Top Bezienswaardigheden Alkmaar

Ontdek de prachtige bezienswaardigheden van Alkmaar! Verken de stad met ons uitgebreide overzicht van unieke plekken die je niet mag missen. Ontdek meer op onze stadspagina en maak gebruik van onze gratis stadswandeling langs de mooiste bezienswaardigheden van Alkmaar. Laat je verrassen door de charme van deze geweldige stad!

1 - Waagplein/Kaasmarkt

In the summer the world's famous cheese market is held on the Waagplein. You will also find many cozy cafes and restaurants around Waagplein. The Waagplein has been inextricably linked to cheese for centuries. 1622 was the first cheese market year in Alkmaar. In this year the Cheese Carrier Guild was founded. Alkmaar already had a cheese scale in 1365. In the 17th century, the cheese was traded every year in the summer on Friday and Saturday. In the 18th century, a cheese market was held four days a week. The cheese market was still a serious business for a long time: in 1916 an average of 300 tons of cheese was sold per market day.

2 - Waag

The 'Waag" is a national monument since 1969. The building has a tower with famous horse riders and a nice carillon. The building had been used as a chapel and a weigh house. Currently it houses the tourist office ans Dutch Cheesemuseum. At the facade of the Waag you'll find the saying: "SPQA (Senatus Populusque Alcmariensis) RESTITVIT VIRTVS ABLATAE JVRA BILANCIS". This means something like: "Courage and power gave back gouverment and people of Alkmaar the lost weighing rights". The people of Alkmaar fought courageously during the siege of Alkmaar on oktober 8th 1573. Therefore the clerics gave the Waag back to the people of Alkmaar.

3 - Large Sint-Laurenskerk

The big St Laurenschurch is a cruciform basilica that is covered with natural stone and has a seven-sided chord closure. It was build from 1470 till 1518. The church has four stair towers and the oldest playable church organ in Holland. Originally is was a Catholic church which in 1573 turned into a Protestant Church. Since 1996 it no longer has a religious function. Nowadays it is a museum that tells about the history of the building.

4 - Visbanken

The "Visbanken/Vismarkt" is a marketplace from the 16th century with buildings from the 18th and 19th century. The two galery's give shelter to the fishermen and are being held by cast iron columns. The canal side doors used to give access to a quay. The roof of the gallery at the canal side is decorated by a stone fisherman and a wooden fisherman's wife. There is an double waterpump on the marketplace. Due to the agressive water of fish waste, the pit grates are made of copper.

5 - Town hall

The old cityhall of Alkmaar was built between 1509 and 1520 in gothic style. Eight years after completion, a large part of the cityhall was destroyed by a fire. Among other things, the archives were fully ruined. It was rebuilt and from december 10th of 1969 it it a national monument. The old cityhall is still in function as cityhall. Nowadays it is mostly a weddinglocation.

6 - Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar

The "Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar" is the municipal museum from Alkmaar that aims to keep and present the history and cultural heritage of Alkmaar. The museum was opened in 1875 and is thefore one of the oldests museums in the Netherlands.

7 - Dutch Cheese Museum

The Dutch Cheese Museum is located in the Waag on the Waagplein. The museum opened in 1983 and attracts 35,000 visitors annually. The museum shows, among other things, the production of dairy products on the farm and in the factory, as well as trade and life in the countryside.

8 - House with the bullet

This building form the 16th century has a wooden facade. Each floor is wider than the floor beneath. This was done to protect rainwater from coming in the house. During the siege of 1573 the building was hit by a Spanish bullet. Due to fire hazard, the building of wooden facades was prohibited in Alkmaar in 1639.

9 - Piets mill

The Molen (Mill) from Piet is built in 1769 as a cornmill. In 1884 the mill was bought by Cornelis Piet. He built a residence at the bottom of the mill. This is how the mill became know as Mill from Piet instead of the official name: De Groot. Nowadays the mill is owned by the township but is still inhabited by a member of the family Piet.

10 - Accijnstower

The "Accijnstower" was the building where urban taxes had to be paid. The tower was build in 1622. It was build in Dutch Renaissance style en richly decorated. The wooden tower had a gilden ship on top as weather vane. In 1924 the building was moved 4 metres to enable the widening of the "Bierkade".

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