Alkmaar

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Accijnstoren, Alkmaar

[Alkmaar] is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Noord Holland. The city sees itself as 'Duwer van de Randstad', wich means literal 'Pusher of the Randstad'. This is said, because the city is one of the Northern cities that make the Randstad Holland Delta Metropole (see Randstadartical for further explanation).

Besides the city of Alkmaar, the municipality also comprises the villages of Koedijk and Oudorp; these once separate villages are now all linked together by the suburban sprawl of buildings that arose between the late 70's and early 90's. During this time, the population of Alkmaar almost doubled.

Alkmaar was granted city rights in 1254. The oldest part of the city lies on an ancient sand bank that afforded some protection from the sea during medieval times. Even so, it is only a couple of metres above the surrounding region, which consists of some of the oldest polders in existence. A major point in history for the city was in 1573 when the siege of the city by the Spaniards under the leadership of the Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba was ended on the 8th of October. This was the first city in the Netherlands to be freed from the Spanish occupation, an occasion that is still celebrated every year on this day.

The city is nowadays mostly known for its cheese market. This traditionally takes place on Friday mornings between April and October. It is one of only four traditional Dutch Cheese Markets still in existence in the Netherlands. The traditional fare of this cheese market are those cheeses made in the local area, as opposed to the well-known brands of Dutch cheeses, i.e. Edam cheese and Gouda cheese. It is not actually possible to buy cheese at the market itself, which is really only a demonstration of how this merchants' market operated in times gone by. However, the show, which takes place in front of the medieval weighing house, is surrounded by many specialized stalls where it is possible to buy all kinds of cheese (and non-cheese) related products. The Weighing House is also the location of the local tourist office and the Cheese Museum. There is also a Beer Museum nearby.

The professional football team AZ is based in Alkmaar.

A red light district is situated at the Achterdam.

Population centres

The municipality of Alkmaar consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Alkmaar, Koedijk (partly), Oudorp and Omval.

Local government

The municipal council of Alkmaar consists of 37 seats, which are divided as follows:

• OPA - 8 seats
• PvdA - 8 seats
• CDA - 6 seats
• Leefbaar Alkmaar - 4 seats
• VVD - 4 seats
• GroenLinks - 3 seats
• SP - 3 seats
• D66 - 1 seat

References

• Statistics are taken from the [SDU Staatscourant]

External links

• [Pictures from Alkmaar]
• [Alkmaar webpage]

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