Haarlemmermeer

Haarlemmermeer () is a municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The name Haarlemmermeer means 'Haarlem's lake', referring to the body of water from which the region was reclaimed in the 19th century.

Haarlemmermeer's main town is Hoofddorp, which has a population of 76,660. Hoofddorp, along with the rapidly growing towns of Nieuw-Vennep and Badhoevedorp, are part of the Randstad agglomeration. The main international airport of the Netherlands, Schiphol, is located in Haarlemmermeer.

History

left|thumb|Map of Haarlemmermeer, June 2015

The original Haarlemmermeer lake is said to have been mostly a peat bog, a relic of a northern arm of the Rhine which passed through the district in Roman times. In 1531, the original Haarlemmermeer had an area of , and near it were three smaller lakes: the Leidsche Meer (Leiden Lake), the Spiering Meer, and the Oude Meer (Old Lake), with a combined area of about .

The four lakes were formed into one by successive floods with the Haarlemmermeer name being applied to the combined lake. Villages disappeared in the process. One of those villages was Vennep, after which the modern Nieuw-Vennep was named. In Dutch, the tendency for lakes to grow over time is called the waterwolf. During the Dutch War of Independence, the waters of the Haarlemmermeer were the scene of the Battle of Haarlemmermeer, a naval engagement between a Spanish fleet and the ships of the Dutch rebels known as "Sea Beggars", who were trying to break the Siege of Haarlem.

thumb|left|Historic map of the Haarlemmermeer before reclamation.

The Haarlemmermeer could be a dangerous place during storms. On 7 January 1629, Frederick Henry of the Palatinate, son and heir of Frederick V, the "Winter King" drowned trying to cross it. By 1647, the new Haarlemmermeer had an area of about , which a century later had increased to over .

Population centres

The municipality of Haarlemmermeer contains the following cities, towns and villages: Aalsmeerderbrug, Abbenes, Badhoevedorp, Beinsdorp, Boesingheliede, Buitenkaag, Burgerveen, Cruquius, De Hoek, Haarlemmerliede, Halfweg, Hoofddorp, 't Kabel, Leimuiderbrug, Lijnden, Lisserbroek, Nieuwe Meer, Nieuwebrug, Nieuw-Vennep, Oude Meer, Penningsveer, Rijsenhout, , Schiphol, Schiphol-Rijk, Spaarndam (partly), Spaarnwoude, Vijfhuizen, Vinkebrug, Weteringbrug, Zwaanshoek, Zwanenburg.

Monuments and parks

right|thumb|Cruquiusmuseum entrance, taken from Cruquiusmuseum park

Stelling van Amsterdam – the old defense line of Amsterdam crosses the Haarlemmermeer. Plans are being made to make this entire defense line walkable, but currently it is not possible to cross the major highway A4 that goes through it. This park is accessible at various points for recreation, including the Haarlemmermeer Woods.
Haarlemmermeer Woods (Dutch: 'Haarlemmermeerse Bos') – the largest public park in Haarlemmermeer and site of the International garden show Floriade 2002, the park includes a large lake for swimming in the summer and a 40-meter manmade hill called Spotter's Hill. The Haarlemmermeer Woods is home to events such as horse shows and the Mysteryland music festival.
Museum De Cruquius – the Cruquius museum resides in one of the steam mills used to pump the Haarlemmermeer dry and is open to the public for a demonstration of the steam engine and a model of the Netherlands waterways and polders. Because the Cruquius steam engine is the largest ever built, the museum is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. Behind the museum is a park.

Economy

thumb|left|TransPort Building – Houses head offices of [[Martinair and Transavia.com]]

Four airlines, TUI fly Netherlands, KLM Cityhopper, Martinair, and Transavia have their headquarters on the grounds of Schiphol Airport in Haarlemmermeer. The airline alliance SkyTeam has its offices in the World Trade Center Schiphol building on the grounds of Schiphol Airport. Schiphol Group, which operates the airport, has its head office on the airport property. Iran Air has its Netherlands sales office in the World Trade Center building. Nippon Cargo Airlines has its Europe regional offices there as well. Corendon Dutch Airlines has its head office in Lijnden, Haarlemmermeer. Lijnden also has the Amsterdam branch office of Corendon Airlines.

Also, the international organization representing air navigation service providers (air traffic controllers), Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) has its headquarters in Schiphol Airport.

At one time KLM had its head office on the grounds of Schiphol Airport. Its current head office in Amstelveen had a scheduled completion at the end of 1970. When Air Holland existed, its head office was in Oude Meer, Haarlemmermeer. At one time NLM CityHopper had its head office at the airport.

Transportation

Roadways

One of the busiest freeways in the Netherlands, the A4 from Amsterdam to Den Haag, crosses right through Haarlemmermeer. Other freeways are the A5, from Hoofddorp to Amsterdam Sloterdijk, A9 from Alkmaar to Diemen and the A44, from Nieuw-Vennep to Wassenaar.

Calatrava bridges

thumb|right|Calatrava bridge – Cittern

In the presence of HM Queen Beatrix, in 2004 three bridges designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava were opened. The bridges span the main canal of the Haarlemmermeer and are named after three string instruments; Harp, Cittern, and Lute.

In 2006 two of those bridges' structures already displayed clear signs of corrosion, and had to be repaired.

Aviation

thumb|[[Schiphol Airport]]

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the principal international airport of the Netherlands, is also situated in Haarlemmermeer.

Railway

Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the Dutch National Railways, serves the municipality with three stations: Hoofddorp, Nieuw-Vennep, and Schiphol Airport (which serves high speed rail as well).

There was a network of local steam railways across Harlemmermeer in the early 20th century, the Haarlemmermeer railway lines.

Water transport

The Ringvaart is an important waterway for commercial and recreational boats alike. A portion of it forms part of the sailroute from Hollands Diep to the IJsselmeer, passable for ships with masts over 6 meters tall. There is also a connection to the Kaag Lake system (Kagerplassen), which extends to Leiden and beyond.

There are several canals within Haarlemmermeer itself, the main ones are Hoofdvaart (Main Canal) and Kruisvaart (Cross Canal). But these had initially no connection to the outside waterways, meaning that goods had to be reloaded at the ring dike. In 1895 a double canal lock was built at Aalsmeer, boosting the economy. In the 1950s this lock was closed and the canals are once again no longer used for shipping.

Government

City council

thumb|Boardroom of the City Council in Hoofddorp

The municipal council of Haarlemmermeer consists of 39 seats, which at the 2022 municipal elections divided as follows:

VVD – 8 seats
Haarlemmermeerse Actieve Politiek (HAP) – 6 seats
Groenlinks – 5 seats
D66 – 4 seats
CDA – 3 seats
Forza! Haarlemmermeer – 3 seats
PvdA – 3 seats
Sociaal Rechts Haarlemmermeer (SRH) – 2 seats
ChristenUnie/SGP – 1 seat
Een Haarlemmermeer – 1 seat
Gezond Haarlemmermeer – 1 seat
Forum for Democracy – 1 seat
Belang van Nederland (BVNL) – 1 seat

National government

The Netherlands Aviation Safety Board, during its existence, had its head office in Hoofddorp in Haarlemmermeer. The Dutch Transport Safety Board, the successor agency, was established on 1 July 1999 and the Netherlands Aviation Safety Board was merged into the agency at that time.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

The following cities have a sister city relationship with the Haarlemmermeer municipality:

Cebu City, Philippines
Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary

To honour the relationship, three structures in Hoofddorp are named after the sister cities: The Cebu Citybridge and the Hódmezővásárhely fountain.

Notable people

140px|thumb|Hendrik Colijn, 1925

140px|thumb|Tineke Netelenbos, 2015

140px|thumb|Fanny Blankers-Koen, 1988

Hendrikus Colijn (1869 in Burgerveen – 1944) a Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1925/1926 & 1933/1939
Gerrit Verkuyl (1872 in Haarlemmermeer – 1967) a New Testament Greek scholar and Bible Translator in the US
Machiel van den Heuvel (1900 in Haarlemmermeer – 1946) a Dutch army officer and Escape Officer for the Dutch POWs in Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle
Arnold Meijer (1905 in Haarlemmermeer – 1965) a Dutch fascist politician
Tom Gehrels (1925 in Haarlemmermeer – 2011) a Dutch–American astronomer and academic
Jan van Houwelingen (1939 in Leerdam – 2013) a Dutch politician, Mayor of Haarlemmermeer 1994/2003
Tineke Netelenbos (born 1944 in Wormerveer) a retired Dutch politician, Mayor of Haarlemmermeer 2006/7
Rick van der Linden (1946 in Badhoevedorp – 2006) a Dutch composer and keyboardist
Jacob Wit (1952 in Haarlemmermeer – 2024) a justice of the Caribbean Court of Justice located in Trinidad and Tobago
Sonja van Driel (born 1959 in Haarlemmermeer) a Dutch photographer
Cas Jansen (born 1977 in Badhoevedorp) a Dutch actor

Sport

Dirk van Foreest (1862 in Haarlemmermeer – 1956) a Dutch chess master
Arnold van Foreest (1863 in Haarlemmermeer – 1954) a Dutch chess master
Fanny Blankers-Koen (1918 in Lage Vuursche – 2004) a Dutch track and field athlete, won four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Daphne Jongejans (born 1965 in Badhoevedorp) a retired female diver, participated in three consecutive Summer Olympics: 1984, 1988 and 1992
Hennie Dompeling (born 1966 in Haarlemmermeer) a Dutch sport shooter, competed in skeet shooting at five Olympics (1988 to 2004)
Edwin Jongejans (born 1966 in Amstelveen) a retired diver, competed at the 1988 and 1992 Olympics
Joop Stokkel (born 1967 in Aalsmeerderbrug) a Dutch Paralympian and leading equestrian
Michiel Bartman (born 1967 in Badhoevedorp) a former rower, gold medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics and silver medallist in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics
Marcel Keizer (born 1969 in Badhoevedorp) a Dutch football coach who formerly coached at clubs such as AFC Ajax and Sporting CP
Robert van Boxel (born 1983 in Zwanenburg) a professional footballer, over 250 club caps
Mitchell Donald (born in 1988 in Nieuw-Vennep) a Surinamese professional footballer who previously played for AFC Ajax
Renate Jansen (born 1990 in Abbenes) a Dutch female international footballer
Calvin Stengs (born in 1998 in Nieuw-Vennep) a Dutch professional footballer currently playing for Feyenoord
Sven Botman (born 2000 in Badhoevedorp) a Dutch professional footballer currently playing for Newcastle United F.C.
Rinus VeeKay (born 2000 in Hoofddorp) a Dutch racing driver currently driving in IndyCar for Ed Carpenter Racing
Déron Payne (born 2002 in Hoofddorp) a Trinidadian professional footballer currently playing for FC Volendam

References

Garritsen, A.M. Pyttersen's nederlandse almanak. , 1998.

External links