Alkmaar

Restored in the 19th century, this house on the corner of Geest, is one of the oldest surviving houses of Alkmaar. There have been older houses in the city, but most of them have been wooden houses, and therefore did not survive the repeated city fires.

It is a typical example of the neo-gothic Catholic churches, built in the Netherlands from the mid-19th century until the First World War. This one was consecrated in 1910, and was designed by the office of Margry and associates, followers of the neo-gothic specialist and Rijksmuseum architect Cuypers. Cuypers himself designed the Catholic Sint Laurentiuskerk at Verdronkenoord 78. The Margry churches are described and illustrated at the same website.

It can be found at the south end of the Clarissenbolwek. It is informally named after the family Piet, who run the mill to this day. Ownership has since been moved to the municipality though. Windmills were often placed on the bastions and ramparts of the city walls around Dutch cities, so that they could catch more wind. In Alkmaar, there were ten windmills on the walls, and one was built here in 1605. The present windmill, a grain mill, was built in 1769.

A good regional museum, covering the history of Alkmaar and the region, especially the 16th and 17th centuries, and the growth of modern Alkmaar, with paintings from both periods.

A neo-mediaeval insurance office completed in 1931. The architect, A.J. Kropholler was a Catholic traditionalist who designed insurance offices and churches. His traditionalism was his downfall: he was accused of collaboration with Nazi ideology during the German occupation, and could only work with difficulty after 1945.

The Hof van Sonoy is a larger version of a hofje, incorporating part of the former convent of Maria Magdalena. During the Siege of Alkmaar, the convent was used to house those displaced by new defensive works. After the siege, it was sold to Diederik (Dietrich) Sonoy. The notorious Sonoy was a nobleman from Kalkar, in the Duchy of Cleves, who choose the side of William of Orange in the conflict with the Spanish court. He was appointed governor of 'Holland's Northern Quarter', the region around Alkmaar, and played an important role in defeating the Siege of Alkmaar. However, he was not a 'liberator': like some other leaders of the revolt, he was a religious fanatic. He burnt the Abbey of Egmond, and persecuted, tortured, and killed Catholics. (Mutual resentment among Catholics and Protestants played an important role in Dutch social history: the issue was not fully resolved until the mid-20th-century). The next owner, Willem van Bardes, added the tower and the gate, carrying his coat of arms (early 17th century). In 1743 the building was acquired by the Reformed Church, who used it as to house the needy elderly. Part of the Hof van Sonoy is now a restaurant.

Though it is no longer a proper market, but more so a show for tourists, the well-known cheese market of Alkmaar is a replica of what was, complete with cheese porters in traditional costumes.