De Naald

De Naald is a monument in Heemstede, Netherlands, erected in 1817 by the city council to commemorate two battles on the Manpad road running next to the site. The site is at the corner of the Manpad, and Herenweg, on property belonging to the estate 'Huis te Manpad'.

De Naald is the name the locals have given the monument. The 'needle' has often been mistaken for the border mark between Heemstede and Bennebroek, but in fact the border is further south. nl:David Jacob van Lennep , who lived in the 'Huis te Manpad' behind the monument, was a Dutch poet and professor of classical languages in Amsterdam. His son, Jacob van Lennep, who was 15 at the time of the monument's placement, later wrote a song commemorating 'Witte van Haemstede', one of the heroes mentioned on the monument. Later historians have questioned whether these events did in fact take place, and also whether the location is correct. The Manpad was a generic name for the North-South route along the Dune ridge running from the Hague to Alkmaar. In most towns the road took on the name of Hoofdweg, the equivalent of 'Main Street'. This particular stretch of Manpad actually runs East-West, crossing the Leidsevaart from one sand ridge to another. The battles, if they took place, could have taken place anywhere along the Manpad. It is unlikely that Witte van Haemstede would reach Haarlem via the Manpad from Zandvoort, as the legend has it. The most direct route to Haarlem from Zandvoort is via the Visserspad.

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