Haarlem, gemeente (municipality), western Netherlands. It lies along the Spaarne River, 4.5 miles (7 km) from the North Sea, just west of Amsterdam. Haarlem was mentioned in the 10th century and by the 12th century had become a fortified town and the residence of the counts of Holland. It was chartered in 1245 and was ravaged in 1346 and 1351 during the civil wars in Holland. In 1492 it was captured by insurgent peasants of North Holland, and, after being retaken by regular troops, it was deprived of its privileges. In the mainly Protestant rising against Spain (1572), it endured seven months of siege until starvation forced its surrender to the duke of Alba’s son, Frederick, who exacted terrible vengeance. Recaptured (1577) by William of Orange and incorporated in the United Netherlands, it entered a period of prosperity that reached its peak in the 17th century, when it was a refuge for Huguenots and an artistic centre. The Haarlem school of painting included Frans Hals, Salomon van Ruysdael, Jacob van Ruisdael, Philips Wouwerman, and Adriaen and Isack van Ostade. The important sculptor Claus Sluter was born in Haarlem, and Laurens Coster, also of Haarlem, was one of the first medieval printers to use movable type.
Haarlem is the seat of Roman Catholic (1559) and Jansenist dioceses and of a court of law. The centre of Haarlem is formed by the old town, which has numerous canals and gabled houses. The Amsterdam Gate, moats, and some earthworks remain of the old town’s medieval fortifications. In the market square are the town hall (13th century, with 17th-century additions); the Meat Market, or Vleeshal (1603); and the Great Church (St. Bavokerk, or St. Bavo’s Cathedral; 1397–1496). The Great Church has a 262-foot- (80-metre-) high tower and contains notable choir screens and stalls, the tomb of Frans Hals, and a famous pipe organ made by Christian Müller in 1738. Among the city’s other churches are the former chapel of the Béguinage (the oldest in the city); the Bakenesser Church, which has a delicate tower built in 1530; the New Church (Nieuwe Kerk), built in the Dutch Baroque style in 1645–49; and the Roman Catholic cathedral (1895–1930). The city’s museums include the Frans Hals, with an important collection of Haarlem-school paintings and group portraits by Hals; the Roman Catholic Episcopal Museum; and the Teyler Museum, known for its original Italian 16th-century and Dutch 17th-century drawings and its collection of 19th-century paintings. The Public Library (founded 1596) preserves old manuscripts and incunabula and has a collection of early Dutch literature. The Dutch Society of Sciences (1752) and the Teyler Foundation (1778) are in Haarlem.
The city’s early industries (wool weaving and brewing) were replaced in the 17th century by silk, lace, and damask weaving introduced by the Huguenots. The city declined in the 18th century but developed industrially in the late 19th with printing, typefounding, shipbuilding, cocoa and chocolate processing, and the manufacture of machinery, chemicals, and textiles. Since World War II, branches of multinational corporations (mostly from the United States) have been located in Haarlem. Horticulture, and especially market gardening, has been widely practiced since the 17th century, and the city, surrounded by flower fields, exports bulbs.
Haarlem is the centre of a residential complex that includes Bloemendaal, Aerdenhout, Bentveld, Heemstede, Overveen, Sant-poort, and the planned community of Schalkwijk. The busy Zandvoort beach and the Kennemerduinen National Park (1950) are on the western (North Sea) side. Pop. (2007 est.) mun., 146,960; urban agglom., 406,162.