Bergen, North Holland
Encyclopedia
Bergen is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands
, in the province of North Holland
. Its North Sea
beaches make it a popular destination for tourists, especially Germans. In 2001, the municipality was expanded to include the former municipalities of Egmond and Schoorl
.
Since about 1900, Bergen has been the home of many painters, writers and architects. Some of the work of this "Bergen School" is on exhibit at Museum Kranenburgh. The neighbourhood of Park Meerwijk, constructed in 1915, is made up entirely of villas in Amsterdam School
style. There are regular art fairs in Bergen, as well as an annual music festival (the Holland Music Sessions in August) and arts festival (the Kunsttiendaagse in October).
North of the town of Bergen are the Schoorlse Duinen, a nature area with the highest and widest dunes of the Netherlands, which reach about 59m (195 ft) above sealevel, and are more than 5 km (3.1 mi) wide in some places.
Other points of interest in the municipality include the aquarium in the seaside village of Bergen aan Zee
, the Auto Union Museum in Bergen with a collection of classic car
s, and the historical museums Het Sterkenhuis (Bergen) and Museum van Egmond (Egmond aan Zee
).
The town of Bergen is home to the European School, Bergen
.
, Bergen aan Zee
, Bregtdorp
, Camperduin
, Catrijp
, Egmond aan den Hoef, Egmond aan Zee
, Egmond-Binnen
, Groet
, Hargen
, Rinnegom, Schoorl
, Schoorldam
(partly), Wimmenum
.
of 1421. The story goes that the schout (sheriff) of Bergen found a chest containing hosts (the thin wafers used in Holy Communion) from the church of Petten
which had floated to Bergen during the flood. The seawater that penetrated the chest had turned into blood. There is also a second miracle story, thought to have occurred in 1422, whereby hosts turned into blood. On the site where the miracle of Bergen is said to have happened, a chapel was erected. Bergen became a place of pilgrimage and Roman-Catholic processions were held at the site for centuries and are still ongoing today.
In the fifteenth century, the Ruïnekerk ("Ruined Church") was built on the site of the chapel and at the time was the largest of its kind in the province of North-Holland. In 1574, during the Eighty Years War against Spain
, the church was looted and burned down by Dutch Protestants, but was later rebuilt to its current state.
In 1799, during the French Revolutionary Wars
, a British-Russian army invaded North-Holland. At Bergen, a battle with the French
-Batavian
armies took place on 19 September. The Russisch Monument in Bergen commemorates this Battle of Bergen
.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, in the province of North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
. Its North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
beaches make it a popular destination for tourists, especially Germans. In 2001, the municipality was expanded to include the former municipalities of Egmond and Schoorl
Schoorl
Schoorl is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 8 km northwest of Alkmaar. Until 2001, Schoorl was also a municipality of its own....
.
Since about 1900, Bergen has been the home of many painters, writers and architects. Some of the work of this "Bergen School" is on exhibit at Museum Kranenburgh. The neighbourhood of Park Meerwijk, constructed in 1915, is made up entirely of villas in Amsterdam School
Amsterdam School
The Amsterdam School is a style of architecture that arose from 1910 through about 1930 in The Netherlands...
style. There are regular art fairs in Bergen, as well as an annual music festival (the Holland Music Sessions in August) and arts festival (the Kunsttiendaagse in October).
North of the town of Bergen are the Schoorlse Duinen, a nature area with the highest and widest dunes of the Netherlands, which reach about 59m (195 ft) above sealevel, and are more than 5 km (3.1 mi) wide in some places.
Other points of interest in the municipality include the aquarium in the seaside village of Bergen aan Zee
Bergen aan Zee
Bergen aan Zee is a town on the North Sea coast in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 9 km west of Alkmaar.In 2001, the town of Bergen aan Zee had 483 inhabitants...
, the Auto Union Museum in Bergen with a collection of classic car
Classic car
A classic car is an older car; the exact meaning is variable. The Classic Car Club of America maintains that a car must be between 20 and 40 years old to be a classic, while cars over 45 years fall into the Antique Class.- Classic Car Club of America :...
s, and the historical museums Het Sterkenhuis (Bergen) and Museum van Egmond (Egmond aan Zee
Egmond aan Zee
Egmond aan Zee is a village on the North Sea coast in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 9 km west of Alkmaar....
).
The town of Bergen is home to the European School, Bergen
European School, Bergen
The European School, Bergen is one of the fourteen European Schools. It is located in the town of Bergen in the Dutch province of North Holland.-History:...
.
Population centres
The municipality of Bergen consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Bergen, AagtdorpAagtdorp
Aagtdorp is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about northwest of Alkmaar.Aagtdorp has a population of around 570....
, Bergen aan Zee
Bergen aan Zee
Bergen aan Zee is a town on the North Sea coast in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 9 km west of Alkmaar.In 2001, the town of Bergen aan Zee had 483 inhabitants...
, Bregtdorp
Bregtdorp
Bregtdorp is one of the towns in the municipality of Bergen, North Holland in the north-western Netherlands. It is located at a latitude of 52° 43' North and a longitude of 4° 40' 60 East at an elevation of 3 feet....
, Camperduin
Camperduin
Camperduin is a small village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 12 km northwest of Alkmaar....
, Catrijp
Catrijp
Catrijp is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 9 km northwest of Alkmaar....
, Egmond aan den Hoef, Egmond aan Zee
Egmond aan Zee
Egmond aan Zee is a village on the North Sea coast in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 9 km west of Alkmaar....
, Egmond-Binnen
Egmond-Binnen
Egmond-Binnen is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about southwest of Alkmaar....
, Groet
Groet
Groet is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 11 km northwest of Alkmaar.Groet was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1834, when it was merged with Schoorl....
, Hargen
Hargen
Hargen is one of the towns in the municipality of Bergen, North Holland.De voormalige Hargerplas is ontstaan door zandafgravingen. Het zand werd vroeger gebruikt voor onder meer de glasindustrie, zandsteenfabrieken en stadsuitbreidingen....
, Rinnegom, Schoorl
Schoorl
Schoorl is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 8 km northwest of Alkmaar. Until 2001, Schoorl was also a municipality of its own....
, Schoorldam
Schoorldam
Schoorldam is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is partially in the municipality of Bergen, partially in Harenkarspel....
(partly), Wimmenum
Wimmenum
Wimmenum is a hamlet in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is located in the municipality of Bergen, about 2 km north of Egmond aan den Hoef.Wimmenum was a separate municipality from 1817 to 1857, when it was merged with Egmond-Binnen....
.
History
The town of Bergen developed around a chapel and is mentioned as far back as the tenth century. An old local legend is the "Miracle of Bergen", which is said to have occurred during the St. Elisabeth's FloodSt. Elizabeth's flood (1421)
The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421 was a flooding of an area in what is now the Netherlands. It takes its name from the feast day of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary which was formerly November 19....
of 1421. The story goes that the schout (sheriff) of Bergen found a chest containing hosts (the thin wafers used in Holy Communion) from the church of Petten
Petten
Petten is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zijpe, and lies about 15 km northwest of Alkmaar, on the North Sea. The population is ca. 1900....
which had floated to Bergen during the flood. The seawater that penetrated the chest had turned into blood. There is also a second miracle story, thought to have occurred in 1422, whereby hosts turned into blood. On the site where the miracle of Bergen is said to have happened, a chapel was erected. Bergen became a place of pilgrimage and Roman-Catholic processions were held at the site for centuries and are still ongoing today.
In the fifteenth century, the Ruïnekerk ("Ruined Church") was built on the site of the chapel and at the time was the largest of its kind in the province of North-Holland. In 1574, during the Eighty Years War against Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the church was looted and burned down by Dutch Protestants, but was later rebuilt to its current state.
In 1799, during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, a British-Russian army invaded North-Holland. At Bergen, a battle with the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-Batavian
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
armies took place on 19 September. The Russisch Monument in Bergen commemorates this Battle of Bergen
Battle of Bergen (1799)
The Battle of Bergen, also called the Battle of Bergen-Binnen, was fought on 19 September 1799, and resulted in a French-Dutch victory under General Brune and General Daendels against the Russians and British under the Duke of York who had landed in North Holland...
.
Local government
The municipal council of Bergen consists of 23 seats, which are divided as follows:- VVDPeople's Party for Freedom and DemocracyThe People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
- 5 seats - CDAChristian Democratic AppealThe Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
- 3 seats - Gem Bel B.E.S. - 6 seats
- PvdALabour Party (Netherlands)The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...
- 2 seats - D66Democrats 66Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...
- 3 seats - GroenLinks - 4 seats
People born in Bergen
- Pierre GollePierre GollePierre Golle was an influential Parisian ébéniste, of Dutch extraction.Born at Bergen in the Dutch Republic, he moved to Paris at an early age, and married the widow of his master, assuming the workshop...
(1620-1684) - cabinetmaker and designer - Simeon ten HoltSimeon ten HoltSimeon ten Holt is a Dutch composer. Ten Holt studied with Jakob van Domselaer, eventually developing a highly personal style of minimal composition...
(b. 1923) - composer - Saskia NoortSaskia NoortSaskia Noort is a Dutch crime-writer and freelance journalist.She has written articles for the Dutch editions of Marie Claire and Playboy as well as publishing three novels, The Dinner Club being published in English in 2007 by Bitter Lemon Press, translated by Paul Vincent.Her third book, "New...
(b. 1967) - writer and journalist - Kees van WonderenKees van WonderenCornelis "Kees" Hendricus van Wonderen is a Dutch retired footballer who played professional football for NEC Nijmegen, NAC Breda and Feyenoord Rotterdam....
(b. 1969) - footballer - Jim BakkumJim BakkumJimmy "Jim" Johannes Bakkum is a Dutch singer, actor, stage actor and television personality. Rising to nationwide fame after becoming runner-up in the first season of Dutch singing competition series Idols, he has released five albums and made a career in musicals and film...
(b. 1987) - singer and actor