The Netherlands - Alkmaar
Top sights Alkmaar:
Alkmaar city walk route information:
Start: railway station Alkmaar
Distance: 6.5 km Duration: 2 hours Download or print map Alkmaar city walk route:
6
Alkmaar Cheese Capital of the Netherlands
May 6, 2016
Welcome to our fourth web blog. This time we are visiting Alkmaar a town situated in the north-west of the
Netherlands. It is an old historical town which had been granted city rights in 1254. It has played an
important role during the Eighty Years’ War, the inhabitants resisted the Spanish soldiers and chased them
away by putting the surrounded area of Alkmaar under water. This event is still celebrated every year on
October 8
th
during Alkmaars Ontzet.
This region is a favorite among tourists coming especially from Germany. For us it was only a short travel
because we are living nearby.
Of course the starting point of this city walk is at the central station of Alkmaar, because most
(foreign)tourist are arriving by train.
From the train station we start walking on the Stationsweg until we cross the Bergerweg, we turn left and start
walking towards the city center of Alkmaar. On our way we cross the Bergerbrug. After the bridge we take the
second small street named Geest. After two minutes you see on your right hand, one of the oldest 16
th
century brick houses of Alkmaar, the address is Kannisstraat no. 1/Geest 10-12. It used to be a shop and
house in one. Now they are two separate houses.
The Hofje van Splinter
This Hofje van Splinter was built in 1646 according the last will of a woman named Margareta
Splinter. She came from a wealthy family. In her will was written that there should be built 8
small houses especially for women without children, who had fallen into poverty throughout
their lives. The women who lived there, received an annual allowance of 100 guilders. A
portrait of Margareta Splinter can be found in the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar. Please also
notice the beautiful facing brick with a woman figure on it.
If you walk further into the Ritsevoort, you will find at the end a windmill called “de Molen van
Piet”.
Windmill “de Molen van Piet”
This windmill is situated on the Clarissen bolwerk (rampart of the city wall). It was built in 1769 and operated
as a corn mill until 1993. One can walk around the windmill and visit the nice gardens and enjoy the view
point.
Now there are two options or you walk back through the Ritsevoort or you walk in a circle over the city wall
and take the Clarissenbuurt to come back to the Oudegracht. When you arrive at the Oudegracht you go
straight ahead, it does not matter on which side of the canal you walk but do not forget to enjoy all the
beautiful historical buildings and bridges. We stop at no. 198, to do some window shopping at the bridal
shop. Nice memories are coming back, thirteen years ago, I bought my wedding dress in that same shop.
When you are almost at the end of the Oudegracht you will find on the right bank of the Oudegracht on no. 87
The Wildemanshofje (courtyard).
The Wildemanshofje
This hofje was built following the last will of Gerrit Wildeman, a very rich tradesman. In the years before his
death, his wife and children already died, so he decided by testament that they should build the
Wildemanshofje and it should look the same as Meermansburg in the town of Leiden. The Wildemanshofje
was built in 1713, it consists out of 24 houses, two wells for doing the laundry and in 1758 they planted the
linden trees to provide some shade in the garden. The statues you see are designed and made by a sculptor
named Jacob van der Beek. The 24 houses were intended for poor single old women. Their religion was not
important but the majority should be Protestant. Nowadays there are still women living in the houses but
religion is no longer an issue.
After the serenity of the hofje, we step back into the city life. We continue our walk and turn left at the end of
the Oudegracht.
We find ourselves on the crossing Bierkade/Verdronkenoord at no. 26, here you will find a small tower called
the Accijnstoren (Tax declaration tower).
The Accijnstoren was built in 1622 and its function was a tax office. For all the goods that entered the city of
Alkmaar one had to pay taxes. It is now a Havenkantoor, so if your ship or boat is berthed in the harbor
overnight, you have to register and pay port charges at that office.
Now you turn into the Verdronkenoord, again a beautiful street with historical building a canal in the middle
and lovely bridges to cross the water, where you want. In the middle on the left bank, you will find a building
called the Vigilantie, this was used as a storehouse and was built in the 17
th
century, it is a very elegant
building. At the end we turn right walking over the Vismarkt we arrive on the Mient.
Mient
There are two interesting things to mention standing here, first in the old days there used to be a pillory in
the middle of the bridge where there is now a lamppost and second if you look up to no. 23, you will see a
very beautiful façade of a building called the Leeuwenborg (Lions) 17
th
century, as the name implies, two
lions are located on the upper side of the façade.
We continue our walk and turn right into the Fnidsen and take the first left the Appelsteeg 2, before crossing
the bridge, we invite you to take a closer look at the historical wooden house at your left hand. The house is
named the house with the bullet (Het huis met de kogel).
During the Eighty Years’ War a bullet of 40 pounds was shot through the wall of the house, miraculously
nobody was injured or shot.
We cross the bridge and turn left to the Zijdam, if you walk straight ahead to the Achterdam, you will find
yourself in the red light district of Alkmaar. In the Zijdam we turn right to the Voordam and cross the bridge
to the Waagplein.
Waagplein
The Waagplein is the central square of the city of Alkmaar, there is a lot going on, it is surrounded with bars,
restaurants and cafes. During Summertime the square is filled with terraces and there are musical festivals
organized.
De Waag
De Waag is the main building on the Waagplein. It has a long history, it started as Chapel and former catholic
hospital (Heilig Geestgasthuis) for the poor and the travelers passing by (3 nights for free). The sick were
looked after by nuns and monks. Since 1566 it is used as a Waag. Nowadays it plays an important role during
the Cheese market on the Fridays in Summertime. You can also find the Cheese museum and Tourist
Information Center in this building. In the tower there is a historic Carillon, which still plays on the Fridays
and during special occasions.
Cheese Market
This event takes place on the Waagplein on every Friday morning from 10.00 hrs. until 12.30 hrs., starting
from the first Friday in April until the first Friday in September. What happens during the Cheese Market? It is
a demonstration/reconstruction of the Cheese Market in former times. Earlier the local cheese farmers
transported their cheeses on a flatboat to the Waag to meet the traders. The traders tasted, tested and
weighted the cheeses by using the Waag, and made a price with the farmers by clapping hands. The traders
make use of 4 teams of carriers, you can recognize them by the color of their hats. They transport the
cheeses to and from the Waag and the pushcarts. The thing they carry the cheeses on, is called a berrie.
Normally they carry 8 cheeses (160 kilo) at the same time. The type of cheese they trade here is a flat Gouda
cheese. During the Cheese Market there are market stalls, where you can buy all kind of typical Dutch goods
and food, like chocolate, wooden shoes, stroopwafels and of course all kinds of cheeses.
Cheese museum
The blue cow in the door opening is welcoming you into the Cheese museum. It is a very interesting
museum, where you can learn more about the process of making cheese.
After all this information, we continue our walk by taking again the Mient and turn right into the Langestraat.
This is one of the main shopping streets of Alkmaar, you will find here all kind of nice shops. We ask you to
stop at no. 97, this historical building is the Town hall of Alkmaar.
Town hall of Alkmaar
Just enjoy the beautiful building in the middle of the shopping street. Is was built between 1509-1520 in the Gothic
style, later on it was partly burnt down and rebuilt and expanded in different styles. The court, initiated by the
French rulers in 1811, was also located in this building until 1893.
We continue our walk until we encounter a large church. This is the Grote- or Sint-Laurens church.
Grote- or Sint Laurens church
This church was built in honor of the holy Laurentius of Rome, the building of it took many years from 1470-1518
and it was designed by the architect family Keldermans. The style is Gothic like the Town hall. It started as a
Catholic church but after the Eight Years’ War, it became Protestant. Inside you can find the oldest still playable
Dutch pipe organ, designed by Jan van Covelens in 1511.
We pass the church at the right side and find ourselves on the Canadaplein.
We pass the church at the right side and find ourselves on the Canadaplein. At the Canadaplein there are two
interesting cultural buildings, first a theater called De Vest and second the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar. In
the theater all kind of artists are performing, if you are interested to attend to a performance, we
recommend to visit their website for the program. Furthermore we advise you to pay a visit to the Stedelijk
Museum Alkmaar, it is a modern museum with interactive exhibitions, where you will learn more about the
history of Alkmaar.
Coming outside of the museum, we turn right and walk straight to the Bergerburg which we cross to the
Geesterweg into the Bergerweg and turn right to the Stationsweg, back to the starting point of our city walk.
We have visited Alkmaar many times in the past but today we have discovered many new facts about
Alkmaar and its beautiful historical buildings. We hope that you have enjoyed the walk as much as we did.
We hope to see you soon on one of our other city walks!
We continue our walk through the Geest. You can also decide to walk through the Kannisstraat and over the
old city wall of Alkmaar. The Geest turns into the Clarissenbuurt and at the end we turn left and take the
Lindegracht. Here you find at the corner of the Lindegracht and the Ritsevoort, a building called the Hofje
(courtyard) van Splinter.
Alkmaar - The Netherlands
Hotel tip Almaar:
We decided to stay one night in a hotel, so we could do some thoroughly research for our city walk.
We chose for the College Hotel Alkmaar, the address of the hotel is Achter de Vest no. 3. The hotel is
close to both the railway station and the city center. Before it was a hotel, it was an old school, the
staff is very friendly and can tell you all about the interesting history of the hotel.
If you are interested in this or another hotel in Alkmaar, please check here for the availability and best
offers.
Alkmaar city walk route information:
Start: railway station Alkmaar
Distance: 6.5 km Duration: 2 hours Download or print map Alkmaar city walk route:
Top sights Alkmaar:
Alkmaar Cheese Capital of the Netherlands
May 6, 2016
Welcome to our fourth web blog. This time we are
visiting Alkmaar a town situated in the north-west
of the Netherlands. It is an old historical town
which had been granted city rights in 1254. It has
played an important role during the Eighty Years’
War, the inhabitants resisted the Spanish soldiers
and chased them away by putting the surrounded
area of Alkmaar under water. This event is still
celebrated every year on October 8
th
during
Alkmaars Ontzet.
This region is a favorite among tourists coming
especially from Germany. For us it was only a
short travel because we are living nearby.
Of course the starting point of this city walk is at
the central station of Alkmaar, because most
(foreign)tourist are arriving by train.
From the train station we start walking on the
Stationsweg until we cross the Bergerweg, we turn
left and start walking towards the city center of
Alkmaar. On our way we cross the Bergerbrug.
After the bridge we take the second small street
named Geest. After two minutes you see on your
right hand, one of the oldest 16
th
century brick
houses of Alkmaar, the address is Kannisstraat no.
1/Geest 10-12.
It used to be a shop and house in one. Now they
are two separate houses. We continue our walk
through the Geest. You can also decide to walk
through the Kannisstraat and over the old city wall
of Alkmaar. The Geest turns into the Clarissenbuurt
and at the end we turn left and take the
Lindegracht. Here you find at the corner of the
Lindegracht and the Ritsevoort, a building called the
Hofje (courtyard) van Splinter.
The Hofje van Splinter
This Hofje van Splinter was built in 1646
according the last will of a woman named
Margareta Splinter. She came from a wealthy
family. In her will was written that there should be
built 8 small houses especially for women without
children, who had fallen into poverty throughout
their lives. The women who lived there, received
an annual allowance of 100 guilders. A portrait of
Margareta Splinter can be found in the Stedelijk
Museum Alkmaar. Please also notice the beautiful
facing brick with a woman figure on it.
If you walk further into the Ritsevoort, you will find
at the end a windmill called “de Molen van Piet”.
Windmill “de Molen van Piet”
This windmill is situated on the Clarissen bolwerk
(rampart of the city wall). It was built in 1769 and
operated as a corn mill until 1993. One can walk
around the windmill and visit the nice gardens and
enjoy the view point.
Now there are two options or you walk back
through the Ritsevoort or you walk in a circle over
the city wall and take the Clarissenbuurt to come
back to the Oudegracht. When you arrive at the
Oudegracht you go straight ahead, it does not
matter on which side of the canal you walk but do
not forget to enjoy all the beautiful historical
buildings and bridges. We stop at no. 198, to do
some window shopping at the bridal shop. Nice
memories are coming back, thirteen years ago, I
bought my wedding dress in that same shop.
When you are almost at the end of the Oudegracht
you will find on the right bank of the Oudegracht
on no. 87 The Wildemanshofje (courtyard).
The Wildemanshofje
This hofje was built following the last will of Gerrit
Wildeman, a very rich tradesman. In the years
before his death, his wife and children already died,
so he decided by testament that they should build
the Wildemanshofje and it should look the same as
Meermansburg in the town of Leiden. The
Wildemanshofje was built in 1713, it consists out of
24 houses, two wells for doing the laundry and in
1758 they planted the linden trees to provide some
shade in the garden. The statues you see are
designed and made by a sculptor named Jacob van
der Beek. The 24 houses were intended for poor
single old women. Their religion was not important
but the majority should be Protestant. Nowadays
there are still women living in the houses but
religion is no longer an issue.
After the serenity of the hofje, we step back into the
city life. We continue our walk and turn left at the
end of the Oudegracht.
We find ourselves on the crossing
Bierkade/Verdronkenoord at no. 26, here you will
find a small tower called the Accijnstoren (Tax
declaration tower).
The Accijnstoren was built in 1622 and its
function was a tax office. For all the goods that
entered the city of Alkmaar one had to pay taxes.
It is now a Havenkantoor, so if your ship or boat is
berthed in the harbor overnight, you have to
register and pay port charges at that office.
Now you turn into the Verdronkenoord, again a
beautiful street with historical building a canal in
the middle and lovely bridges to cross the water,
where you want. In the middle on the left bank,
you will find a building called the Vigilantie, this
was used as a storehouse and was built in the 17
th
century, it is a very elegant building. At the end we
turn right walking over the Vismarkt we arrive on
the Mient.
Mient
There are two interesting things to mention
standing here, first in the old days there used to
be a pillory in the middle of the bridge where
there is now a lamppost and second if you look up
to no. 23, you will see a very beautiful façade of a
building called the Leeuwenborg (Lions) 17
th
century, as the name implies, two lions are located
on the upper side of the façade.
We continue our walk and turn right into the
Fnidsen and take the first left the Appelsteeg 2,
before crossing the bridge, we invite you to take a
closer look at the historical wooden house at your
left hand. The house is named the house with the
bullet (Het huis met de kogel).
During the Eighty Years’ War a bullet of 40 pounds
was shot through the wall of the house,
miraculously nobody was injured or shot.
We cross the bridge and turn left to the Zijdam, if
you walk straight ahead to the Achterdam, you will
find yourself in the red light district of Alkmaar. In
the Zijdam we turn right to the Voordam and cross
the bridge to the Waagplein.
Waagplein
The Waagplein is the central square of the city of
Alkmaar, there is a lot going on, it is surrounded
with bars, restaurants and cafes. During
Summertime the square is filled with terraces and
there are musical festivals organized.
De Waag
De Waag is the main building on the Waagplein. It
has a long history, it started as Chapel and former
catholic hospital (Heilig Geestgasthuis) for the
poor and the travelers passing by (3 nights for
free). The sick were looked after by nuns and
monks. Since 1566 it is used as a Waag. Nowadays
it plays an important role during the Cheese
market on the Fridays in Summertime. You can
also find the Cheese museum and Tourist
Information Center in this building. In the tower
there is an historic Carillon, which still plays on the
Fridays and during special occasions.
Cheese Market
This event takes place on the Waagplein on every
Friday morning from 10.00 hrs. until 12.30 hrs.,
starting from the first Friday in April until the first
Friday in September. What happens during the
Cheese Market? It is a
demonstration/reconstruction of the Cheese
Market in former times. Earlier the local cheese
farmers transported their cheeses on a flatboat to
the Waag to meet the traders. The traders tasted,
tested and weighted the cheeses by using the
Waag, and made a price with the farmers by
clapping hands. The traders make use of 4 teams
of carriers, you can recognize them by the color of
their hats. They transport the cheeses to and from
the Waag and the pushcarts. The thing they carry
the cheeses on, is called a berrie. Normally they
carry 8 cheeses (160 kilo) at the same time. The
type of cheese they trade here is a flat Gouda
cheese. During the Cheese Market there are
market stalls, where you can buy all kind of typical
Dutch goods and food, like chocolate, wooden
shoes, stroopwafels and of course all kinds of
cheeses.
Cheese museum
The blue cow in the door opening is welcoming
you into the Cheese museum. It is a very
interesting museum, where you can learn more
about the process of making cheese.
After all this information, we continue our walk by
taking again the Mient and turn right into the
Langestraat. This is one of the main shopping
streets of Alkmaar, you will find here all kind of
nice shops. We ask you to stop at no. 97, this
historical building is the Town hall of Alkmaar.
Town hall of Alkmaar
Just enjoy the beautiful building in the middle of
the shopping street. Is was built between 1509-
1520 in the Gothic style, later on it was partly
burnt down and rebuilt and expanded in different
styles. The court, initiated by the French rulers in
1811, was also located in this building until 1893.
We continue our walk until we encounter a large
church. This is the Grote- or Sint-Laurens church.
Grote- or Sint Laurens church
This church was built in honor of the holy
Laurentius of Rome, the building of it took many
years from 1470-1518 and it was designed by the
architect family Keldermans. The style is Gothic
like the Town hall. It started as a Catholic church
but after the Eight Years’ War, it became
Protestant. Inside you can find the oldest still
playable Dutch pipe organ, designed by Jan van
Covelens in 1511.
We pass the church at the right side and find
ourselves on the Canadaplein.
We pass the church at the right side and find
ourselves on the Canadaplein. At the Canadaplein
there are two interesting cultural buildings, first a
theater called De Vest and second the Stedelijk
Museum Alkmaar. In the theater all kind of artists
are performing, if you are interested to attend to a
performance, we recommend to visit their website
for the program. Furthermore we advise you to
pay a visit to the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, it is a
modern museum with interactive exhibitions,
where you will learn more about the history of
Alkmaar.
Coming outside of the museum, we turn right and
walk straight to the Bergerburg which we cross to
the Geesterweg into the Bergerweg and turn right to
the Stationsweg, back to the starting point of our
city walk.
We have visited Alkmaar many times in the past
but today we have discovered many new facts
about Alkmaar and its beautiful historical
buildings. We hope that you have enjoyed the walk
as much as we did. We hope to see you soon on
one of our other city walks!
Hotel tip Alkmaar:
We decided to stay one night in a hotel, so we
could do some thoroughly research for our city
walk. We chose for the College Hotel Alkmaar,
the address of the hotel is Achter de Vest no. 3. The
hotel is close to both the railway station and the
city center. Before it was a hotel, it was an old
school, the staff is very friendly and can tell you all
about the interesting history of the hotel.
If you are interested in this or another hotel in
Alkmaar, please check here for the availability and
best offers.
Copyright 2016 CityWalkSights
Copyright 2016 CityWalkSights