Naarden

Naarden
—  Municipality  —
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 52.294°N 5.162°E / 52.294; 5.162
Country	Netherlands
Province	North Holland
Area(2006)
• Total	32.89 km2 (12.70 sq mi)
• Land	21.38 km2 (8.25 sq mi)
• Water	11.51 km2 (4.44 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2007)
• Total	17,174
• Density	803/km2 (2,080/sq mi)
	Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	www.naarden.nl

Naarden ([ˈnaːrdə(n)] ( listen)) is a municipality and a town in the Gooi region in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. Naarden is an example of a star fort, complete with fortified walls and a moat. The walls and the moat have been restored and are in a very good state.

Naarden was granted its city rights in 1300 (the only town in Het Gooi to have been done so) and later developed into a fortified garrison town with a textile industry. Naarden is the home of the Netherlands Fortress Museum (Nederlands Vestingmuseum). Naarden hosts the bi-annual Naarden Photo Festival and, on Good Friday, a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in the local church, which is called the Great Church or St. Vitus Church. Despite its earlier importance, Naarden population size was surpassed by Hilversum in the 18th century and today is smaller than its neighbour Bussum.

Naarden is well known as the city where Jan Amos Komensky (Comenius) was buried and where visitors can see his grave in the mausoleum devoted to him.

Its distinctive shape made it a rally point for Allied bombers returning to England after raids on Germany.

Transport

The nearest station is Naarden-Bussum railway station, which has services to Almere, Amersfoort, Amsterdam and Utrecht.

Economy

The company Stork B.V. has its head office in Naarden.

Local government

The municipal council of Naarden consists of 17 seats, which are divided as follows:

• VVD - 6 seats
• CDA - 3 seats
• GroenLinks - 4 seats
• PvdA - 3 seats
• D66 - 1 seat

Sights

The Great Church

• The Great Church (Grote Kerk). The church is situated on the Markstraat and dates from the 15th century. Prior to the Protestant Reformation it was named for St Vitus. It is one of the oldest surviving churches in The Netherlands, having had the good fortune to survive the Spanish invasion of 1572 and the subsequent burning of the town. The church has numerous wooden vaults that are painted with scenes from the Old and New Testaments. These were hidden for many years and were only rediscovered in a recent restoration. The church is the venue for a number of cultural activities such as organ music nights and the annual Naarden Photo festival.

The Spanish House, with design commemorating the massacre of 1572

• The Spanish House (Spaanse Huis). The house, situated at Turfpoortstraat 27, was originally a church building converted to house migrants. In 1572 Spanish troops conducted a massacre of some 700 inhabitants who had gathered to hear a peace proposal. The Spanish then fired on the assembled citizens, and went on to set fire to the town. A plaque above the lintel of the door and below the eaves commemorates the massacre. In 1615, after the population had reestablished itself, they build the city hall on the site. Part of the building was given over to De Waag (The Weigh House), the municipal office entrusted with the verification of weights and measures. The building later served a French garrison as a bakery, turning out over 1000 loaves per day. From 1967 until 1992 it served as the Comenius museum.Today, the historic building serves as a the Weegschaal Museum.

Notable residents

• Nordin Amrabat (1987) – football player
• Willem Arondeus (1894–1943) – artist and author
• Belcampo (21 juli 1902 - 1990) – Writer (Herman Pieter Schönfeld Wichers)
• Tom Coronel (1972) – racing driver
• Maarten de Bruijn (1965) – product designer
• Annemarie Groen (1955) – backstroke swimmer
• Tom van 't Hek (1958) – field hockey player and coach
• Andries Knevel (1952) – talk show host
• Frank Martin, Swiss composer who lived in Naarden for the last twenty years of his life.
• Bertil Schmüll (1946) – engraver
• Salomon van Ruysdael (between 1600-1603 to 3 November 1670) – painter
• Maarten van Delden (1958) – professor at UCLA and field hockey player

Images

• 

  Town hall

• 

  Fortress gate

See also

• Naarderbos
• Naarderwoonbos

References

• Naarden
• Weblog Mayor of Naarden
• Naardermeer
• Website of Naarderbos community with links to other sites concerning Naarden
• FotoFestival Naarden official site
• Fotofestival Naarden Festival-OFF
• Historic Harbour Naarden in Dutch
• Statistics are taken from the SDU Staatscourant
• Website of the Comenius Museum for Jan Ámos Komenský

External links

• Webportal for the citizens of "het Naarderbos"