Naarden
| Naarden | |||
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| City and former municipality | |||
| Aerial photo of the historic city of Naarden
Aerial photo of the historic city of Naarden
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.svg) Location in North Holland |
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | North Holland | ||
| Municipality | Gooise Meren | ||
| Area[1] | |||
| • Total | 32.90 km2 (12.70 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 21.40 km2 (8.26 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 11.50 km2 (4.44 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation[2] | 3 m (10 ft) | ||
| Population (May 2014)[3] | |||
| • Total | 17,204 | ||
| • Density | 804/km2 (2,080/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Naardenees, Naardenaar | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postcode | 1410–1414 | ||
| Area code | 035 | ||
| Website | www |
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Naarden ([ˈnaːrdə(n)] (
listen)) is a city and former municipality in the Gooi region in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren since 2016. Naarden is an example of a star fort, complete with fortified walls and a moat. The moat and walls have been restored.[when?]
Naarden was granted its city rights in 1300 (the only town in Het Gooi with these rights) and later developed into a fortified garrison town with a textile industry. Naarden is the home of the Netherlands Fortress Museum (Nederlands Vestingmuseum). Naarden hosts the bi-annual Naarden Photo Festival and, on Good Friday, a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in the local church, which is called the Great Church or St. Vitus Church. Despite its earlier importance, Naarden's population was surpassed by Hilversum in the 18th century and today it is smaller than its neighbour Bussum.
Naarden is well known as the city where Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius) was buried; visitors can see his grave in the mausoleum devoted to him.
The city's distinctive shape made it a rallying point for Allied bombers returning to England after raids on Germany.[citation needed]
Contents
Topography
Transport
The nearest station is Naarden-Bussum railway station, which has services to Almere, Amersfoort, Amsterdam and Utrecht.
Economy
The company Stork B.V. has its head office in Naarden.[4]
Local government
The municipal council of Naarden consisted of 17 seats, which were divided as follows (2015):
- VVD - 5 seats
- D66 - 4 seat
- CDA - 3 seats
- GroenLinks - 3 seats
- PvdA - 2 seats
Sights
- The Great Church (Grote Kerk). The church is situated on the Markstraat and dates from the 15th century. Prior to the Protestant Reformation it was named for St Vitus. It is one of the oldest surviving churches in The Netherlands, having had the good fortune to survive the Spanish invasion of 1572 and the subsequent burning of the town. The church has numerous wooden vaults that are painted with scenes from the Old and New Testaments. These were hidden for many years and were only rediscovered in a recent restoration. The church is the venue for a number of cultural activities such as organ music nights and the bi-annual Naarden Photo festival.
- The Spanish House (Spaanse Huis). The house, situated at Turfpoortstraat 27, was originally a church building converted to house migrants. In 1572 Spanish troops conducted a massacre of some 700 inhabitants who had gathered to hear a peace proposal. The Spanish then fired on the assembled citizens, and went on to set fire to the town. A plaque above the lintel of the door and below the eaves commemorates the massacre. In 1615, after the population had reestablished itself, they built the city hall on the site. Part of the building was given over to De Waag (The Scales House), the municipal office entrusted with the verification of weights and measures. The building later served a French garrison as a bakery, turning out over 1000 loaves per day. From 1967 until 1992 it served as the Comenius museum.Today, the historic building serves as the Weegschaal Museum.
Notable residents
- Nordin Amrabat (born 1987) – football player
- Willem Arondeus (1894–1943) – artist and author
- Belcampo (21 juli 1902 - 1990) – writer (Herman Pieter Schönfeld Wichers)
- Tom Coronel (born 1972) – racing driver
- Maarten de Bruijn (born 1965) – product designer
- Annemarie Groen (born 1955) – backstroke swimmer
- Tom van 't Hek (born 1958) – field hockey player and coach
- Andries Knevel (born 1952) – talk show host
- Frank Martin (1890–1974) – Swiss composer who lived in Naarden for the last twenty years of his life
- Bertil Schmüll (born 1946) – engraver
- Salomon van Ruysdael (~1602–1670) – painter
- Maarten van Delden (born 1958) – professor at UCLA and field hockey player
Images
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Town hall
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Fortress gate
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Contact information." Stork B.V. Retrieved on 10 January 2012. "Stork Head office Stork B.V. Amersfoortsestraatweg 7 1412 KA NAARDEN"
External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
Naarden travel guide from Wikivoyage- Official website
- Pages with broken file links
- Vague or ambiguous time from April 2015
- Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015
- Geography of Gooise Meren
- Former municipalities of North Holland
- Populated places in North Holland
- Cities in the Netherlands
- Fortifications in the Netherlands
- Fortified settlements
- Star forts
