. 072-5159418. Open April to September, Friday to Sunday, 12.00 - 16.00, the rest of the year only on Sunday, 12.00 - 16.00. Entrance € 1,50, children under 12 free. The building itself was formerly a brewery, and before that a prominent house. The facade dates from 1716, and was probably built for the mayor of Alkmaar, Adriaen Sevenhuyzen Sijmonz.
At Bierkade 23 is the Accijnstoren or Excise Tower, built 1622. This quayside was formerly the enclosed harbour of Alkmaar, and as in much of Europe, the city had its own import duties. (The abolition of internal tolls and excise duties was a prominent demand of 19th-century liberalism). The Excise Tower was, despite its form, essentially an office building. The square brick tower has stone bands, and is capped by a balconied wooden bell tower (for a tocsin, or alarm bell). The tower is not on its original site: it was built closer to the houses, Because the narrow quay was an obstacle for the increasing motor traffic, the entire tower was moved outwards in 1924, by sliding it on rails.
Outside the centre
A small ferry for pedestrians and cyclists crosses the Noordhollands kanaal from the Bierkade. On the other side is part of the old city which was reclaimed in 1607, and later cut off by the canal in 1824. The name of the area, Veneetse, like the street name Fnidsen in the centre, is a corruption of Venezia / Venice. At Heiligland 7 is a former butchers shop, a 19th-century shop-front complete with wooden awning.
From here you can walk north to - once a separate village, now surrounded by modern housing (it was annexed to Alkmaar in 1972). It is located on the old road north (Herenweg): on the way to the next village (Sint Pancras), the old road crosses the Hoornsevaart, the old canal to . Along the banks of the Hoornsevaart are four of the six surviving windmills of Oudorp. Originally there were six windmills on the dike here, built from 1627 to 1630, to drain the adjoining polder. One burnt down in 1688, and one was dismantled, to be rebuilt at the Netherlands Open-Air Museum in . While it was there in storage, during the Second World War, it was destroyed by a British bomb.
- The history of all Alkmaar's windmills is documented at the city planning department website, see also the clickable map of all 26 windmills in and around Alkmaar , from the Molenstichting Alkmaar en omstreken (Alkmaar and region Windmill Foundation).
From Oudorp you can walk back along the (monks' way). This is one of the oldest roads in the region, originally built under Count Floris V, around 1270.
- Along the road there were two castles, Middelburg (or Middelburcht), and Nieuwburg (or Nieuwburcht). The ground plan of Nieuwburg castle is now indicated by brick paths (in the park between the road and the Hoornsevaart canal, see the roadside map). All that is left of the other castle is a slight rise in a field (beside the road, with sign). The castles were built for defence against the Frisians: in the early Middle Ages Holland and Friesland were still joined by land. They were separated as the Zuider Zee grew in the 12th and 13th centuries. The area east of Alkmaar, towards Hoorn and Enkhuizen, is still known as West Friesland.
At the end of the Munnikenweg is another windmill, a functioning grain windmill called 't Roode Hert - moved here from its original location in . The Friese weg (Frisian way, the old road to Friesland) takes you back to the city centre, across the Friese brug (Frisia bridge).
- 't Roode Hert has a shop, where you can buy the milled eco-flour, pasta, and nuts. Open Monday afternoon, and Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00 to 16.30, 16.00 on Saturday. The mill is currently a 'work project' for the mentally handicapped.
Until 1870 Alkmaar remained within the old walls, apart from a few houses along the road to the station: see the 1865 map at the city website. The small 19th-century additions to the city are along the moat itself, (Geestersingel and Kennemersingel), or just beyond it, such as the small Emmakwartier, a few 19th-century streets along the Emmastraat, and the Spoorbuurt (railway quarter), between the station and the moat. Early 20th-century development was just beyond those areas, such as the Nassaukwartier around the Nassauplein, and the Bloemwijk, on the other side of Westerweg. The main growth of Alkmaar came after the Second World War, and especially after 1972, when it was officially designated for expansion. The architectural history of all city neighbourhoods is documented by the Alkmaar planning department (Dutch text, with images of typical building style per neighbourhood).
South of the Nassaukwartier is the Alkmaarderhout, a city park since 1607, redesigned by L. A. Springer, from 1902 onwards. The neighbourhood is now dominated by the regional hospital, Medisch Centrum Alkmaar, which originated in the former Cadet School (1893, converted 1929). Just south of the park is the 1948 stadium of , the city's football team (moving to a new stadium in 2007), website .
The old main road south, passing the Alkmaarderhout, is the Kennemerstraatweg. It used to run through the villages (Heiloo, Limmen, Castricum) towards Haarlem, but the present provincial highway N203 turns toward Zaandam and bypasses the old village streets.
- At nr. 11 is Huize Tesselschade, named after Maria Tesselschade Roemer Visscher (1594-1649) who married a sea-captain from Alkmaar (it is not entirely certain that she lived in this house). Maria Tesselschade was the most prominent female poet of the Netherlands Golden Age, but is now remembered mainly for her name. Her merchant father had been ruined shortly before her birth, when his ships were sunk in a storm off (Tessel), so he named the baby 'Texel-losses'. The present front of the house dates from around 1800, the wooden carvings depict fishing gear.
West of the old city, Alkmaar station is located just north of the Bergerweg, the relocated road to Bergen. The station dates from 1864, but there is very little left of its original glory . Near the station is a 28 meter built in 1900, architect A. Holmberg de Beckfelt. Like other Dutch towns near the coast, Alkmaar began to pipe drinking water from the dunes in the late 19th century. In 1886 about 600 houses were connected, the poor were still dependent on water sold from municipal taps on the streets. In 1889, the schools were connected so that the children could drink clean water. Water remained scarce, and the city sold additional water from municipal rainwater cisterns, fed from the roof of larger buildings.
- The purpose of a water tower is to maintain the pressure in the network of pipes: the pressure reservoir must be higher than the highest tap in the system. This one has a steel tank for 800 000 litres. In many other countries the reservoir was located on a hill, but in the flat regions a tower is necessary. Water towers became a characteristic feature of Dutch towns and cities, and there are also isolated towers in rural areas. Technological change made them redundant, pumps are now used to maintain pressure. The Alkmaar tower is now used as artists studios.
North of the city centre, the continues north, to the port of . It was built in 1824, for sailing ships with tall masts, and it had no fixed bridges. In rural areas, it was crossed only by ferries and floating bridges. One of these has survived just north of Alkmaar, the Koedijk floating bridge, Koedijker Vlotbrug. The wooden bridge has sections that slide under each other, to clear the channel. The best way to reach it is along the canal: the west bank is the main road (Helderseweg), cyclists should use the cycle paths and minor roads on the east bank. From the floating bridge, you can cycle on to Bergen, along the Kogendijk. Beside the floating bridge is a reconstructed windmill, the Sluismolen: it was destroyed by arson in 2001, see the images of its reconstruction at the Alkmaar Windmill Foundation website.
Dunes and beaches
The dune reserves to the west are easily accessible from Alkmaar by bicycle. You can also walk from , the largest of the villages alongside the dunes. It was known as an 'artists village' since around 1900, is now primarily an upper-income suburb of Alkmaar, with two museums and an art centre. Bergen has a good bus service from Alkmaar (bus 160, every 15 minutes). A few kilometres further north are the villages of Schoorl and Groet, also at the edge of the dunes. They are served by bus 151 from Alkmaar, every 30 minutes.
West of Schoorl, the 'Schoorlse Duinen' are a dune nature reserve open to the public, run by the official forest agency Staatsbosbeheer. The forest was originally planted in the 19th century - not for tourists, but to prevent the dunes burying the villages. The reserve covers 1900 hectares, accessible on foot and by bike at several points. There is also a visitors centre, Bezoekerscentrum Het Zandspoor, Oorsprongweg 1, 1871 HA Schoorl, with a 'play forest' for children. Access to this reserve is free. However, the dunes and forest nearest Bergen are controlled by the Provincial Water Company PWN, the reserve is called the 'Noordhollands Duinreservaat'. Here you need a day ticket, € 1,20 from machines at the main entrances. The PWN reserve is cut by the road to Bergen aan Zee: the Schoorlse Duinen reserve is wilder and more forested.
There are three villages called Egmond. The oldest is Inner or Inland Egmond, Egmond-Binnen, the site of the Abbey of Egmond, the oldest in the Netherlands. The present abbey is a modern re-foundation, only its location is authentic. The original abbey was founded around 950 by Dirk I, the first (perhaps second) Count of Holland. It was originally a nunnery: Count Dirk II replaced the nuns by monks. The abbey became a cultural and religious centre for the County of Holland, in the early Middle Ages. The fishing village of Egmond aan Zee was founded in 977, and was later controlled by the abbey. The (Catholic) abbey was destroyed during the (Protestant) Dutch Revolt, by the troops of Diederik Sonoy. The ruins survived until about 1800.
- The present Benedictine abbey was built in the mid-1930's, another religious building (partly) designed by the traditionalist architect Kropholler. It is named after Saint Adelbert, an early missionary to the region.
- Monasteries typically derive income from craft work by the monks. In this case, the abbey makes candles: it is the only maker of religious candles in the country. There is a candle shop - Abdijkaarsen, Vennewatersweg 27, 1935 AR Egmond-Binnen. Tel: 072-506 2786, fax: 072-506 6254, e-mail : abdij@abdijkaarsen.nl. Open Monday 13:00-16:30, Tuesday to Friday 10:30-16:30, Saturday 10:30-16:00. Website:
The village of (Egmond-at-the Manor), grew around the manor of the local nobles. Later a substantial castle was built: it was destroyed three times, the last time in 1573, also by Diederik Sonoy. The surviving ruins were demolished in the early 19th century, but the were re-excavated in the 1930's, and are now visible in a park. The castle chapel (Slotkapel, originally 1229) survives.
- The two inland Egmonds lie amid the bulb fields at the edge of the dunes. The strip with bulb farms extends to Castricum and Heemskerk. The season is from late March to late May.
Egmond aan den Hoef is served by bus 165 from Alkmaar station, every 30 minutes. Egmond-Binnen has an irregular bus service, but is within walking distance of Egmond aan den Hoef. It also has a limited bus service to Heiloo station, every 90 minutes, six trips per day. By far the easiest way to see all three villages is to cycle.
On the coast there are two seaside villages. The larger is easily accessible by bus 165 from Alkmaar, every 30 minutes. has a limited bus service from Bergen itself (line 407), connecting with the bus from Alkmaar. There are extra buses on summer weekends (line 262). The sand beach is 25 km long, from Camperduin to the pier at IJmuiden. The dunes around (and south of) Egmond aan Zee are also part of the Noordhollands Duinreservaat.
- Sea Aquarium Bergen aan Zee, van der Wijckplein 16, 1865 AP Bergen aan Zee. Open April - September 10.00 - 18.00, October - March 11.00 - 17.00. Entrance € 7,50, children under 13 € 5,50. Website: .
The dunes and beach end at Camperduin, a hamlet on the edge of Groet. The gap in the dune line is a weak point in the sea defences, and it has been closed off by a high dike, coated with asphalt on the seaward side, the Hondsbossche Zeewering. You can cycle on the asphalt at the foot of the dike, and long-distance cycle route LF1 follows this unusual path. Cycling here would be suicidal in a storm: the dike is designed to break waves, by allowing them to roll up the asphalt slope. The wind would knock you off your bike anyway, but fortunately there is a parallel road on the landward side. The present dike is a strengthened version of a 1793 dike, the crest is 11.5 metres above mean sea level. The dike ends 5 km north, at Petten, where the dunes and beach resume, extending to Den Helder. (This part of the coastline has only continuous since the 18th century. In the Middle Ages, the peninsula ended at Petten, and Den Helder was then an island).
Inland from Alkmaar
Just 4 km south of central Alkmaar is Heiloo, a suburbanised village on the railway line to Haarlem and Amsterdam. The village is another old settlement on a sand ridge, and the church is associated with the earliest Christian missionaries in the region, led by the monk Willibrord. Beside the church is a holy well which bears his name, one of several in the region. However the oldest church was destroyed in 1573, again by the troops of Diederik Sonoy, and the present church dates from around 1650. The rest of the village has some quiet rustic streets, and not much else. On the local internet forum, a user posted this question on 'Backpackers in Heiloo' in February 2006: "I have friends coming from Australia in a few weeks and we can't go to the beach, and I wonder if there's anything to do here." To which another user replied: "Indeed there's nothing to do here. Heiloo is meant for living in, and not for doing anything interesting."
North of Alkmaar is Broek op Langedijk, a long village built on a dike in the polders of West Friesland (bus 155 from Alkmaar station). Over the centuries the village developed a horticultural tradition adapted to the landscape. All the small fields were islands, and everything went by boat. Many of the farmhouses were also only accessible by boat. The waterborne specialisation reached its peak with the construction in 1912 of a special auction house, the Broeker Veiling. A canal runs through the auction hall, and the produce was floated in on a boat, a punt. The Broeker Veiling introduced the system known as a Dutch auction, now standard for agricultural produce auctions. Prices are counted down, and the first to stop the count is the buyer. From the 1930's, an electric clock displayed the prices, and each wholesaler could stop it, so becoming the buyer. (Those who stop it too soon pay too much, those who hesitate get nothing).
The original island field landscape almost disappeared, during the systematic rationalisation of Netherlands agriculture which followed the Second World War. A small part, the Oosterdel, survives to the east of the village. Other islands were built over for suburban housing. Most of it was simply drained, and ploughed into a level modern polder - now filled with ugly suburban and agro-industrial development.
- The Broeker Veiling is now a museum illustrating the traditional agriculture of the area, and the auction system. By now it is surrounded by suburban development, and the relationship with the landscape is no longer visible. Museum Broeker Veiling, Museumweg 2, 1721 BW Broek op Langedijk. Open from Easter Sunday to October, Monday to Friday 10.00-17.00, hours. Saturday and Sunday 11.00-17.00 hours. No fixed times for tours, depends on the number waiting. Entrance € 6, with boat trip € 9,55; children € 3,50 and € 5,25. Tel. 0226 - 313807, fax 0226 - 318304, e-mail: broeker@xs4all.nl. Website:
- The island fields can be seen by canoe. You can rent canoes at Hotel Café Marktzicht, Dorpsstraat 95, Broek op Langedijk (behind the Museum Broeker Veiling). Tel. 0226-313831.
To the east of Alkmaar is a landscape of old polders and reclaimed lakes, with about 15 surviving windmills. The best way to see it is on a bike, but several windmills are clustered around the small village of Schermerhorn, which is served by the Alkmaar - bus lines 121 and 127, every 30 minutes. Schermerhorn is located between two former lakes, De Schermer (reclaimed in 1635) and De Beemster (reclaimed in 1612). Since 1999, De Beemster is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The UNESCO describes it as “a masterpiece of creative planning, in which the ideals of antiquity and the Renaissance were applied to the design of a reclaimed landscape.” Between the two lake-floor polders are remnants of the the older marsh landscape. Polder Mijzen (just north of Schermerhorn) is a remnant of the peat bogs which once covered the region, traditionally used as grassland. It is designated as a provincial geological monument.
Top photos chosen by u all:
Cityhall tower
Made by christomart1704
The tower of the cityhall of Alkmaar with a view at the main shoppingstreet. (It's very quiet 'cause I took this pics on a sunday.)
Cityhall entrance
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The entrance of the cityhall of Alkmaar.
Cityhall overview
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View at almost the complete cityhall.
Light through trees
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Just look at it, it's nice, isn't it?
Mushrooms at tree 2
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Since 1939, Alkmaar has been the only place in the Netherlands to maintain the cheese market tradition. Every year, from mid-April to mid-September
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Waagtoren in Alkmaar by night - NOKIA N95...waagplein waagtoren alkmaar night vieuw kaasmarkt cheese
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Less heavier, at the begin you hear only a thunder, bt at the end it started heavy raining!...Thunderstorm Alkmaar Noodweer
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Horse and wagons parade at Alkmaar ontzet 2006....alkmaar ontzet horses parade
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Need for Speed...powerboat JCI
Thunderstorm Alkmaar 5 July 2007 (3)
you hear is the rain and the wind.. you'll hear a big thunder at the end ;-)...Thunderstorm Alkmaar Noodweer
Ufo Omg alkmaar Lichtjes avond
Ufo?? We Record this with our cellphones. Manny people have seen this because there was a party goin on. It was moving very slow and standing
Thunderstorm Alkmaar 5 July 2007 (2)
another movie.. with heavy Thunder, you'll see a strike!...Thunderstorm Alkmaar Noodweer
2005 March Snow Alkmaar
Mijn film....Snow Alkmaar March 2005
Ontdek je plekje Alkmaar
Ontdek je plekje Alkmaar, de mooiste stad van Noord-Kennemerland....Ontdek je plekje Alkmaar
Driving to Alkmaar
The scenery on our way to Alkmaar from Purmerend....scenery
Alkmaar Cheeze carrier
Alkmaar Cheeze carrier...Holland
Alkmaar kaasmarkt
kaasmarkt alkmaar nederland...kaasmarkt alkmaar nederland waagplein
Thunderstorm Alkmaar 5 July 2007 (4)
Little flash with big thunder...Thunderstorm Alkmaar Noodweer
Thunderstorm Alkmaar 5 July 2007 (5)
A flash and a thunder, you'll be hearing the rain and wind too!...Thunderstorm Alkmaar Noodweer
Nearest places of interest:
| Bergerhof Central Railway Station Prefit bedrijfsfitness Stadskantoor Alkmaar | De Weidt Sint Pancras Huiswaarderbrug Zanegeest |
Popular places:
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Amsterdam Netherlands The Hague Rotterdam |
Utrecht Eindhoven Haarlem Delft |
