260px|thumb|Map of Schagen, June 2015
Schagen () is a city and municipality in the northwestern Netherlands. It is located between Alkmaar and Den Helder, in the region of West Friesland and the province of North Holland. It received city rights in 1415. In 2013, Schagen merged with the neighbouring municipalities of Zijpe and Harenkarspel, forming a new municipality, also called Schagen. The town hall is located in the main town of Schagen.
It had a population of in and covers an area of .
History
10th–15th centuries
Schagen has been mentioned in various texts from around 975. One was a population count that found that 43 people lived there. Schagen was also mentioned in documents as Scagha from around 989. At this time Schagen was a center of artificial dwelling hills. The name may refer to Scagha to its location above land water: it could mean "elevated point". Some time later, there was a coastline near Schagen. When the sea retreated again at the end of the 13th century the places in the region grew. The land around Schagen was especially fertile, so it grew and remained the main town in the area.
In 1415, William VI granted city rights to the town. In 1427, Philip the Good of Burgundy loaned Schagen to his uncle William of Bronckhorst, one of the seven illegitimate children of Albrecht of Bavaria, and Maria van Bronckhorst. Schagen became a fief with some regional rights in addition to its city rights, including some control over the small towns around Schagen. William ordered the castle in which he lived from 1440. In 1460, the church of Schagen, dedicated to St. Christopher, was consecrated. In 1463 Schagen received the right to hold a cattle market and it became a trading town for a wider region.
16th–19th centuries
From 1603, an annual horse market was held in Schagen, upon authorization by the States of Holland and Westfriesland.
At the beginning of the Golden Age Schagen underwent very little growth, unlike other cities in the region: Alkmaar, Enkhuizen, Medemblik, and Hoorn. Later in the Golden Age the city benefited from the increased prosperity, but never to the degree these other cities enjoyed. Even after the Golden Age growth was limited. Partly due to the reclamation of the surrounding area, Schagen could flourish economically again in the 19th century. In particular, the cattle market played an important role. When in 1865 the railroad between Alkmaar and Den Helder came into use, the market and home industries flourished. Schagen had about 2060 inhabitants at this time.
In 1894, Schagen was shocked by a double murder, when 17-year-old Klaas Boes murdered his 55-year-old neighbor and her 17-year-old niece.
|-
|Party||2012
|2018
|2022
|-
| Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) || 9
|10
|7
|-
| JESS Lokaal
<small>(until 2020: JESS, until 2015: Jong En Sterker Schagen)</small>
| 3
|3
|6
|-
| Seniorenpartij Schagen (VSPS)|| 3
|4
|5
|-
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) || 5
|4
|4
|-
| Labour Party (PvdA) || 5
|3
|3
|-
| Democrats 66 (D66) || 1
|1
|1
|-
| Socialist Party (SP) || 1
|1
|1
|-
| Wens4U || 1
|1
|1
|-
| GreenLeft (GL) || -
|1
|1
|-
| Duurzaam Schagen
<small>(until 2017: Duurzaam Natuurlijk Alternatief)</small>
| 1
|1
| -
|-
|Total||29
|29
|29
|}
Due to the interim local elections in November 2012 for the new merged municipal council, Schagen did not take part in the Dutch-wide municipal elections of 2014.
Notable people
150px|thumb|Gerard Kuiper, 1964
- Adriaen van Cronenburg (1525 in Schagen – after 1604) a painter, mainly of portraits
- Jan van Noordt (1623/24 in Schagen – after 1676) was a Dutch Golden Age painter
- Simon Berman (1861 in Landsmeer – 1934) the Mayor of Schagen, 1894–1900
- Gerard Kuiper (1905 in Tuitjenhorn – 1973) a Dutch–American astronomer; eponymous namesake of the Kuiper belt
- Joop Klant (1915 in Warmenhuizen – 1994) a Dutch economist, novelist and academic
- Ben Essing (1935 in Dirkshorn – 1994) a Dutch impresario
- Cees Geel (born 1965 in Schagen) a Dutch television, radio and film actor
- Bianca Krijgsman (born 1968 in Oudesluis) a comedian and Dutch actress
- Daniella van Graas (born 1975 in Tuitjenhorn) a Dutch fashion model, cover girl, and actress
- Femke Meines (born 2000 in Tuitjenhorn) a Dutch singer and actress
Sport
- Rein Boomsma (1879 in Schagen – 1943 in Neuengamme concentration camp) a Dutch footballer
- Richard Rozendaal (born 1972 in Warmenhuizen) a track cyclist, competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Ruben Houkes (born 1979 in Schagen) a Dutch judoka, bronze medallist at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Celeste Plak (born 1995 in Tuitjenhorn) a Dutch volleyball player
- Pleuni Cornelisse (born 1999 in Schagen) a Dutch judoka
Gallery
<gallery mode=packed>
File:Schagen City, Nord Holland.jpg|Schagen City
File:Schagerkoggekanaal.jpg|Schagerkogge Canal
File:Bebouwing Leihoek.jpg|Buildings, Leihoek
File:De Sporters, Warmenhuizen.jpg|De Sporters, Warmenhuizen
</gallery>