Visit Holland - The Netherlands

  • Amsterdam Canals

    Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has been called the "Venice of the North" for its more than one hundred kilometres of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges Read More

  • Veluwe

    The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts. Read More

  • Anne Frank House

    The Anne Frank House located on the Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms at the rear of the building. Read More

  • Deltaworks

    Flood control is an important issue for the Netherlands, as about two thirds of its area is vulnerable to flooding, while the country is among the most densely populated on Earth. Natural sand dunes and man-made dikes, dams and floodgates provide defense against storm surges from the sea. Read More

  • Rotterdam Architecture

    Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Rotterdam is also famous for its Kubuswoningen or cube houses built by architect Piet Blom in 1984. In addition to that there are many international well known architects based in Rotterdam like O.M.A (Rem Koolhaas), MVRDV, Neutelings & Riedijk and Erick van Egeraat to name a few. Read More

  • Google Maps - Aviation waypoints

    A waypoint is a reference point in physical space used for purposes of navigation. Waypoints are sets of coordinates that identify a point in physical space. Coordinates used can vary depending on the application. Read More
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    Amsterdam

  • Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany (districts of Emsland and Bentheim) to the east.
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    Drenthe

  • Flevoland is a province of the Netherlands. Located in the centre of the country, at the location of the former Zuiderzee, the province was established on January 1, 1986; the twelfth province of the country, with Lelystad as its capital. The province has approximately 394,758 inhabitants (2011) and consists of 6 municipalities.
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    Flevoland

  • Friesland or Frisia is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient, larger region of Frisia. Friesland has 646,000 inhabitants (2010) and its capital is Leeuwarden (West Frisian: Ljouwert), with 91,817 inhabitants, in the centre of the province.
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    Friesland

  • Gelderland is a province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. Historically, the province (area) dates from states of the Holy Roman Empire and takes its name from the nearby German city of Geldern.
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    Gelderland

  • Groningen is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen (districts of Leer and Emsland), in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea. The capital of the province is the city of Groningen.
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    Groningen

  • Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and is bordered by the Dutch provinces of Gelderland to the north and North Brabant to the north and northwest, Germany to the east and Belgium to the south and part of the west. Its capital is Maastricht.
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    Limburg

  • Maastricht is a city in the Netherlands. It is located in the southern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, of which it is the capital.
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    Maastricht

  • North Brabant (Dutch: Noord-Brabant is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium's Antwerp and Limburg provinces in the south, the Meuse River (Maas) in the north, and Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.
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    North Brabant

  • North Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.
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    North Holland

  • Overijssel is a province[1] of the Netherlands in the central-eastern part of the country. The province's name means "Lands across the river Issel", from the perspective of southern Europe. The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede. The province has a population of 1,113,529 inhabitants.
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    Overijssel

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    Rotterdam

  • Utrecht is the smallest province of the Netherlands in terms of area, and is located in the centre of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer in the north, Gelderland in the east, the river Rhine in the south, South Holland in the west, and North Holland in the northwest.
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    Utrecht

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    Utrecht City

  • Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands (hence its name, meaning "sea-land") and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg.
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    Zeeland

  • South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.
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    South Holland

Alkmaar - cheese market - Waagplein - streetview - Google Maps

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Category: Streetview Visitholland

Alkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination.

The earliest mention of the name Alkmaar is in a 10th-century document. As the village grew into a town, it was granted city rights in 1254. The oldest part of Alkmaar lies on an ancient sand bank that afforded some protection from inundation during medieval times. Even so, it is only a couple of metres above the surrounding region, which consists of some of the oldest polders in existence.

Battle of Alkmaar 1573.
In 1573 the city underwent a siege by Spanish forces under the leadership of Don Fadrique, son of the Duke of Alva. The citizens sent urgent messages for help to the Prince of Orange; he responded by promising to open the floodgates of the dykes and flood the region if the need arose, which despite the protestations of the peasantry, fearful for their harvest, he proceeded to do. Some of his dispatches fell into the hands of Don Fadrique, and, with the waters beginning to rise, the Spaniards raised the siege and fled. It was a turning point in the Eighty Years War and gave rise to the expression Bij Alkmaar begint de victorie ("Victory begins at Alkmaar"). The event is still celebrated every year in Alkmaar on 8 October, the day the siege ended.

In 1799, during the French revolutionary wars, an Anglo-Russian expeditionary force captured the city but was ultimately defeated in the Battle of Castricum. The French victory was commemorated on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as "Alkmaer".

The North Holland Canal, opened in 1824, was dug through Alkmaar. In 1865 and 1867 the railways between Alkmaar and Den Helder and between Alkmaar and Haarlem were built respectively.

In the second half of the 20th century, Alkmaar expanded quickly with development of new neighbourhoods. On 1 October 1972, the town of Oudorp and the southern portions of Koedijk and Sint Pancras were added to the municipality of Alkmaar.

Hotels in Alkmaar

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