Alkmaar Kaeskoppenstad

Yearly historic event taking you back to the 16th century

I’m so excited!! My parents are taking me to the fantastic historic event in the lovely city of Alkmaar, situated 40 km north-west of Amsterdam – about 30 minutes by car - during the 1st weekend of June. As they noticed how much I enjoyed going back in Dutch history in the historic outdoor museum in Enkhuizen, of which I told you in my latest blogpost, they came up with this idea. By accident they stumbled upon this yearly historic event called “Kaeskoppenstad” last year when catching up with some of mummy’s Belgian relatives.

  • Photo by www.LittleBoy2Be.com

My parents adore this lovely city which is famous for its traditional cheese market on Friday mornings (April to September) where cheese carriers wearing coloured straw hats and white clothes carry the big round cheeses on wooden barrows, which ancient tradition has been demonstrated here for many centuries and which has attracted many tourists from all over the world, so they often pay Alkmaar a visit to enjoy the special atmosphere they so much appreciate. You can imagine that they were particularly charmed by the Kaeskoppenstad event.

This coming event in  the picturesque heart of the “old town” with its narrow cobblestone streets, lovely canals and ancient buildings attracts around 25.000 visitors and brings the glorious period of Alkmaar's history to life, more precisely the period just after the Siege of Alkmaar in 1573, at the end of the famous 80-year war, when Alkmaar after the battle against the Spaniards became the national beacon of hope and resistance.

The Dutch word “Kaaskop”, “Kaeskop” being an older word, Dutch for "Cheese head" “refers to improvised helmets made of cheesbuckets, as worn by millitant farmers during the 80-year war[1].

My parents took lots of spectacular pictures last year which I just have to share with you all. Hundreds of actors in historic outfit demonstrate all layers of Alkmaar society some 445 years ago, from  cheese carriers, beggars, beer brewers, tailors, farmers, prostitutes, tax collectors to bakers, flower girls, guards, prisoners, lunatics, nuns, nobility, undertakers, lepers, shoe polishers, rat catchers, fire eater, barrel rollers and many more.

I can’t wait to see it for myself and take pictures so that I can compare them to the ones my parents took. The pictures looked so amazingly real that I just have to check out for myself whether they are only acting or really come from the 16th century.

Maybe I’ll catch up with some of you there?

Yours,

LittleBoy2Be

For more information, please visit:

https://www.kaeskoppenstad.nl/english

 

ENTRANCE

Tickets online or on 1 and 2 June 2019 at the Red Tower (Roode Toren).

Early Birds: €3,00

Entrance: €4,00

Children till 5 years: free

 

More information about the Alkmaar Cheese Market is available at

https://www.kaasmarkt.nl/en/visit-the-cheese-market/cheese-carriers-guild/

[1] http://www.rsdb.org/race/dutch

  • Photo by www.LittleBoy2Be.com

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