Alkmaar

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Alkmaar municipality
Flag of the municipality of Alkmaar
flag 		Coat of arms of the municipality of Alkmaar
coat of arms
province North Holland North Holland
mayor Piet Bruinooge ( CDA )
Seat of the municipality Alkmaar
Area
 - land
 - water 		31.2  km 2
29.26 km 2
1.94 km 2
CBS code 0361
Residents 108,582 (Jan 31, 2019)
Population density 3480 inhabitants / km 2
Coordinates 52 ° 38 ′  N , 4 ° 45 ′  E Coordinates: 52 ° 38 ′  N , 4 ° 45 ′  E
Important traffic route N9 N242 N245 N508 N510 N512
prefix 072
Postcodes 1811-1817, 1821-1827, 1829, 1831, 1841-1844, 1846-1847
Website Homepage of Alkmaar
LocatieAlkmaar.png
Template: Infobox location in the Netherlands / maintenance / map

Alkmaar ( listen ? / I ; West Frisian Alkmar , German Alkmar ) is a city in the province of Noord-Holland , Netherlands . It also includes Oudorp in the north and half of the village Koedijk (see also Langedijk ). The population was 108,582 on January 31, 2019. Audio file / audio sample  

geography

Alkmaar is located between the North Sea and the IJsselmeer , about 50 kilometers northwest of Amsterdam . The total area of ​​the municipality is 31.2 km².

Are villages within the parish

  • Koedijk (Koedík)
  • Omval
  • Oudorp (Ouddurp)
  • De Rijp
  • Driehuizen
  • Graft
  • Grootschermer
  • Brand within
  • Noordeinde
  • Oterleek
  • Schermerhorn
  • Star Sea
  • Stompetors
  • West and Oost-Graftdijk
  • Zuidschermer

history

Battle of Alkmaar 1573

In 1254 Alkmaar was the Dutch Count Wilhelm II. The town charter awarded. But as early as the 11th century, a church that belonged to the parish of Heiloo was a settlement of traders and farmers.

The city became the symbol of the Dutch struggle for freedom in 1573 and received its motto: "The Victorious" ( Alcmaria victrix ), which also appears as a coat of arms. When the Spaniards took Haarlem after an arduous struggle during the Eighty Years War , they advanced on Alkmaar and besieged the city. But due to the courage of the defenders of the city, the fatigue of the besiegers and tactical flooding of the surrounding polders, the besiegers had to give up on October 8, 1573. Similar to Leiden , this day is still celebrated every year.

In the early 17th century, Alkmaar suffered from the religious dispute between different Protestant schools.

Alkmaar celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2004.

politics

Distribution of seats in the municipal council

Local election on March 21, 2018
Turnout: 55.34%
 %
20th
10
0
15.3
13.6
13.5
10.5
9.9
9.2
6.0
5.8
5.4
5.2
2.4
1.4
GRANDPA
BAS
SPA
LA
THINK
Gains and losses
compared to 2014
 % p
   6th
   4th
   2
   0
  -2
  -4
  -6
  -8th
-6.8
+3.2
+1.7
-3.4
-0.9
-2.4
+6.0
+0.6
-1.9
+5.2
+0.3
+1.4
GRANDPA
BAS
SPA
LA
THINK

The local elections on March 21, 2018 resulted in the following distribution of seats:

Political party Seats
2006 2010 2014 2018
Onafhankelijke Partij Alkmaar 5 7th 10 6th
GroenLinks 3 4th 4th 6th
VVD 4th 4th 5 6th
PvdA 11 7th 6th 4th
D66 1 4th 4th 4th
CDA 4th 3 5 4th
Matters Alkmaarse seed living - - - 2
SeniorenPartij Alkmaar - - 2 2
Leefbaar Alkmaar 2 3 3 2
PvdD - - - 2
ChristenUnie 1 0 0 1
THINK - - - 0
Democratic Party of Alkmaar - - - 0
Partij voor Iedereen - - - 0
MenS - - 0 -
Progressive Alkmaar - - 0 -
LIJST LEAL - - 0 -
Alkmaarse Polder Partij - - 0 -
SP 5 3 - -
VOLUME - 2 - -
Partij MoederCAO - 0 - -
NMP - 0 - -
Partij voor burger - 0 - -
VSP Alkmaar - 0 - -
OM Alkmaar 1 - - -
total 37 37 39 39

Town twinning

coat of arms

Blazon of the coat of arms: "In red a round silver round tower with a protruding base, inside an open portal with a half-drawn silver portcullis , surrounded by two black windows, another in the tower shaft and a protruding crenellated wreath."

Transport, economy, infrastructure

Attractions

Cheese market

The cheese market

Alkmaar is famous for the cheese market that has been held since 1622 (Dutch: Alkmaarse Kaasmarkt ). This market is held every Friday between Easter and autumn. The spectacle with the “cheese carriers” dressed in white always attracts many onlookers. In 1916, for example, around 300 tons of cheese were sold every market day. The tradition of cheese production has changed considerably to this day, but not primarily the interest of tourists. Every year around 300,000 people visit the Alkmaar cheese market. The cheese market is the only one in the whole of the Netherlands that still maintains the old traditions of selling. From the first Friday in April to the first Friday in September, the cheese market only takes place on Friday mornings. A market day is always a new major event in Alkmaar. First thing in the morning, the entire market square is tidied up and cleaned thoroughly. Then the loaves are piled up in long rows by so-called "setters" one above the other. At 10 a.m. sharp, the bell sounds as the start signal. Then the cheese carriers - often equipped with large wooden frames - run back and forth across the market square. The cheese wheels are extensively tested and offered on them. Haggling is an important part of buying, which is always sealed with a handshake.

The cheese carrier guild

There has been a cheese carrier guild in Alkmaar since 1593. This guild consists of four groups of seven bearers each, who can be recognized by the different colors of their hats. These colors include red, green, blue, and yellow. The cheese father stands above these four groups; this can be recognized by its black stick with the silver knob.

The Dutch Cheese Museum

The Dutch Cheese Museum ( Hollands Kaasmuseum ) is located directly on the market square in the former weighing building ( Waaggebouw ) of the city scales . It describes the history of the production of milk products over the centuries in connection with the associated trade and the living conditions of the rural population. The collection consists, among other things, of historical everyday objects, film material as well as paintings and drawings. The museum building itself is worth a visit. It dates from the 14th century and has largely been preserved in its original form inside and out. Part of the collection is housed under the historic roof structure on the first floor.

The old City Hall

The Municipal Museum

The Alkmaar City Museum ( Stedelijk museum Alkmaar ) has an extraordinary collection of paintings by old masters from the 16th and 17th centuries, including the famous painting of the interior of St. Laurens Church by Pieter Saenredam. There are also many other famous and interesting paintings that relate, among other things, to the Spanish siege in 1573.

The national beer museum

The National Beer Museum “De Boom” ( Nederlands Biermuseum De Boom ) is located in an old brewery building from the 17th century . It shows the entire process of brewing beer and many other things related to beer . This gives the visitor an overview of the history of this drink and its role in the Netherlands and a city like Alkmaar. After visiting the museum, one of the 86 types of Dutch beer can be tested in the “tasting bar” in the basement of the building.

Old town with De Waag (Die Waage) in the background

The old town

The old town with its old houses, including the "house with the ball (from 1573)" with a wooden gable, the hidden Remonstrant church and the small canals is a sight in itself. Alkmaar has many small museums. On the edge of the city center, on the site of the former “Het Gulden Vlies” theater, where Rudi Carrell made his first appearance as a boy, a memorial was erected for him in mid-2007. When the bronze bust was erected, the historic square was officially named “Rudi Carrellplaats” by the municipality of Alkmaar. The work of art was created by the sculptor Carsten Eggers . The lettering on the monument is bilingual, in Dutch and German.

The St. Laurens Church

The Great or St. Laurens Church ( Grote Kerk or St. Laurenskerk ) dates from the 15th century and has two old, well-preserved organs . The older one dates from 1511, the other organ was made in the 17th century by the German master organ builder Franz Caspar Schnitger .

Mill the Great - Mill by Piet

"Mühle der Große", as it was then called, or after 1884 also "Mühle von Piet" (Molen De Groot / Molen van Piet) is one of five mills in the actual urban area of ​​Alkmaar and eight others on the outer one. It is a gallery Dutch mill , a typical Dutch town mill, built in 1769 from stone, tall and slim, as its decorative plate shows, on the former Clarissen bulwark at the former Kennemertor (Kennemerpoort). In 1884 Cornelis Piet bought the mill and had an apartment set up on the ground floor. In 1955, wings with a fore-tail and brake flaps were installed. It has three grinders, the vertical shaft is an old ship's mast and is therefore older than the mill itself. The Piet family ran the mill for four generations. Members of the Piet family still maintain it, although it has belonged to the Alkmar municipal administration since it was closed in 1993 Until now she was still grinding grain. By resolution of the city council, the old center was declared a traffic-calmed zone, so that grain and flour transport was no longer permitted. Since then, the mill has only been grinding “voor de Prins - for the prince” - without grain.

There are a total of thirteen picturesque old windmills in the Alkmaar area.

photos

  • Cheese market in Alkmaar

  • The excise tower (Accijnstoren)

  • The cheese museum

  • De Waag

  • City Hall tower

  • St. Laurens Church

  • Tower of the St. Laurens Church

  • Saint Joseph Church with Nassau Bridge

  • Hekelstraat

  • Street in Alkmaar (city expansion 1910–1920)

  • de Mient at the beer museum

  • Mill the Great or, after 1884, Mill by Piet, built in 1769

  • Zijdam

  • Canal in Alkmaar

  • West-Graftdijk, the farms on Dwarsweg and Ringdijk

  • at Graft, ditch in the polder

  • Schermerhorn, view of the village

Sports

The most important sports club in Alkmaar is the professional football club AZ Alkmaar . AZ had its greatest period to date in the early 1980s. In 1981 the club won the double with the Dutch championship and the Dutch cup and moved into the final of the UEFA Cup in the same year . Today AZ Alkmaar is once again one of the most successful football clubs in the Netherlands. In 2009 the club became Dutch champions for the second time. The club's AFAS stadium , which was completed in 2006, is located in the southeast of the city .

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

More people

  • Wilma Landkroon (* 1957), singer, lived in Alkmaar at the time of her greatest success
  • Erwin Bowien (1899-1972). Author and painter. Created numerous pictures in Alkmaar and the surrounding area.

Web links

Commons : Alkmaar  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Alkmaar  - travel guide
Wikisource: Alkmar in the Topographia Circuli Burgundici (Mathäus Merian)  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand . In: StatLine . Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (Dutch)
  2. ↑ Illustration by Frans Hogenberg from 1576: Alcmar ein Statt gar woll bekhant, Im reich und feisten Hollandt, Ist von dem Spansen regiment, occupied even strong and agile, ... ( digitized version )
  3. ↑ a b Results of the local elections: 2006 2010 2014 2018 , accessed on June 24, 2019 (Dutch)
  4. ↑ Erwin Bowien: The beautiful game between spirit and world. My painter life. Ed .: Bettina Heinen-Ayech. 1st edition. U-Form Verlag, Solingen 1995, p. 42-62 .