Den Helder
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Den Helder | |
|---|---|
| Den Helder_watertoren Den Helder water tower in the village | |
| Template:Infobox settlement/columns | |
| Highlighted position of Den Helder in a municipal map of North Holland Location in North Holland | |
| Coordinates: 52°56′N 4°45′E / 52.933°N 4.750°ECoordinates: 52°56′N 4°45′E / 52.933°N 4.750°E | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | North Holland |
| Government | |
| • Body | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Jan de Boer (Template:Polparty) |
| Area | |
| • Total | Template:Infobox settlement/areadisp |
| • Land | Template:Infobox settlement/areadisp |
| • Water | Template:Infobox settlement/areadisp |
| Elevation | Template:Infobox settlement/lengthdisp |
| Population (December 2021)[4] | |
| • Total | 56,369 |
| • Density | Template:Infobox settlement/densdisp |
| Demonym(s) | Heldernaar |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postcode | 1780–1789 |
| Area code | 0223 |
| Website | www |
Den Helder (nl) is an industrial port town 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 ferryboat service operates the transportation link between Den Helder and the nearby Dutch Wadden island of Texel to the north.
Etymology
[edit | edit source]Before the year 1928, the official name of Den Helder was Helder. The origin of the name Helder is not entirely clear. The name may have come from Helle/Helde, which means "hill" or "hilly grounds", or from Helre, which means a sandy ridge. Another explanation is that the name derived from Helsdeur (Hell's Door), likely because in the water between Den Helder and Texel (called Marsdiep) the current was so strong that many ships were lost.
History
[edit | edit source]Huisduinen was the original, older part of the city, whereas Helder itself was a nearby, smaller hamlet. When a harbour was built near Helder, the village began to grow and later became the seat of governance instead of Huisduinen. Due to its strategic location at the tip of the North Holland peninsula, multiple fortifications were built in the area.
Den Helder has played an important part in Dutch shipping. During the Dutch Golden Age, ships would be assembled near Den Helder and sail the world's oceans from there.
On 23 January 1795, the French captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns in the town's deep-frozen harbour.[5] In 1799, the city was the target of the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland.
During the 1820s, the North Holland Canal was dug from Amsterdam to Den Helder. The lighthouse Lange Jaap was built in 1877 and is the tallest cast-iron lighthouse in Europe, at 63.45 meters (208.2 ft). In the Second World War, most of the city was evacuated, and the old city center was destroyed.
Geography
[edit | edit source]Climate
[edit | edit source]Den Helder is on the tip of a lowland peninsula jutting out into the North Sea . Because of this, Den Helder's climate is heavily moderated by the maritime environment. Also, Den Helder is one of the sunniest towns in the Netherlands.[6]
Population centres
[edit | edit source]The municipality of Den Helder consists of the towns and villages of Den Helder, Huisduinen and Julianadorp, and the hamlets Friese Buurt and De Kooy.
The major areas of Den Helder are the Stad Binnen de Linie (a city within the city's defence line), Nieuw-Den Helder, and De Schooten. Nieuw-Den Helder was built in the 1950s, following World War II, when there was a great need for additional housing. De Schooten was constructed in the 1960s.
Topography
[edit | edit source]File:DenHelder-plaats-OpenTopo.jpg
Map of Den Helder (town), March 2014.
Naval base and fortifications
[edit | edit source]Den Helder was the site of a naval base as early as the 18th century. An Anglo-Russian invasion force landed at Den Helder in August 1799 and captured the Batavian navy there (see Battle of Castricum). French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, visiting Den Helder in 1811, was impressed with the town's strategic location and ordered the construction of a fort (Kijkduin) and naval dockyards (Willemsoord). The docks were built during the years 1813–1827. In 1947, it officially became the Royal Netherlands Navy's main centre of operations. Den Helder continues to be the navy's main base today. The Royal Netherlands Naval College is also located in the city, as is the Dutch Navy Museum.
The old naval dockyards of Willemsoord, located in the north of the city, now house restaurants, a cinema, and other recreational facilities. The naval docks and administration have been moved to a new location further east.
The Fortifications of Den Helder, which protected the naval base and the entrance to the Noordhollandsch Kanaal significantly altered the landscape around Den Helder. A number of the old fortresses have now been repurposed for tourism and related industries and can be visited.
Transport
[edit | edit source]The town is served by two railway stations:
Den Helder can be reached by these main roads:
These roads all have only two lanes. There is no highway leading to Den Helder.
Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is located 86 km (53 mi) south of Den Helder. NS operates train services between Den Helder and Schiphol.
Local government
[edit | edit source]The municipal council of Den Helder consists of 31 seats, which divided as follows in the 2026 elections:[7]
- Behoorlijk Bestuur – 5 seats
- CDA – 4 seats
- VVD – 4 seats
- Forum voor Democratie – 3 seats
- Stadspartij Den Helder – 2 seats
- Beter voor Den Helder – 2 seats
- D66 – 2 seats
- Fractie Pastoor – 1 seat
- GroenLinks – 1 seat
- PvdA – 1 seat
- ChristenUnie – 1 seat
- PVV – 1 seat
- 50Plus – 1 seat
- Samen Actief Den Helde – 1 seat
- Socialistische Partij – 1 seat
- Senioren Partij Den Helder – 1 seat
Notable people
[edit | edit source]Public figures and politicians
[edit | edit source]- Frans van Anraat (born 1942), businessman, sold raw materials to produce chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein
- Marleen Barth (born 1964), politician, trade union leader and journalist
- Petrus Johannes Blok (1855–1929) a historian
- Edward W. Bok (1863–1930), Dutch-American editor, Pulitzer Prize winner
- Esther Welmoet Wijnaendts Francken-Dyserinck (1876–1956) was a journalist, feminist and co-founder of Dutch Girl Guiding
- Cornelis Giles (1675–1722), a navigator and cartographer
- Rijkman Groenink (born 1949), banker, CEO of ABN-Amro
- Gerard 't Hooft (born 1946), physicist and academic, shared the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics
- William Lonsdale (1799–1864), soldier, colonialist, helped found Melbourne, Australia
- Theo de Meester (1851–1919) politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1905 to 1908
- Ed Nijpels (born 1950), former minister of Housing (1986–1989) and former mayor of Breda
- Dorus Rijkers (1847–1928), lifeboat captain and folk hero
- Paul Rosenmöller (born 1956), a TV presenter and former politician and trade unionist
- René Schoof (born 1955), mathematician and academic in Rome
- Aletta Stas-Bax (born 1965) is an entrepreneur in Swiss watches and an author
The arts
[edit | edit source]- IJf Blokker (1930–2026) was a musician, TV actor, and presenter[8]
- Gré Brouwenstijn (1915–1999), opera singer
- Benjamin Feliksdal (born 1940) is a ballet dancer
- Dick Ket (1902–1940) was a magic realist painter of still lifes and self-portraits
- Hanco Kolk (born 1957) is a cartoonist and comics artist
- Anton Pieck (1895–1987), painter and graphic artist
- Milly Scott (born 1933) is a Dutch singer and actress of Surinamese origin
- Quintino (born 1985) is a DJ
Sport
[edit | edit source]- Jorina Baars (born 1988) is a female kickboxing Thai fighter
- Edith Bosch (born 1980), Judo world champion and Olympic silver and bronze medalist
- Anthonij Guépin (1897–1964) was a sailor and bronze medallist at the 1924 Summer Olympics
- Erwin Koen (born 1978) is a former footballer with over 300 club caps
- Elien Meijer (born 1970) is a retired rower, team silver medallist at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Swen Nater (born 1950), basketball player
- Martine Ohr (born 1964), field hockey striker, gold medallist at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Chima Onyeike (born 1975), afootball coach and former professional player, fitness coach for VfB Stuttgart
- Hans Smits (born 1956), water polo player, bronze medallist at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Mark de Vries (born 1975), footballer with 370 club caps, plays for ONS Boso Sneek.
- Sieme Zijm (born 1978) is a former footballer with over 300 club caps
- Jermaine Wattimena (born 1988) is a professional darts player
In popular culture
[edit | edit source]The Frank Boeijen Groep song Haast (rust roest) contains the line " 's avonds in Den Helder". (English- In the evening in Den Helder) The Rob de Nijs song Jan Klaassen de Trompetter contains the line "hij marcheerde van Den Helder tot Den Briel". (English- He marched from Den Helder to Den Briel).
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ "Samenstelling college" [Members of the board] (in Dutch). Gemeente Den Helder. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ Template:Dutch municipality total area
- ↑ "Postcodetool for 1784MC". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- ↑ Template:Dutch municipality population
- ↑ Tony Jaques, Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: P-Z, p.1009
- ↑ (Dutch) Climate table, per station. KNMI.nl, retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ↑ "Den Helder municipal election 2026". verkiezingsuitslagen.nl (in Dutch). 18 March 2026. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
- ↑ IMDb Database retrieved 10 December 2019
External links
[edit | edit source] |
Wikisource has the text of a 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article about Den Helder. |
Media related to Den Helder at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
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