In 1219 the knights of Haarlem were laurelled by Count Willem I, because they had conquered the Egyptian port of Damietta (or Damiate in Dutch, present-day Dimyat) in the fifth crusade. By the 12th century it was a fortified town, and Haarlem became the residence of the Counts of Holland. The location of the village was a good one: by the river Spaarne, and by a major road going south to north. Over time it began to silt up and in the 19th century it was filled in. Over the centuries the Beek was turned into an underground canal, as the city grew larger and the space was needed for construction. There was a stream called "De Beek", dug from the peat grounds west of the river Spaarne as a drainage canal. The name Haarlem or Haarloheim would therefore mean 'home on a forested dune'.
Haar, however, has several meanings, one of them corresponding with the location of Haarlem on a sand dune: 'elevated place'. There is not much dispute about the meaning of lo and heim in Old Dutch toponyms lo always refers to 'forest' and heim ( heem, em or um) to 'home' or 'house'. This name is composed of three elements: haar, lo and heim. The name probably comes from "Haarlo-heim". The oldest mentioning of Haarlem dates from the 10th century. The list of Rijksmonuments in Haarlem gives an overview of these per neighbourhood, with the majority in the old city centre. Nowadays many of them are on the Dutch Heritage register known as Rijksmonuments.
The town of Halfweg became a suburb, and Haarlem became a quiet bedroom community, and for this reason Haarlem still has many of its central medieval buildings intact.
Haarlem became wealthy with toll revenues that it collected from ships and travellers moving on this busy north–south route.Īs shipping became increasingly important economically, the city of Amsterdam became the main Dutch city of North Holland during the Dutch Golden Age. The people on this narrow strip of land struggled against the waters of the North Sea from the west, and the waters of the IJ and the Haarlem Lake from the east. Haarlem has a rich history dating back to pre-medieval times, as it lies on a thin strip of land above sea level known as the strandwal ( beach ridge), which connects Leiden to Alkmaar. See also: Timeline of Haarlem Historical population Year
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