Haarlem
Dutch municipality 5 | name=Haarlem | province=
North Holland |
flag=Haarlemvlag.gif | coat_of_arms=WapenHaarlem.PNG |
map=Dutch Municipality Haarlem 2006.png | dn=52.37 | de=4.65 |
area=32.11 | land=29.56 | water=2.55 |
population=147,153 | population_year=(2005) | density=4,978 |
mayor=J.J.H. Pop |
mayor_party=
PvdA | website=www.haarlem.nl}}
 |
Ltspkr.png |
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the
Netherlands,
capital of the
North Holland province. The city is located by the
river Spaarne, about 20 km west of
Amsterdam and near the coastal dunes. It is the center of a flower-growing district and the export point for bulbs, especially
tulips.
The
municipality of Haarlem also comprises the
village of
Spaarndam.
The
motto of Haarlem is
Vicit vim virtus, which is
Latin for
Virtue conquered force.
Middle Ages
|
View of Haarlem, by Jacob Isaaksz van Ruisdael |
The oldest mentioning of Haarlem dates from the 8th century. The name comes from "Haarlo-heim", which means 'place, on sand covered with trees, higher than the others'. An 8th century source mentions "ene viertal boerdereien zeijden ene beecke" (Middle Dutch for "Four farms besides a brook") in a place referred to as "Harulahem". The brook was "De Beek", a stream dug from the peat grounds west of the river Spaarne as a drainage canal. Over the centuries the Beek was turned into an underground canal, as the city grew fuller and the space was needed for construction. Over time it began to silt up and was finally closed (filled with sand - the Dutch word is "dempen", a word that has no English equivalent, not to confuse with "to subdue", which is also "dempen" in Dutch) in the 19th century. The location of the village was a good one: by the river Spaarne, and by a major road going south to north. By the 12th century it was a fortified town, and Haarlem became the hometown for the
Counts of Holland.
In
1219 the knights of Haarlem were honored by
Count Willem I, because they had conquered the Egyptian port of
Damietta (or
Damiate in Dutch) in the 5th
crusade. Haarlem received the right to bear the Count's sword and cross in its
coat of arms. On
November 23 1245 Count Willem II granted Haarlem
city rights. This implied a number of privileges, among which the right for the
sheriff and
magistrates to administer justice, instead of the Count. This allowed for a quicker and more efficient justice system, more suited for the needs of the growing city.
After a siege by the
Kennemers in
1270 a defensive wall was built around the city. Most likely this was a wall of earth, with wooden gates. Originally the city started out between Spaarne, Oudegracht, Ridderstraat, Bakenessergracht and Naussaustraat. In the 14th century the city expanded, and the Burgwalbuurt, Bakenes and the area around the Oudegracht became part of the city. The old defenses weren't strong enough for the expanded city, and at the end of the 14th century a 16,5 meter high wall was built, along with a 15 meters wide canal around the city.
In
1304 the
Flemish threaten the city, but they are defeated by
Witte van Haemstede at Manpad.
 |
City Hall of Haarlem on the Grote Markt. It was built in the 14th century replacing the Count's castle, after it partially burnt down. The remainders were given to the city. |
The buildings in the city were all made of wood, so there was a big risk for fires. In 1328 almost the whole city burned down. The
Sint-Bavokerk got severely damaged, the rebuilding would take more than 150 years. Again, on
June 12,
1347 there was a fire in the city. A third large fire, in
1351, destroyed many buildings including the Count's castle and the city hall. The Count did not need a castle in Haarlem anymore, because his castle in
Den Haag had taken over all functions. The Count donated the ground to the city and later a
new city hall was built there. The shape of the old city was square -- this was inspired by the shape of the ancient
Jerusalem. After every fire the city was rebuilt quickly, an indication of the wealth of the city in those years.
The
Black Death came to the city in
1381. According to an estimate by a priest from
Leiden the disease killed 5,000 people: about 50% of the population at that time.
In the 14th century Haarlem was a major city. It was the 2nd largest city in the historical Holland after
Dordrecht and before Delft, Leiden, Amsterdam, Gouda and Rotterdam. In
1429 the city gained the right to collect tolls, including on ships passing by the city at the river Spaarne. At the end of the Middle Ages Haarlem was a flourishing city with a large textile industry, shipyards and beer breweries.
Around 1428 the city was put under siege by the army of
Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut. Haarlem had taken side with the Cods in the
Hook and Cod wars, and thus against Jacoba van Beieren. The entire Haarlemmerhout was burned down by the enemy.
Spanish siege
Main article: Siege of Haarlem
 |
Map of Haarlem around 1550. The city is completely surrounded by a city wall and defensive moat. In the south-west of the city bleaching grounds can be seen. Notice the near-square shape of the city: this was based on the ancient plan of Jerusalem |
When the city of
Brielle was conquered by the
Geuzen revolutionary army, the Haarlem municipality started supporting the Geuzen. King
Philip II of Spain was not pleased, and sent an army up north under command of
Don Fadrique (
Don Frederick in Dutch), son of the
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba. On
November 17 1572 all citizens of the city of
Zutphen were murdered by the Spanish army, and on
December 1 the city of
Naarden suffered the same fate.
On
December 11 1572 the Spanish army put Haarlem under siege. The city's defenses were commanded by city-gouvernor
Wigbolt Ripperda.
Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer, a very strong woman, helped defending the city.
During the first two months of the siege, the situation was in balance. The Spanish army was digging tunnels, to reach the
city walls and blow them up. The defenders made tunnels to blow up the Spanish tunnels. The situation became worse for Haarlem on
March 29 1573. The
Amsterdam army, faithful to the Spanish king, occupied the
Haarlemmermeer and effectively blocked Haarlem from the outside world. Hunger in the city grew, and the situation became so tense that on
May 27 many (Spanish-loyal) prisoners were taken from the prison and murdered.
Two city gates, the Kruispoort and the Janspoort collapsed in the fighting.
In the beginning of July the
Prince of Orange put together an army of 5000 soldiers near
Leiden, to rescue Haarlem. However, the Spanish trapped them at the
Manpad and defeated the army. After seven months the city surrendered on
July 13 1573. Many soldiers of the army that defended the city were slaughtered; many of them were drowned in the
Spaarne river. Gouvernor Ripperda and his lieutenant were
beheaded. The citizens were allowed to buy freedom for themselves and the city for 240.000
guilders and the city would have to host a Spanish
garrison. Don Fadrique thanked God for his victory in the
Sint-Bavo Church.
Great fire
The city suffered a big fire in the night from
October 22 to
October 23 1576. The fire started in brewery
het Ankertje, near the Waag at the Spaarne, which was used by German
mercenaries as a guarding place. When they were warming themselves at a fire it got out of control. The fire was spotted by farmers, who were on their ships in the river. However, the soldiers turned down all help, saying that they would put out the fire themselves. This failed, and the fire destroyed almost 500 buildings, among them the St-Gangolfschurch and the Elisabeth's Gasthuis. Most of the mercenaries were later arrested, and one of them was hanged on the Grote Markt in front of a large audience. Maps from that era clearly show the damage done by the fire: a wide strip through the city was destroyed.
The combined result of the siege and the fire was that about a third of the city was destroyed.
Golden Age
Linen and silk
The
Spanish left in
1577 and under the
Agreement of Veere, Protestants and Catholics were given equal rights. A large influx of
Flemish and
French immigrants who were fleeing the Spanish occupation of their own cities made the city prosper again. The new citizens had a lot of expertise in
linen and
silk trading, and the city's population grew from 18,000 in
1573 to around 40,000 in
1622. At one point, in
1621, over 50% of the population was Flemish born. Haarlem's linen became world famous and the city flourished, just like the rest of the country: the
Golden Age in the
United Provinces had started.
Infrastructure
In
1632 a tow canal between Haarlem and
Amsterdam was opened, the first tow canal in the country. The empty holes in the city caused by the fire of 1576 were filled with new houses and buildings. Even outside the city wall buildings were constructed -- in 1643 about 400 houses were counted outside the wall. Having buildings outside the city walls was not a desirable situation for the city administration. Not only because these buildings would be vulnerable in case of an attack on the city, but also because there was less control over taxes and city regulations outside the walls. Therefore a major project was initiated in 1671: expanding the city northwards. Two new canals were dug, and a new defensive wall was constructed (the current
Staten en Prinsenbolwerk). Two old city gates, the Janspoort and Kruispoort, were demolished. The idea that a city had to be square-shaped was left behind.
Cultural life
Haarlem's cultural life also prospered, with famous painters like
Frans Hals and
Jacob van Ruisdael, architect
Lieven de Key and
Jan Steen who made many paintings in Haarlem. On the
Grote Markt, the central market square, there's a statue of
Laurens Janszoon Coster who is allegedly the inventor of the
printing press (however, most scholars agree that the scarce evidence seems to point to
Johann Gutenberg as the first European inventor). In 1628 a
chemist in Haarlem goes broke, and decides to join the
VOC to sail to the East. His name, Jeronimus Cornelisz, will always be connected with the
Batavia ship.
Beer brewing
 |
The Grote Markt in 1696, painting by Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde |
Beer brewing was a very important industry in Haarlem. Until the 16th century the water for the beer was taken from the canals in the city. These were, through the Spaarne and the IJ, connected to seawater. However, the water in the canals was getting more and more polluted, and no longer suitable for brewing beer. A place 1,5 kilometers south-west of the city was then used to take fresh water in. However, the quality of that water was not high enough either. From the 17th century a canal (
Santvaert) was used to transport water from the dunes to the city. The water was transported in barrels on ships. The location where the water was taken is called the
Brouwerskolkje, and the canal to there still exists, and is now called the Brewerscanal (
Brouwersgracht).
Haarlem was a major beer producer in the Netherlands. The majority of the beer it produced was consumed in Noord-Holland. During the Spanish siege there were about 50 brewing companies in the city; 45 years later in 1620 there were around 100.
In the 1630s, Haarlem was a major trading center for tulips (and it still is), and it was the epicenter during the
tulip mania, where outrageous prices were paid for tulip bulbs.
There was another epidemic of the
Black Death in
1657, which took a heavy toll in the 6 months it ravaged the city.
From the end of the 17th century the economic situation in the city turned sour, for a long time. In 1752 there were only seven beer breweries left, and in 1820 no breweries were registered in the city anymore.
French rule
At the end of the 18th century a number of anti-Orange commissions were founded.
On
January 18th,
1795 the "Staatse" army was defeated near
Woerden. In the night of the 18th to the 19th, the same night that stadtholder
William V of Orange fled the country, the various commissions gathered and implemented a revolution. The commissions changed the city's administrators in a blood-less revolution, and the next morning the city was 'liberated' of the tyranny of the House of Orange. The revolution was peaceful and the Orange-loyal people were not harmed. The
Batavian Republic was then proclaimed.
The French army entered the liberated city two days later, on the
January 20th. An army of 1,500 soldiers was provided with food and clothing by the citizens. The new national government was strongly centralized, and the role of the cities was reduced in the national debate.
The Batavian Republic had signed a mutual defense pact with France, and was thus automatically in war with England. The strong English presence at sea severely reduced the trading opportunities, and the Dutch economy suffered.
19th century
The textile industry, which had always been an important pillar of the Haarlem economy, was in a bad shape at the beginning of the 19th century. The strong international competition, and the revolutionary
new production methods based on steam engines that were used in England, brought the end to the industry in Haarlem.
In
1815 the city's population was about 17.000 people, with many of them being poor. The foundation of the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands in that year gave many hope. Many believed that under a new government the economy would rise again, and that export-oriented parts of the economy such as the textile industry would recover. However, this hoped turned out to be idle -- the Dutch economy was stuck. The Nederlandsche Handelmaatschappij (NHM) was founded by King Willem I to create employment opportunities.
In Haarlem, then one of the cities in west-Holland with the worst economical situation, cotton factories were created in the NHM-program. These cotton factories produced for the Dutch Indies, and because the Dutch government levied heavy taxes on foreign cotton producers this was a good market for the NHM-factories. The program started in the 1830s, but never managed to substantially reduce the unemployment in the city. The
American Civil War in the 1860s reduced the import of raw cotton significantly, and in 1872 the protectionistic measures for the Dutch Indies' market were removed.
In the beginning of the 19th century the defense walls had lost their function, and architect Zocher Jr. planned a park on the location of the former defense line. The city walls and gates were demolished.
Haarlem became the provincial capital of
North Holland in the early 19th century.
Halfway the 19th century the city's economy started slowly to improve. New factories were opened, and a number of large companies were founded in Haarlem. In
1911 Anthony Fokker showed his plane,
de Spin to the audience in Haarlem by flying around the Sint-Bavokerk on
Queen's Day.
In 1814
George Stephenson designed the first locomotive. The government of the Netherlands was relatively slow to catch up, even though the King feared competition from the newly founded
Belgium if they would construct a train track between Antwerpen and other cities. The Dutch Tweede Kamer was afraid of the high investments, but a group of private investors started the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg Maatschappij on
June 1 1836. It took three years to build the first track, between Haarlem and
Amsterdam. The track was right next to the old tow canal, and the ground there was wet and muddy. On
September 20 1839 the first
train service in the Netherlands started. The train had a speed of about 40 kilometers per hour. The train service gave the economy of Haarlem a strong boost. Instead of more than 2 hours, Amsterdam was now only 30 minutes away. The tow canal boats were quickly taken out of service for passengers.
The creating of new land in the
Haarlemmermeer made that the city could no longer refresh the water in its canals using the Spaarne. The new industry made the water quality even worse, and in
1859 de Oude Gracht, a canal, was changed into a street.
In
1878 the a horse tram starts servicing passenger from the trainstation to the Haarlemmerhout, and in
1899 the first Dutch electric
tram ran in Haarlem. From 1879 the population of the city almost doubled in thirty years, from 36,976 to 69,410 in 1909. Not only did the population grow, but the city is expanding to. The Leidse district was annexed in the 1880's. A small part of Schoten was annexed in 1884 because the Haarlem council wanted to have the hospital (het dolhuys) inside the municipal borders. this hospital was situated at "het bolwerk" on the premises of Schoten.
20th century
In the beginning of the 20th century the city expanded north-wards. As early as 1905 an official plan was presented by the Haarlem municipality for expansion. However, the surrounding municipalities did not agree, and it would take 25 years to come to an agreement. On may 1, 1927 the municipal of Schoten became part of Haarlem, as well as part of
Spaarndam, Bloemendaal and Heemstede . The population increased at once with 31,184 citizens.
In 1908 a
renewed trainstation was openend. The station was elevated, so traffic in the city was no longer hampered by railway crossings.
Later the expansion of the city went south-wards (Schalkwijk) and east-wards (Waarderpolder). In
1932 Vroom & Dreesmann, a Dutch retailer built a large shop at the Verwulft. Many buildings were demolished, except one small shop on the corner: "Van der Pigge", which is now encapsulated by the V&D building.
The city went through rough times in the
Great Depression of
1930s.
During
World War II Hannie Schaft worked for a Dutch resistance group. From
September 17 to
September 21 1944, parts of Haarlem-Noord (above the Jan Gijzenvaart) were evacuated by the Germans to make place for a defensive line. The stadium of HFC Haarlem, the soccerclub, was demolished. Hundreds of people had to leave their houses and were forced to stay with other citizens.
From
September 22 there was gas available only two hours per day. Electricity stopped on
October 9. The German occupiers built a thick, black wall through the Haarlemmerhout (in the south of the city), as well as at the Jan Gijzenvaart in the evacuated area. The wall was called Mauer-muur and was meant to help defend the city.
In
1944 the family of
Corrie ten Boom was arrested by the Nazis; they had been hiding Jews and Dutch resistance workers from the German occupier throughout the war.
After the war much of the large industry moved out of the city, such as the banknote printing firm
Joh. Enschedé.
In
1963 a large number of houses was built in
Schalkwijk.
The
diocese of Haarlem has been a
Catholic diocese since
1559 (
Dioecesis Harlemensis). The original Catholic cathedral the
Sint-Bavo Cathedral at the Grote Markt, is called after the
patron saint of Haarlem,
Saint Bavo. The first bishop of Haarlem was
Nicolaas van Nieuwland (born in 1510). He accepted the position on
November 6th,
1561. In 1569 he was advised to resign by the Duke of Alva, because of his reputation for drinking (
Dronken Klaasje).
Van Nieuwland was followed up by Godfried van Mierlo, who would be the last bishop of Haarlem for 300 years. Haarlem's cathedral was spared from the
iconoclastic riots of
1566 in the Netherlands, because the city's major ordered the closing of the church for several months.
Just before the
siege of Haarlem by the Spaniards, the cathedral was cleared of catholic symbols. After the siege the Spanish army restored the catholic decoration of the church. The guilds had to make sure their own altars (that had also been 'cleared' out of the cathedral) were restored, which was very expensive.
On Sacramentsday (
May 29th) in
1578 the Saint Bavo Cathedral was attacked by soldiers of the
Prince of Orange. One of the priests was killed, and many objects in the church were destroyed. This event, called the
Haarlemse Noon, forced the bishop to flee the city. The city council confiscated the church, and converted it later to a Protestant church. The new (and current) name of the Cathedral became
Sint-Bavokerk. The Agreement of Veere was thus clearly breached.
It wasn't until 1853 that a new Catholic bishop was installed. A new cathedral, again called the
Cathedral of Saint Bavo, was built at the Leidsevaart in
1898. The bishop of Haarlem nowadays lives on the Nieuwe Gracht.
The city is famous for its many
hofjes: almshouses built in courtyards. These were mainly privately funded houses for elder single women. Nowadays there are 19
hofjes in Haarlem; many open to public on weekdays. Many hofjes are still owned by the original foundations, and are still mainly used for single (elderly) women.
* The Grote or
Sint-Bavokerk* The Grote Markt
* The
Teylersmuseum (the oldest
museum of the Netherlands)
*
Frans Hals Museum* Windmill
De Adriaan* The
Sint-Bavo Cathedral * The
City Hall of Haarlem* The
Amsterdamse Poort* The
Vleeshal* The art nouveau
trainstation of Haarlem* Theater
De Toneelschuur*
Villa WelgelegenThe municipal council of Haarlem consists of 39 seats, which are divided as follows:
*
PvdA - 8 seats
*
VVD - 7 seats
*
CDA - 5 seats
*
GroenLinks - 5 seats
* StadsPartij/Leefbaar Haarlem - 4 seats
*
D66 - 3 seats
* Haarlem Liberaal Lokaal - 2 seats
*
SP - 2 seats
*
ChristenUnie/
SGP - 1 seat
* Lijst De Vries - 1 seat
* Lijst Raeven - 1 seat
Local beer
Beerbrewing has been a very important industry for Haarlem. The heydays of beer brewing in Haarlem go back to the 1400s, when there were no less than 100 breweries in the city. When the town's 750th anniversary was celebrated in 1995, a group of enthusiasts re-created an original Haarlem's beer and brewed it again. The beer is called Jopenbier, or Jopen for short, called after an old type of beer-barrel.
Jopen
Koyt and Jopen
Adriaan are based on old recipes from 1402 and 1407 respectively. Jopen Adriaan is called after the
windmill that re-opened in
2002. Jopenbier also features a dark beer (bokbier) and a light beer ("spring beer" or lentebier). Jopenbier is now generally available again, mainly in the Haarlem area. Initially the beers were brewed at brewery De Halve Maan in
Hulst, but now there are brewed at De Koningshoeven, the brewery of
La Trappe, in
Tilburg.
Coffeeshops
The oldest
coffee shop in Haarlem is
Het theehuis, but it is far from the only one. The most famous are the
Willie wortel stores that are spread throughout the town and run by
Marijuana activist
Nol van shaik.
Harlem, Manhattan
In
1658 Dutchman
Peter Stuyvesant founded the settlement Nieuw Haarlem ("New Haarlem") on the island of
Manhattan in
North America. This settlement later became the
neighborhood of
Harlem in
New York City. In the mid-
17th century, the primary Dutch settlement on Manhattan Island was Nieuw Amsterdam ("
New Amsterdam"), on the southern tip of the island.
Folk singer
Al Stewart mentions Haarlem in his song "Amsterdam".
* Ach lieve tijd: 750 jaar Haarlem, de Haarlemmers en hun rijke verleden, F.W.J.Koorn (red), Vrieseborch, Zwolle 1984 (ISBN 9066300353)
* Deugd boven geweld: een geschiedenis van Haarlem, 1245-1995, G.F. van der Ree-Scholtens (red), Uitgeverij Verloren, Hilversum 1995 (ISBN 9066505040)
* Geschiedenis en beschrijving van Haarlem, van de vroegste tijden tot op onze dagen, F. Allan, J. J. van Brederode, Haarlem 1874
* Statistics are taken from the
SDU Staatscourant*
Map of Haarlem and surroundings*
Haarlem Shuffle: English language resources for Haarlem, the Netherlands*
Haarlem Paintings by Jacob van Ruisdaelnds-nl:Haorlem
