Egmond aan Zee

Egmond (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛxmɔnt]) is a former municipality in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2001, it was merged with the municipalities of Schoorl and Bergen to form the municipality of Bergen. The three main villages in the former municipality are Egmond aan den Hoef, Egmond aan Zee and Egmond-Binnen. The place gave its name to the House of Egmond, who became the powerful protectors of Egmond Abbey, founded in the 9th-century in Egmond-Binnen, and who built their residence (hoeve/hoef) in Egmond aan den Hoef. The French philosopher René Descartes, author of Meditations on First Philosophy, lived in both Egmond aan den Hoef and (mostly) Egmond-Binnen from April 1636 to September 1638 and again from May 1643 until the end of September 1649 before leaving for Sweden (where he died 4 months later). His Les Météores, La Dioptrique and La Géométrie were published in the first period and his letters to Elisabeth of the Palatinate and Les Passions de l'âme were from the second period. Descartes lived longer in Egmond than in any other place in his life.

The J.C.J. van Speijk Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the North Sea coast near Egmond aan Zee, in the municipality of Bergen, North Holland, in the Netherlands. The foundation of the lighthouse, shaped like a tomb, is the official Dutch memorial to Jan van Speyk, a hero to the Dutch people.The treacherous sea near Egmond necessitated the construction of two lighthouses, which were built in 1833. The northside of the light is red to warn for dangerous shallows near the coast north of Egmond. As soon as a ship leaves the danger zone it sees the white light. The south tower, on the Torensduin, was deactivated in 1891 and demolished in 1915. The north tower is still there, and is declared a Rijksmonument.

Egmond aan den Hoef (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɛxmɔnt aːn dən ˈɦuf]) is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of Alkmaar. Until 2001, Egmond aan den Hoef was part of the municipality of Egmond. The village was first mentioned in 1167 Ekmunde, and means "parcel of land belonging to Egmond". The name originally applied only to the castle, but was later used for the settlement around the castle.In Egmond aan den Hoef are the remains of Egmond Castle, the residence of the House of Egmond. The castle was first built in the 11th century, and was destroyed around 1205. It was rebuilt and fortified, and was destroyed again in the 14th century. Again it was rebuilt. In 1573 at the order of William the Silent it was demolished by the Geuzen, led by Diederik Sonoy. The remnants were taken down at the end of the 18th century. During the 1930s the remains were dug up. The French philosopher René Descartes, author of Meditations on First Philosophy, lived in Egmond aan den Hoef, right near the castle remains, in 1643-44 and perhaps longer. For many years he lived in the neighboring village of Egmond-Binnen.

Egmond-Binnen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌɛxmɔndˈbɪnə(n)]) is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) southwest of Alkmaar.

Egmond Castle (Dutch: Kasteel Egmond), also called the Ruins of Egmond (Dutch: Ruïne van Egmond), is a ruined medieval castle in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is located in Egmond aan den Hoef in the municipality of Bergen and lies about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of Alkmaar. The castle dates from the 11th century and is the ancestral seat of the Egmond family, whose members became sovereign Dukes of Guelders, Counts of Egmond and Princes of Gavere, Counts of Buren and Leerdam. It is a national monument of the Netherlands.

Wimmenum is a hamlet in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is located in the municipality of Bergen, about 2 km north of Egmond aan den Hoef. It was first mentioned in the late-11th century as Wymnam. The etymology is unknown.Wimmenum was a separate municipality from 1817 to 1857, when it was merged with Egmond-Binnen. It was home to 84 people in 1840.The windmill De Wimmenumermolen is a polder mill which was built in 1774. It was in service until 1951 when a pumping station was constructed. In 1967, it was restored and has an auxiliary function. In 2020, the wind mill broke its record with 1,113,518 revolutions.

Egmond Abbey or St. Adalbert's Abbey (Dutch: Abdij van Egmond, Sint-Adelbertabdij) is a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation, situated in Egmond-Binnen, in the municipality of Bergen, in the Dutch province of North Holland. Founded in 920-925, and destroyed during the Reformation, it was re-founded in 1935 as the present Sint-Adelbertabdij, in the Diocese of Haarlem.

The Leiden Willeram or Egmond Willeram, is the name given to a manuscript containing an Old Dutch version of the Old High German commentary on Song of Solomon by the German abbot Williram of Ebersberg. The translation, since 1597 in the Leiden University Library, was done at the end of the 11th century by a monk of the Abbey of Egmond in the present day Netherlands. The literary text would be seen as the start of Dutch literature, were it not for the fact that the manuscript probably never left the abbey, so it couldn't have influenced later works. Until recently, based on its orthography and phonology the text of this manuscript was believed by most scholars to be Middle Franconian, that is Old High German, with some Limburgic or otherwise Low Franconian admixtures. But in 1974, the German philologist Willy Sanders proved in his study Der Leidener Willeram that the text actually represents an imperfect attempt by a scribe from the northwestern coastal area of the Low Countries to translate the East Franconian original into his local Old Dutch vernacular. The text contains many Old Dutch words not known in Old High German, as well as mistranslated words caused by the scribe's unfamiliarity with some Old High German words in the original he translated, and a confused orthography heavily influenced by the Old High German original. For instance, the grapheme is used after the High German tradition where it represents Germanic t shifted to /ts/. The Leiden Willeram contains 136 words with the oldest date in Dutch.

Bergen aan Zee is a village and seaside resort on the North Sea coast in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 9 km west of Alkmaar.

Bakkum is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Castricum and lies about 12 km southwest of Alkmaar. It has three satellites: the village of Bakkum-Noord, the hamlet Noord Bakkum and Bakkum aan Zee which is nowadays called Castricum aan Zee.The village was first mentioned in the late-11th century as Bachem, and means "settlement on a height". Bakkum used to be a heerlijkheid. In 1749, it was sold to Nicolaas Geelvinck who was Lord of Castricum among others.In 1812, Bakkum became a part of the municipality of Castricum. Some tourism developed in the early 20th century, but Bakkum never developed into a seaside resort town. After World War II, it started to form a single urban area with Castricum.