Discover Alkmaar: Hidden Gems in Holland's Cheese Capital - Walking tour

Описание: Alkmaar is a city in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands, and the seat of the municipality of Alkmaar.

Alkmaar has a historic center with 399 national monuments and 700 municipal monuments.[
The city is known as "the cheese city".
A traditional cheese market is held weekly from the beginning of April to the end of September.
A resident of Alkmaar is called an Alkmaarder, but is called cheese head in the vernacular.
The city has two railway stations: Alkmaar station and Alkmaar Noord station.


Alkmaar originated on a beach ridge, over which a long country road ran to the south of Holland. It was originally an agricultural settlement, which was centered around the Sint-Laurenskerk founded in the 10th century in the western part of the later inner city.

The fields lay on the shoreline. A little to the east of that lay the lower-lying peat and clay soils of the Mient.
The Scheteldoekshaven near Alkmaar offered an opportunity for trade via the Laat and the more easterly Voormeer to the Rekere in the north and the Schermermeer in the south and east.

The town was also connected to the Almere (later the Zuiderzee) via the Voormeer. The agricultural development is still partly reflected in the fact that in this part of the city there are still many low-rise workers' houses with a roof, such as along the Geest and the Doelenstraat.

When Count Dirk VII of Holland was at war in Zeeland, his brother Willem van Friesland invaded West Friesland in November 1195. Countess Aleid van Kleef then went to war against her brother-in-law and defeated him near Alkmaar.

On June 11, 1254 Alkmaar was granted city rights by William II of Holland. The city then mainly served as a border fortress and base in the fight against the West Frisians. To this end, the Count of Holland had the Torenburg built at the end of the Koningsweg, northwest of the city.

The Noordhollandsch Kanaal, which was opened in 1824, ran exactly around Alkmaar when it was built. Due to the growth of Alkmaar, it now runs right through it. In 1865 and 1867 the infrastructure was further expanded by the opening of the railway lines from Alkmaar to Den Helder and Uitgeest - Haarlem respectively.

Several parts of Alkmaar are a protected cityscape: the city center and Westerhoutkwartier.

Alkmaar has characteristic old canals, cafes, restaurants and shops for this city. Alkmaar is widely known for its many courtyards, including the 16th-century courtyard of Sonoy and the Wildemanshofje. The city has many canals with houses from the 16th to the 19th century. Alkmaar has 399 entries in the national monument register and has several war memorials:
List of national monuments in Alkmaar (municipality)
List of municipal monuments in Alkmaar (municipality)
List of war memorials in Alkmaar.

Alkmaar has eight courtyards, most of which are still inhabited. The oldest hofje still in existence is the Huis van Zessen, which was founded in 1510 and owes its name to the function it fulfilled for almost five centuries: a hofje for six old Roman Catholic men. The name of the House of Eights originated in the same way. This courtyard dates from 1657.

Close to the Huis van Achten is the Hof van Sonoy, which is located on the site of a former monastery. The court came into the hands of the city council in 1572 and was then used to house townspeople who had become homeless because their houses had been demolished for the construction of the new city defenses. The Wildemanshofje was founded by Gerrit Florisz. Wildeman. This almshouse, built in 1714, initially accommodated 24 elderly women of different faiths. The Hofje van Splinter was founded in 1646, from a legacy of Margaretha Splinter. After her death, the complex was converted into a courtyard for eight unmarried ladies, who lived in poverty but did come from a good family.

Provenhuis Bijlevelt, which dates from the seventeenth century, is located on Koningsweg. The Provenhuis Paling en Van Foreest is located on the Zevenhuizen, close to the city canals. It was founded in 1540 with money from the will of the couple Pieter Claeszoon Paling and Joost van Foreest Willem Dircksdatter. The Provenhuis of Aletta Boon and the Poppenhofje were two Catholic almshouses in Alkmaar. The Mennonite Hofje is still located between the Kanaalkade and the Koningsweg.

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