De Naald (''the Needle'') is a monument in

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2021, it had a population of 27,545. Located just south of the city of Haarlem on the border with South Holland, it is one of the richest ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, erected in 1817 by the city council to commemorate two battles on the Manpad road running next to the site. The site is at the corner of the Manpad, and Herenweg, on property belonging to the estate '

Huis te Manpad The Huis te Manpad is an historical villa and former summer home of Jacob van Lennep in Heemstede, the Netherlands; bordered by the Leidsevaart canal, the Manpadslaan, and the Herenweg. It neighbors the estate of Hartekamp, famed for the gardens ...

Inscription

History

De Naald is the name the locals have given the monument. The 'needle' has often been mistaken for the border mark between

and

Bennebroek Bennebroek () is a village and former municipality in the northwest Netherlands, now part of Bloemendaal, North Holland. Before its merger in 2009, it was the smallest municipality in the Netherlands, covering an area of only 1.75 km². H ...

, but in fact the border is further south. :nl:David Jacob van Lennep (classicus), who lived in the 'Huis te Manpad' behind the monument, was a Dutch poet and professor of classical languages in Amsterdam. His son,

Jacob van Lennep Jacob van Lennep (24 March 1802 – 25 August 1868) was a Dutch poet and novelist. Early years He was born in Amsterdam, where his father, David Jacob van Lennep (1774–1853), a scholar and poet, was professor of eloquence and the classical lan ...

, who was 15 at the time of the monument's placement, later wrote a song commemorating ' Witte van Haemstede', one of the heroes mentioned on the monument. Later historians have questioned whether these events did in fact take place, and also whether the location is correct.F.W.N.Hugenholz, Historie en historiografie van de slag aan het Manpad (1304)
Historical essay from 1954 published in ''Jaarboek van de Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde, 1954-1955'', now in the DBNL The Manpad was a generic name for the North-South route along the Dune ridge running from

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

. In most towns the road took on the name of Hoofdweg, the equivalent of 'Main Street'. This particular stretch of Manpad actually runs East-West, crossing the Leidsevaart from one sand ridge to another. The battles, if they took place, could have taken place anywhere along the Manpad. It is unlikely that Witte van Haemstede would reach Haarlem via the Manpad from

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

, as the legend has it. The most direct route to Haarlem from Zandvoort is via the Visserspad.

Location

On this 1687 map, the Manpad is the main east-west route connecting

Vogelenzang Vogelenzang is a village in the municipality of Bloemendaal, North Holland, Netherlands. The name "Vogelenzang" is Dutch for "bird song". Attractions The ''Huis te Vogelenzang'' (House at Vogelenzang) was built circa 1600 by the Counts of Hollan ...

. This little map is a detail of a larger map showing the entire route of the

Leidsevaart The Leidsevaart (also known as Leidse trekvaart, Dutch for "Leiden's Pull-Canal") is a canal between the cities of Haarlem and Leiden in the Netherlands. It was dug in 1657, making it one of the oldest canals in the Netherlands. It was the major ...

from

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

(this is the black vertical double line in the middle). This piece of the old Manpad is the only piece with that name on the map. To the right of the Herenweg the Manpad continues east through what is now

Groenendaal park Groenendaal park lies at the center of Heemstede, Netherlands. The park includes the grounds of old Heemstede country estates Bosbeek, and Meer en Berg. Along its western borders are the old Heemstede country estates Hartekamp, Huis te Manpa ...

towards the old center of Heemstede and the Haarlem lake (

Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The ...

). This footpath in the park still exists, though the east side of the park has changed quite a bit since the

was pumped dry in 1853.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naald, De (Heemstede) History of Haarlem Obelisks in the Netherlands Parks in North Holland Rijksmonuments in Heemstede