Heemskerk
Encyclopedia
Heemskerk is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands
, in the province of North Holland
.
The negotiations are finished and the PvdA, CDA and VVD wil govern together
. In an official deed from the year of 1063, the town was known as Hemezen Kyrica, Latinized Frisian meaning Church of Hemezen, a Frisian
nun who lived in a religious house there. Heemskerk knows many historical monuments, among them the Huldtoneel (lit. the "Inaugurate Stage"), an artificial hill located near the current Rijksstraatweg, where once the Counts of Holland
where inaugurated. According to tradition, the Huldtoneel was used before the Roman Era as a Germanic
sanctuary. In the nineteenth century Jonkheer Gevers finally made the Huldtoneel a monument - as it is known today - and ordered passers-by to honour the monument.
Many battles have been fought in Heemskerk. Two castles - Castle Oud Haerlem and Castle Heemskerk - were built in the twelfth and thirteenth century respectively to protect the County of Holland against the West Frisians
. In the fifteenth century the residents of Heemskerk fought each other during the Hook and Cod wars
, in which both castles were destroyed. The Oud Haerlem castle was never rebuilt, Castle Heemskerk however was. In 1492 a rebellion by the people of Kennemerland was brutally beaten down by the Austrian conquerors, on the place where today the cemetery of the Hervormde Kerk (Reformed Church) is located.
In 1610 the Castle Heemskerk was renamed to Castle Marquette and was at first the residence for many nobles and later inhabited by patricians. The last noble family that lived there were the House of Gevers. Today Castle Marquette is owned by the Spanish hotelgroup NH Hoteles
and is the site of many weddings, conferences, and company courses, while the estate grounds are favoured for wedding photos.
Located on the eastside of Heemskerk is Castle Assumburg, built from the remains of Kasteel Oud Haerlem in 1546. The Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) at the Nielenplein and Kerkplein is built in 1628, but it has a tower from the Middle Ages. In the square around the church is a monument dedicated to the painter Maarten van Heemskerck.
, where the fruits were sold - were brought to the market with donkeys, people from Heemskerk got the name of Donkey as a nickname and symbol.
The former town hall was built in 1911 after a design by Jan Stuyt
and was raised with an additional floor in 1949. Today this is the building where Janssen's notary office is located. The Roman Catholic Laurentiuskerk (locally better known as the "Lau"), designed by architect J.H. Tonnaer, was completed in 1891 and is a rare example of a Catholic church in neo-renaissance style. There is nothing left of other historical monuments, like Castle Oud Haerlem.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, in the province of North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
.
Local government
The municipal council of Heemskerk consists of 25 seats, which are divided as follows:- PvdALabour Party (Netherlands)The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...
- 5 seats - CDAChristian Democratic AppealThe Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
- 5 seats - VVDPeople's Party for Freedom and DemocracyThe People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
- 5 seats - GroenLinks - 3 seats
- D66Democrats 66Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...
- 3 seats - Liberaal Heemskerk - 3 seats
- Lijst 7 (Wouters) - 1 seat
The negotiations are finished and the PvdA, CDA and VVD wil govern together
History
It is not certain where the name of Heemskerk comes from. The town was already known during the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. In an official deed from the year of 1063, the town was known as Hemezen Kyrica, Latinized Frisian meaning Church of Hemezen, a Frisian
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
nun who lived in a religious house there. Heemskerk knows many historical monuments, among them the Huldtoneel (lit. the "Inaugurate Stage"), an artificial hill located near the current Rijksstraatweg, where once the Counts of Holland
Count of Holland
The Counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century.-House of Holland:The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia...
where inaugurated. According to tradition, the Huldtoneel was used before the Roman Era as a Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
sanctuary. In the nineteenth century Jonkheer Gevers finally made the Huldtoneel a monument - as it is known today - and ordered passers-by to honour the monument.
Many battles have been fought in Heemskerk. Two castles - Castle Oud Haerlem and Castle Heemskerk - were built in the twelfth and thirteenth century respectively to protect the County of Holland against the West Frisians
West Friesland (historical region)
West Friesland is a historical region in the northern part of the Netherlands. It was located in parts of what now is Noord-Holland and the Waddenzee. The region was bordered by the rivers Vlie and IJ...
. In the fifteenth century the residents of Heemskerk fought each other during the Hook and Cod wars
Hook and Cod wars
The Hook and Cod wars comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the underlying reason was because of the power struggle of the bourgeois in the cities against...
, in which both castles were destroyed. The Oud Haerlem castle was never rebuilt, Castle Heemskerk however was. In 1492 a rebellion by the people of Kennemerland was brutally beaten down by the Austrian conquerors, on the place where today the cemetery of the Hervormde Kerk (Reformed Church) is located.
In 1610 the Castle Heemskerk was renamed to Castle Marquette and was at first the residence for many nobles and later inhabited by patricians. The last noble family that lived there were the House of Gevers. Today Castle Marquette is owned by the Spanish hotelgroup NH Hoteles
NH Hoteles
NH Hotels is a Spanish-based hotel chain headquartered in Madrid. NH offers moderately priced and modernly-furnished hotel rooms and lobbies, located primarily in Europe, Latin America, and Africa. NH Hoteles ranks third in the European ranking for business hotels. The group has 347 hotels with...
and is the site of many weddings, conferences, and company courses, while the estate grounds are favoured for wedding photos.
Located on the eastside of Heemskerk is Castle Assumburg, built from the remains of Kasteel Oud Haerlem in 1546. The Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) at the Nielenplein and Kerkplein is built in 1628, but it has a tower from the Middle Ages. In the square around the church is a monument dedicated to the painter Maarten van Heemskerck.
Agricultural village
After the time of knights and nobles, Heemskerk remained a small, quiet village near the dunes. Its residents, who mainly worked in agriculture and keeping cattle, had good, but also some very bad times. From the time that products - mainly strawberries for the neighbouring town BeverwijkBeverwijk
Beverwijk is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town is located about northwest of Amsterdam in the Randstad metropolitan area, north of the North Sea Canal very close to the North Sea coast...
, where the fruits were sold - were brought to the market with donkeys, people from Heemskerk got the name of Donkey as a nickname and symbol.
The former town hall was built in 1911 after a design by Jan Stuyt
Jan Stuyt
Jan Stuyt was a Dutch architect.Stuyt started his architectural career in 1883 at the office of A.C. Bleys , whose neo-Romanesque style would become of great influence on Stuyt...
and was raised with an additional floor in 1949. Today this is the building where Janssen's notary office is located. The Roman Catholic Laurentiuskerk (locally better known as the "Lau"), designed by architect J.H. Tonnaer, was completed in 1891 and is a rare example of a Catholic church in neo-renaissance style. There is nothing left of other historical monuments, like Castle Oud Haerlem.
Notable people born in Heemskerk
- Maarten van Heemskerck (1498 - 1574), painter.
- Bart Schraa (22 November 1968), football player: Bayer LeverkusenBayer LeverkusenBayer 04 Leverkusen is a German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the most well-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball and other sports.-Origins and early years:On 27 November...
, FC Schalke 04FC Schalke 04Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...
, Arminia BielefeldArminia BielefeldDSC Arminia Bielefeld is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of football, field hockey, figure skating and cue sports. The club has 11,394 members and the club colours are black, white and blue...
. - Arthur NumanArthur NumanArthur Numan is a retired Dutch footballer. He played as a left back and was a regular fixture in Netherlands national football team...
(14 December 1969), football player: HFC HaarlemHFC HaarlemHFC Haarlem was a Dutch football club from the city of Haarlem, established in 1889. The club won the Dutch national title in 1946 and reached five Cup finals, winning in 1902 and 1912...
, FC TwenteFC TwenteFC Twente is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, playing in the Eredivisie. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Eredivisie Champions, Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys...
, PSV, RangersRangers F.C.Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
. - Peter Wijker (20 July 1971), football player: AZ, FC VolendamFC VolendamFootball Club Volendam is a Dutch football club based in Volendam, North Holland, Edam-Volendam. Founded on June 1, 1977, as a result of a split up with RKSV . It currently plays in the Eerste Divisie, holding home games at Kras Stadion, with a 6,260-seat capacity.-History:Football Club Volendam...
. - Dennis Lens (25 September 1977), badminton player.
- Raymond Bronckhorst (6 August 1978), football player: FC Groningen, SC Cambuur.
- Rafael van der VaartRafael van der VaartRafael Ferdinand van der Vaart is a Dutch footballer who plays for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Dutch national team. His preferred position is as an attacking midfielder; he can, however, also operate in other positions, such as second striker...
(11 February 1983), football player: AFC Ajax, Hamburger SVHamburger SVHamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
, Real MadridReal MadridReal Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
and Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur F.C.Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane.... - Julián Contreras (3 May 1983), football player: CD Buenavista (Spain)
- Ernesto Fritz Hoost "Mr Perfect"Ernesto HoostErnesto Fritz "Mr. Perfect" Hoost is a Dutch former kickboxer and four-time K-1 World Champion. He made his debut in 1993 at the K-1 World Grand Prix 1993, where he came just one win short of the world title...
(July 11, 1965), four-time K-1 World Champion: Vos Gym (1987-2006), Sokudo Gym (1981-1987) (Retired)
External links
- A map of Heemskerk
- http://www.polsstokverspringen.nl/ Horizontal pole-vaulting across the Neksloot
- http://www.heemskerkinbeeld.nl