Kennemerland

Kennemerland

Kennemerland is emitting a cheerful kind of peace which attracts irresistibly. The ages are running disorderly across each other. Medieval churches and castles are sneaking in a pleasant way against ancient dunes. Everywhere in the landscape one could see still traces of land reclamation and impoldering, of the eternal battle against the water. And in Kennemerland there are much more outdoor places kept of merchants who escaped their busy and dirty city in the Golden Age. The beaches, dunes and woods of the county along the coast are together the green backyard of the 17th centuried cosmopolitan. Some things never change.

South-Kennemerland

Kennemerland

The North Sea canal is dividing the historical area of Kennemerland into two parts. South-Kennemerland consists of marvellous dune areas with at the innerside plenty of outdoor places, manors and estate houses. Further inland we find the Meerlanden, originally a swampy area where the urbanization slowly is marching on. Though there is enough space left for open polders and water parties.

Kennemerland

Nature lovers have endless walk- and bikepossibilities in the dunes of National Park South-Kennemerland and the water supply dunes of Amsterdam. Just as the green lungs around Amsterdam, among which polder de Ronde Hoep and the Amstel River, popular destinations are for short tracking. Other points of attraction are the seaside resort and the vast recreation area Spaarnwoude, with the historical Spaarndam as specially added surprise. Aquatic sportsmen could be admitted in the West-einderplassen and the harbours of Ijmuiden.

North-Kennemerland

Famous seaside resorts and beaches mark the coastline of the area of North-Kennemerland. Further inland the biggest point of attraction is the monumental city of Alkmaar situated in a historical and full of water hinterland. The green polders with mills, the most lovely villages and the fortifications of the Defense Line of Amsterdam are an eldorado for the walker, cyclist and canoeist.

The part of Kennemerland to the North of the North Sea Canal knows two faces. On the one hand we find over there the North Sea coast with its vast beaches, wooded dunes and well-known seaside resorts as Wijk aan Zee, and Bergen aan Zee. On the other hand the old peat meadow area with its glorious past of the big land reclamation projects is awaiting over there. Here marvellous old-Dutch villages as De Rijp and Groot-Schermer are situated, surrounded by stately polders. Here we could also find the Alkmaarder- and Uitgeester lake - a beloved aquatic sports area - and many old fortifications of the Defense Line of Amsterdam. The heart of North-Kennemerland is being shaped by Alkmaar, the ‘city of victory’.