Fort Vijfhuizen

The 2002 Floriade international horticultural exposition took place from April 6 to October 20, 2002, in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, with a theme of Contribution of Horticulture in the quality of life in the 21st century. Recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the festival covered 65 hectares and had 30 participating countries.Across the Floriade site is the Geniedijk, part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam, while the "Lake Side" was located in the Haarlemmermeer Woods. From the artificial mountain, visitors had a substantial view of the area. The Zuidtangent was opened around the same time as the Floriade, with temporary additional stops opened along the north and south entrances to the festival. The north stop is still occasionally used during events and festivals held on the site of the Floriade. The 2002 Floriade was also the site of the Spike and Suzy album, The Bright Floriade.

Vijfhuizen is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, and lies about 4 km southeast of Haarlem. In January 2011, the town of Vijfhuizen had 4387 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.48 km2, and contained 728 residences. The wider statistical area of Vijfhuizen has a population of around 2800.Vijfhuizen is located on the northwest side of the Haarlemmermeer on the ring canal opposite Haarlem. To the south of it lies Cruquius, and to the north, on the ring dike, Nieuwebrug. The characteristic Vijfhuizen bridge connects the village with Haarlem and was completely renewed a few years ago. For a number of years there has been a cycle path along the Geniedijk to Hoofddorp. The roads east of the village run dead on the Polderbaan of Schiphol.

Schalkwijk is the largest borough of Haarlem, Netherlands. It has about 30.000 inhabitants, and covers about 25% of the municipality of Haarlem. Until 1963, Schalkwijk was a part of the municipality of Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude. It consisted of two hamlets, North Schalkwijk and South Schalkwijk. The area is now covered by the residential area Schalkwijk that was mostly built in the 1960s.

Zuidschalkwijk was a hamlet in the northwestern Netherlands. It has been annexed by the city of Haarlem and is located about 4 km south of the city centre. Zuidschalkwijk was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1863, when it was merged with Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude. On October 1, 1963, Zuidschalkwijk was transferred to Haarlem and became part of the Schalkwijk neighbourhood.

The Battle of Haarlemmermeer was a naval engagement fought on 26 May 1573, during the early stages of the Dutch War of Independence. It was fought on the waters of the Haarlemmermeer – a large lake which at the time was a prominent feature of North Holland (it would be drained in the 19th century). A Spanish fleet and a fleet belonging to the city of Amsterdam (at the time still loyal to Spain), commanded by the Count of Bossu, fought a fleet of rebellious Dutch Geuzen, commanded by Marinus Brandt, who were trying to break the siege of Haarlem. After several hours of fighting, the Geuzen were forced to retreat.

The Museum De Cruquius (or Cruquiusmuseum) occupies the old Cruquius steam pumping station in Cruquius, the Netherlands. It derives its name from Nicolaas Kruik (1678–1754), a Dutch land-surveyor and one of many promoters of a plan to pump the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem lake) dry. Like many well-educated men of his time, he latinized his name to Nicolaus Samuel Cruquius. During his lifetime the issue of the Haarlem Lake and how to pump it dry was international news, as the following excerpt from the Virginia Gazette on 31 May 1751 illustrates: "By a private letter from Rotterdam, we are told, that the Dutch Engineers, in their Plan for draining the lake of Haerlem, proposed to employ 150 mills for three Years, and had computed the Expence at a Million and Half of Florins, but that a German, who had been long employed in the Mines of Hungary and Hartz, had proposed to drain it with 50 machines, in 15 months, at a far less Expence; and that he has been ordered to erect one of those Machines, which, if it shall be found to execute what he has asserted, his Proposal will be immediately accepted."Even 50 machines proved too expensive, so it was not until successful experiments with steam pumping stations, such as at nearby Groenendaal park in 1781, that serious plans resulted in three steam-driven pumping stations, including the one at Cruquius. As a tribute to former planners, the pumping stations of the Haarlemmermeer were named after them. The one at the mouth of the Spaarne river, near Heemstede, was called Cruquius. To service the mill, the workers who lived there founded the town of the same name. The dike was built in the 1840s, the pump started work in 1850 and in the three years that had been predicted a century before, the Haarlem lake was pumped dry. The pumping station Cruquius continued to work on and off until 1933, when it was made into a museum. The foreman's house was made into a café which it still is today.

De Eenhoorn (Dutch pronunciation: [də ˈʔeːnɦoːr(ə)n]; English: The Unicorn) is a paltrok mill in Haarlem, Netherlands which has been restored to working order. As all Dutch paltrok mills it is a windpowered sawmill. The mill is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 19872.

Haarlem Spaarnwoude is a railway station in Haarlem, Netherlands. It is located east of the Haarlem city centre and south of Spaarnwoude, on the Amsterdam–Rotterdam railway. The N200 road (from Amsterdam to Haarlem) runs parallel to the railway on the south side. The station opened on 24 May 1998. On the north side of the station is an IKEA store.

Haarlemmerliede is a small village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer and lies about 4 km (2.5 mi) east of Haarlem. Haarlemmerliede was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1857, when it merged with Spaarnwoude. The resulting municipality of Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude was later merged with Haarlemmermeer, in 2019.The statistical area "Haarlemmerliede", which also can include the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 300.

Cruquius (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkrykijɵs]) is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer and lies about 4 km northwest of Hoofddorp.

Veerplas (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌveːrˈplɑs] (listen)) is an artificial lake directly east of the Dutch city of Haarlem. It was dug in 1994, mainly for recreation purposes and forms part of the Spaarnwoude recreational area. The lake measures 450 by 400 metres. The southern shore is formed by a constructed wetland used for water purification. Large numbers of waterfowl may be found here and along the swampy eastern shore during the winter season (e.g. greylag geese, wigeons, common goldeneyes). The local angling club has released carps into the lake. A sandy beach measuring some 300 m was created at the western shore. An area sufficiently shallow to accommodate safe swimming by inexperienced bathers is cordoned off. Furthermore, a grassy sunbathing area sporting a public toilet adjoins the lake, as well as a children's adventure playground. The lake is only a short walking distance from Haarlem Spaarnwoude railway station and relatively close to the A200 and A9 motorways. This favourable location has helped to make it a popular area for organising mid to large-scale events. Thus, 2006 saw the Circus Herman Renz pitch its tent alongside the lake.

The Amsterdamse Poort is an old city gate of Haarlem, Netherlands. It is located at the end of the old route from Amsterdam to Haarlem and the only gate left from the original twelve city gates.