Towards evening, our riverboat approaches the landing stage in Alkmaar. We look forward to a short exploratory tour and the guided tour of the city the next morning.
The city lies between the North Sea and the IJsselmeer, about 50 kilometres north-west of Amsterdam.
In 1573, the city became a symbol of the Dutch struggle for freedom and was given the motto ‘The Victorious’ (Alcmaria victrix), which also appears as a coat of arms. During the Eighty Years' War, the Spanish captured Haarlem after a hard-fought battle and then advanced on Alkmaar, which they besieged. However, the courage of the city's defenders, the weariness of the besiegers and tactical flooding of the surrounding polders forced the Spanish to surrender on 8 October 1573.
Die grote Sint Laurens Kerk
The originally Catholic church was built between 1470 and 1518 in the Brabant Gothic style and was dedicated to St. Lawrence. During the Reformation, the church became Protestant in 1573. It was deconsecrated in 1996 and now houses a permanent exhibition on its history and is used as a concert hall, mainly thanks to its two organs.
Old Town Hall
An octagonal tower decorated with horizontal stripes of white sandstone flanks the old town hall with its Gothic façade dating from the early 16th century.
Cheese Market
The Alkmaar Cheese Market takes place on Waagplein in the city centre every Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. from the end of March to the end of September. The dominant building, ‘die Waag’, used to be a chapel and now houses the Cheese Museum and a tourist office. There is a carillon on the tower.
Although we did not experience the market itself, we did attend a cheese tasting.
Molen van Piet
Piet's mill is one of five mills in the actual city limits of Alkmaar and one of eight more in the outer city limits.
Pictures of the old town
River Cruise
