What to See in Haarlem - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands.

The museum was established in 1862. In 1950, the museum was split in two locations when the collection of modern art was moved to the Museum De Hallen (since 2018 called Hal). The main collection, including its famous 17th-century Frans Hals paintings, for which the museum is named, is located in the former Oude Mannenhuis on the Groot Heiligland.

The museum was founded in 1862 in the newly renovated former Dominican church cloisters located in the back of the Haarlem city hall known as the Prinsenhof, and when it needed more space, it moved to the recently vacated location of the town orphanage in 1913. The collection is based on the large number of paintings owned by the City of Haarlem, which includes over 100 artworks seized from Catholic churches in the 1580s after the Protestant Reformation, and Haarlem art rescued from demolished local buildings from the 15th century onwards.

In 2018 the museum re-merged with Museum De Hallen to form a single museum called the Frans Hals Museum with two locations: Hof (located on Groot Heiligland) and Hal (located on Grote Markt).^[2]

The Grote Markt is the central market square of Haarlem, Netherlands.

According to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica;

In the great market place in the centre of the city are gathered together the larger number of the most interesting buildings, including the quaint old Fleshers' Hall, built by Lieven de Key in 1603, and now containing the archives; the town hall; the old Stadsdoelen, where the burgesses met in arms; the Groote Kerk, or Great Church; and the statue erected in 1856 to Laurens Janszoon Koster, the printer. The Great Church, dedicated to St Bavo, with a lofty tower, is one of the most famous in Holland, and dates from the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries. Its great length and the height and steepness of its vaulted cedar-wood roof are very impressive... In the belfry are the damiaatjes, small bells presented to the town, according to tradition, by William I, Count of Holland, the crusader. The town hall was originally a palace of the counts of Holland, begun in the 12th century, and some old 13th-century beams still remain; but the building was remodelled in the beginning of the 17th century. It contains a collection of antiquities and a picture gallery which, though small, is celebrated for its fine collection of paintings by Frans Hals.^[7]

Ruins of a 13th-century brick castle. Brederode Castle, also called the Ruins of Brederode, is located near Santpoort-Zuid. The castle was founded in the second half of the 13th century by William I van Brederode. William was a descendant of the lords van Teylingen, who were related to the counts of Holland. The castle formed part of the high lordship Brederode, which had been given in loan in the 13th century to the lords of Brederode by the count of Holland.

The name Brederode is a reference to a wooded area called Brede Roede (literally: broad wood), that was cleared and on which the castle was built. The castle was at first not more than a tower, but around 1300 Dirk II van Brederode had the tower pulled down and replaced with a proper castle.^[10]

Museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. The Ten Boom Museum is a museum in Haarlem, the Netherlands, dedicated to The Hiding Place, the subject of a book by Corrie ten Boom. The house where the museum is located was purchased and restored in 1983 by the Corrie ten Boom Fellowship, a non-profit 501 corporation governed by a board of directors. Mike Evans serves as the chairman of the Board.

The Ten Boom family ran a watch shop (horlogerie) on the corner of an alleyway and the main shopping street of Haarlem, the Netherlands. During the Nazi occupation of Haarlem starting in 1942, they provided safe harbour for Jews and other underground refugees in a hiding place they built upstairs. Their large social network in church charities and watchmaker circles made the family quite successful in smuggling refugees until it was betrayed on February 28, 1944. In the alleyway, it would place a small triangular sign to indicate that the coast was clear. After the betrayal, the Nazis were able to collect many more prisoners by falsely placing the triangle in the window.

Casper ten Boom, the father, died on March 9, 1944, less than two weeks later, in Scheveningen prison, at 84. Betsie ten Boom died on December 16 in Ravensbrück concentration camp, at 59. Willem died on December 16, 1946, in Hilversum, at 60. His son Christiaan ("Kik") died sometime in April 1945, at 25. Corrie ten Boom survived Ravensbrück and returned to Haarlem and the watch shop. She died in 1983, on her 91st birthday. She wrote several books about her experiences, and this museum opened on her birthday in 1988.

The museum is open from 10:00 to 15:30 Tuesday to Saturday.^[13]

Monument in Haarlem, Netherlands. The Proveniershuis is a hofje and former schutterij on the Grote Houtstraat in Haarlem, Netherlands.

The complex of buildings surrounds a rectangular garden taking up a city block that is on the Haarlem hofje route. Unlike hofjes that were meant for poor elderly women, the homes around this courtyard are much larger, and the garden itself is about twice the normal size. The reason is that these inhabitants were men who actually paid rent to live there, as opposed to hofje inhabitants who had no income to spend on rent. Most hofjes were for women, because they were able to run their own modest household, usually as a member of a "hofje team" in various responsible roles. Men were generally less able to take care of themselves and were thus dependent on the "preuves" in the form of simple meals and services that were paid for from rents.^[24]

Building. Patronaat is one of the 10 largest alternative pop music halls in the Netherlands and was established in 1984. It is located at the Zijlsingel in Haarlem, near the city center.

In 2003 the old building was replaced with a brand new concert hall, which was being used for the first time in 2005. Between September 2003 until May 2005 a temporary location at the Oostvest functioned as Haarlem's concert hall.

The new building was designed by architect Paul Diederen of the architecture firm Diederen Dirriox Architecten of Eindhoven. The building's capacity was significantly increased with a large hall for 1000 visitors, a second one for some 350 guests and a music bar for 100 people, which has live music three days in the week, free of admission. A total of 500 events is organised every year, for some 140.000 people.

With a strong program and a character of its own Patronaat provides progressive pop music and meets the wishes of its catchment. Over the years artists like Willy DeVille, Solomon Burke, Tori Amos, Dick Dale, Herman Brood, Living Colour, Bo Diddley, dEUS, Zita Swoon, Gabriel Rios, Rickie Lee Jones, The Gutter Twins, Steve Lukather, José Feliciano, Babyshambles, Calexico, Michael Franti & Spearhead, but also heavy acts like Limp Bizkit, Anthrax, The Bloodhound Gang, Marillion, The Misfits, Danko Jones, Soulfly, Therapy?, New Model Army, Y&T, Neurosis, Cradle of Filth, Obituary, D.R.I. Helmet, Dimmu Borgir and Deicide, as well as large names in the electronic music world like Paul Kalkbrenner, Dave Clarke, Knife Party, Steve Aoki, Modeselektor, Jeff Mills, James Holden, DJ Hell, Orbital, Leftfield, Battles, Pendulum, Chase & Status, Nero, Camo & Krooked, Andy C, Sub Focus, Aphrodite, Ed Rush, Benga, Skream, Caspa and Rusko have found their way to the Haarlem venue.^[30]

Museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. The ABC Architectuurcentrum Haarlem is a center for Architecture in Haarlem, the Netherlands, dedicated to promoting interest and conserving the architectural heritage of Kennemerland.

The center was formed in 1989 and aims to inform all those involved in the building sector of current plans and events regarding large projects in the Haarlem area. The center has a core group of five part-time workers, and the rest of its activities (including the reception area) are manned by a small army of volunteers. It is located in the former polyclinic of the St. Elisabeth Gasthuis, Haarlem on the Groot Heiligland 47, across from the Frans Hals Museum, and shares its front door with the Historisch Museum Haarlem, which is located next door. The center is open from Tuesday-Saturday from 12:00 to 17:00 and on Sundays from 13:00 to 17:00. Admission is free. The rooms can be rented for gatherings and group activities are regularly organized there.^[31]