Schagen is a city and municipality in the northwestern Netherlands. It is located between Alkmaar and Den Helder, in the region of West Friesland and the province of North Holland. It received city rights in 1415. In 2013, Schagen merged with the neighbouring municipalities of Zijpe and Harenkarspel, forming a new municipality, also called Schagen. The town hall is located in the main town of Schagen. It had a population of 0 in and covers an area of undefined km2.

History

10th – 15th century

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 hills. 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 city rights to the town. In 1427 Philip the Good 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 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, 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 century

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 Schagen underwent very little growth, unlike other cities in the region: Alkmaar, Enkhuizen, Medemblik, and Hoorn. 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 Den Helder 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 headed a committee that offered 750 guilders reward, donated by the residents, for information. In 1895 Boes was sentenced to life imprisonment, 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 century

During the 20th century prosperity decreased slowly. Especially after the Second World War 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. 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 Den Helder to the North and Alkmaar and Amsterdam to the South. All south-bound trains pass through Amsterdam Centraal, and then continue through Utrecht Centraal either to Eindhoven and Maastricht or to Arnhem and Nijmegen. 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, at Sint Maartensvlotbrug, and at 't Zand.

Politics

The municipal council 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

Sport

Gallery