History of the municipality of Heemskerk

Where the name Heemskerk comes from can not be said with certainty. The municipality was already known in the Middle Ages: in an official charter from the year 1063 it was mentioned as "Hemezen-kyrica". Heemskerk has many historic monuments, including the Huldtoneel,

Heemskerk has also often been a battleground. Two castles - the Oud Haerlem castle and the Heemskerk castle - were built in the 12th and 13th centuries to protect the county of Holland against the West Frisians. In the 15th century, the residents faced each other during the Hoekse and Kabeljauwse quarrels. Both castles were destroyed. Old Haerlem was no longer rebuilt, the castle Heemskerk did. In 1610 it was named the castle Marquette.

On the east side of Heemskerk you will find Slot Assumburg (1546). The Dutch Reformed Church on the Kerkplein dates from 1628 but has a medieval tower. At the church there is a monument for the painter Maarten van Heemskerck. The now former town hall was built in 1911 after a design by Jan Stuyt and was raised in 1949 with a floor. The Roman Catholic Laurentius church, designed by architect JH Tonnaer, was completed in 1891 and is a rare example of a Catholic church in neo-Renaissance style.

There is nothing left of other historical monuments, such as Kasteel Oud Haerlem.