Heiloo | |
|---|---|
Municipality andtown | |
 Heiloo town centre | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
.svg) Location in North Holland | |
| Coordinates:52°36′N4°43′E / 52.600°N 4.717°E /52.600; 4.717 | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | North Holland |
| Government | |
| • Body | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Mascha ten Bruggencate (D66) |
| Area | |
• Total | 19.01 km2 (7.34 sq mi) |
| • Land | 18.70 km2 (7.22 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0.31 km2 (0.12 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 3 m (10 ft) |
| Population (January 2021)[4] | |
• Total | 24,144 |
| • Density | 1,291/km2 (3,340/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Heilooënaar, Heilooër |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postcode | 1850–1852 |
| Area code | 072 |
| Website | www |
Heiloo (Dutch pronunciation:[ɦɛiˈloː]ⓘ) is amunicipality andtown in theNetherlands, located in the province ofNorth Holland. The community is part of the cooperation regionKennemerland and is located in the historical region ofWest Friesland. Heiloo had a population of 24,144 in 2021.
Heiloo (from the Dutchheilige loo, "sacred forest") was given its name becauseSaint Willibrord was said to have performed a miracle there around 690 and created a church on a small hill.
It has a town hall dating from 1926 and a church from the 12th century known as theWitte Kerk.[5] In the late Middle Ages a Marian shrine came into being for Our Lady to Need (Onze Lieve Vrouwe ter Nood). The chapel was partially destroyed in 1573 during theSpanish Siege of Alkmaar, and it was completely demolished in 1637.[6] Before it was razed to the ground, the Alkmaar painterGerrit Pietersz. de Jongh depicted a family on a pilgrimage at the ruins of the single wall left remaining after the siege.[7] Pilgrimage started to flourish again in 1713 when a spring started to sprout where the chapel had stood.[8][9] The Marian sanctuary, situated outside the village in a so-called procession park, is one of the major pilgrimage destinations in the Netherlands, attracting pilgrims mainly from the diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam.In the 1950s and 1960s the population grew quickly as many residents of Amsterdam moved to the area. Many residents work and attend school in the neighbouring city ofAlkmaar.
Themunicipal council of Heiloo consists of 19 seats, which at the2022 municipal elections divided as follows:[13]
Currentmayor: Mascha ten Bruggencate (D66).
Connections fromHeiloo railway station include:Alkmaar,Hoorn,Uitgeest,Zaandam,Amsterdam,Utrecht,'s-Hertogenbosch,Eindhoven,The Hague,Weert,Roermond,Maastricht andHeerlen.
Until October 2013 there was a second stop on the railway line between Heiloo andLimmen, used once a month to bringpilgrims to the nearbychapel. The name of both station and chapel was 'Onze lieve vrouwe ter nood' or 'Our Lady to Need'; the station was known as Runxputte until 1914. One of the platforms was demolished in 1997 for safety reasons.[14]
Media related toHeiloo at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
