Schagen () is a city and municipality in the northwestern

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 ...

. It is located between

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 ...

and

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

, in the region of West Friesland and the province of

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

. It received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1415. In 2013, Schagen merged with the neighbouring municipalities of

Zijpe Zijpe () is a former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2013, Zijpe and Harenkarspel merged into Schagen. Population centres The former municipality of Zijpe consisted of the following small towns and villages: ...

and

Harenkarspel Harenkarspel () is a former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. The main town of Harenkarspel was Tuitjenhorn. In 2013, Harenkarspel merged with Schagen and Zijpe into a new municipalit ...

, forming a new municipality, also called Schagen. The town hall is located in the main town of Schagen. It had a population of in and covers an area of .

History

10th–15th centuries

Schagen has been mentioned in various texts from around 975. One was a population count that found that 43 people lived there. Schagen was also mentioned in documents as Scagha from around 989. At this time Schagen was a center of

artificial dwelling hill A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides a ...

s. The name may refer to Scagha to its location above land water: it could mean "elevated point". Some time later, there was a coastline near Schagen. When the sea retreated again at the end of the 13th century the places in the region grew. The land around Schagen was especially fertile, so it grew and remained the main town in the area. In 1415, William VI granted

to the town. In 1427,

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

of Burgundy loaned Schagen to his uncle William of Bronckhorst, one of the seven illegitimate children of Albrecht of Bavaria, and Maria van Bronckhorst. Schagen became a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

with some regional rights in addition to its city rights, including some control over the small towns around Schagen. William ordered the castle in which he lived from 1440. In 1460, the church of Schagen, dedicated to

St. Christopher Saint Christopher (, , ; ) is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (), or alternatively under the emperor Maximinus Daia (). ...

, was consecrated. In 1463 Schagen received the right to hold a cattle market and it became a trading town for a wider region.

16th–19th centuries

From 1603, an annual horse market was held in Schagen, upon authorization by the States of Holland and Westfriesland. At the beginning of the

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

Schagen underwent very little growth, unlike other cities in the region:

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade ...

Medemblik Medemblik () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West Friesland (region), West-Frisia. It lies immediately south of the polder and former municipality of Wieringermeer. History Med ...

, and

Hoorn Hoorn () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. It is the largest town an ...

. Later in the Golden Age the city benefited from the increased prosperity, but never to the degree these other cities enjoyed. Even after the Golden Age growth was limited. Partly due to the reclamation of the surrounding area, Schagen could flourish economically again in the 19th century. In particular, the cattle market played an important role. When in 1865 the railroad between Alkmaar and

came into use, the market and home industries flourished. Schagen had about 2060 inhabitants at this time. In 1894, Schagen was shocked by a double murder, when 17-year-old Klaas Boes murdered his 55-year-old neighbor and her 17-year-old niece. The murder attracted wide national media attention and caused the murderer's mother to commit suicide. Newly appointed mayor

Simon Berman Simon Berman (April 24, 1861 – October 19, 1934) was the mayor of Kwadijk, Middelie, Warder, Netherlands, Warder, Schagen, Bedum, and Alblasserdam in the Netherlands. He was the first mayor of Kwadijk, Middelie, and Warder to actually live in on ...

headed a committee that offered 750 guilders reward, donated by the residents, for information. In 1895, Boes was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

, later changed to 25 years. He was released from prison in 1922 and died in 1956. For years, "Klaas Boes" was used in the Netherlands for youngsters who were up to no good.

20th–21st centuries

During the 20th century, prosperity decreased slowly. Especially after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

there was a sharp decline in the agricultural sector. As Schagen did not only depend on agriculture, the decline was less than in surrounding rural communities. Around 1960 Schagen started to flourish again, though population was still below 5,000. The seventies saw a large boom for Schagen. In the early nineties, growth gradually diminished but Schagen remained relatively strong compared to neighboring municipalities. ArkVanJohan

From 2005 to 2007, Schagen resident Johan Huibers built a ship modeled after the biblical description of Noah's Ark in Schagen. Johan's Ark was opened to the public in April 2007 and later towed between various port cities in the Netherlands.

Transportation

Intercity trains stop at Schagen railway station, providing good connectivity with

to the North and

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

to the South. All south-bound trains pass through

Amsterdam Centraal Amsterdam Centraal station ( ; abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passengers a day, making it the second busiest railway stati ...

, and then continue through

Utrecht Centraal Utrecht Centraal, officially Station Utrecht Centraal (), is the transit hub that integrates three bicycle parkings, two bus stations, two tram stops and the central railway station for Utrecht, Netherlands. It is the biggest train station in ...

either to

Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...

and

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

or to

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

and

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

. The journey time to Amsterdam is 51 minutes (Sloterdijk) or 57 minutes (Centraal.) The railway station is Schagen's hub for local and regional bus services. , three of the five operational vlotbruggen ("float bridges") are in Schagen: at

Burgervlotbrug Burgervlotbrug is a hamlet in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Schagen, and lies about 15 km north of Alkmaar. Burgervlotbrug is considered part of Burgerbrug. It has place name signs. The village is n ...

, at

Sint Maartensvlotbrug Sint Maartensvlotbrug is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Schagen, and lies about 15 km northwest of Heerhugowaard. The village is named after a vlotbrug constructed near the village of Sin ...

, and at 't Zand.

Politics

The

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of Schagen consists of 29 seats, which are divided as follows: Due to the interim local elections in November 2012 for the new merged municipal council, Schagen did not take part in the Dutch-wide municipal elections of 2014.

Notable people

* Adriaen van Cronenburg (1525 in Schagen – after 1604) a painter, mainly of portraits * Jan van Noordt (1623/24 in Schagen – after 1676) was a

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

painter *

(1861 in Landsmeer – 1934) the Mayor of Schagen, 1894–1900 *

Gerard Kuiper Gerard Peter Kuiper ( ; born Gerrit Pieter Kuiper, ; 7 December 1905 – 23 December 1973) was a Dutch-American astronomer, planetary scientist, selenographer, author and professor. The Kuiper belt is named after him. Kuiper is consi ...

(1905 in Tuitjenhorn – 1973) a Dutch–American astronomer; eponymous namesake of the

Kuiper belt The Kuiper belt ( ) is a circumstellar disc in the outer Solar System, extending from the orbit of Neptune at 30 astronomical units (AU) to approximately 50 AU from the Sun. It is similar to the asteroid belt, but is far larger—20 times ...

Joop Klant Jacobus Johannes (Joop) Klant (1 March 1915 in Warmenhuizen – 26 December 1994 in Amsterdam), was a Dutch economist, novelist and professor of political economy at the University of Amsterdam. Biography His parents were Pieter Klant en Geertj ...

(1915 in Warmenhuizen – 1994) a Dutch economist, novelist and academic *

Ben Essing Ben Essing (22 April 1934 – 15 February 1994) was a Dutch impresario from Blokker, Netherlands. The son of the town's mayor, he was instrumental in getting a number of international acts to play in the local auction hall where ordinarily produc ...

(1935 in Dirkshorn – 1994) a Dutch impresario *

Cees Geel Cornelis Pieter "Cees" Geel (born 13 March 1965 in Schagen) is a Dutch television, radio and film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs ...

(born 1965 in Schagen) a Dutch television, radio and film actor *

Bianca Krijgsman Bianca Krijgsman (born 3 October 1968) is a Dutch comedian and actress. She won the prize for best actress at the 42nd International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards f ...

(born 1968 in Oudesluis) a comedian and Dutch actress *

Daniella van Graas Daniella van Graas (born 1975) is a Dutch fashion model, cover girl, and actress. She has appeared in movies, on television, and between 1997 and 2003, on the cover of several magazines. In 2012, she was featured in the Dutch television show '' ...

(born 1975 in Tuitjenhorn) a Dutch fashion model, cover girl, and actress IMDb Database
retrieved 16 August 2019 *

Femke Meines Femke Meines (; born 11 May 2000) is a Dutch singer and actress. Meines began her career at age 12, when she represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the tenth editio ...

(born 2000 in Tuitjenhorn) a Dutch singer and actress

Sport

Rein Boomsma Reinder ("Rein") Boomsma (19 June 1879 – 27 May 1943) was a Dutch footballer, who played for Sparta and the Dutch national team. Club career Boomsma was born in Schagen, North Holland in 1879, and moved to Rotterdam in 1888. He started to pl ...

(1879 in Schagen – 1943 in Neuengamme concentration camp) a Dutch footballer *

Richard Rozendaal Richard Cornelis Jacobus Rozendaal (born 6 April 1972) is a Dutch former track cyclist who competed for the Netherlands at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Born in Warmenhuizen, Rozendaal won three Dutch national championship: two in the points race ev ...

(born 1972 in Warmenhuizen) a track cyclist, competed at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

* Ruben Houkes (born 1979 in Schagen) a Dutch judoka, bronze medallist at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Celeste Plak Celeste Elle Plak (born 26 October 1995) is a Dutch volleyball player, who plays as an outside hitter. She plays for Victorina Himeji, and is the first non-caucasian player to be a part of the Netherlands women's national volleyball team. Care ...

(born 1995 in Tuitjenhorn) a Dutch volleyball player *

Pleuni Cornelisse Pleuni Cornelisse (born 18 October 1999) is a Dutch judoka. She won a silver at the 2021 Judo Grand Prix Zagreb. On 12 November 2022 she won a silver medal at the 2022 European Mixed Team Judo Championships as part of team Netherlands. Refere ...

(born 1999 in Schagen) a Dutch judoka

Gallery

File:Schagen City, Nord Holland.jpg, Schagen City File:Schagerkoggekanaal.jpg, Schagerkogge Canal File:Bebouwing Leihoek.jpg, Buildings, Leihoek File:De Sporters, Warmenhuizen.jpg, De Sporters, Warmenhuizen

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of North Holland Populated places in North Holland