A city mainly constructed from wood was always a risk and the inevitable happened and a great fire almost burned the city to the ground.
Haarlem first became a city in the mid 13th century although the city walls were not built until some 30 years later. It is also popular with day trippers from Amsterdam due to it close proximity, (it is only 20 km away) to the capital. Indeed tourism is making up an ever increasing amount of Haarlem’s income, (it is also one of the main flower growing regions). It is a very historical city, with lots of picturesque old buildings to see. Haarlem is the capital of North Holland and has a population of just over 150,000 people.
