Holland by Night

The countship in Haarlem was inextricably connected to the existence of a parish church. In the earliest records this parish was a subsidiary of the parish church in nearby Velzen. Velzen in it's turn was the property of Echternach Abbey, in Luxembourg. The parish in Haarlem is mentioned as one of the properties of the abbey in an eleventh century list. When in 1063 the bishop of Utrecht returns some stolen properties to Echternach, Haarlem is not one of them. We can deduce that the parish changed hands in the meantime, and was now property of the Count.
The building itself dates from the beginning of the fourteenth century. The outlook of it's predecessor is unclear, however, a wooden or tuff building on the site of the modern choir seems probable.