Editing Heemskerk (section)

===Agricultural village===
[[File:Heemskerk de oude dorpskern.JPG|thumb|230px|left|The old village around 1915-30.<ref>J. Van Venetien (1968). ''Hart van Kennemerland: Album van het leven en werken in Midden-Kennemerland door de eeuwen heen''. p.212.</ref>]]
After the time of [[knights]] and nobles, Heemskerk remained a small, quiet village near the dunes. Its residents, who mainly worked in agriculture and keeping cattle, had good, but also some very bad times. From the time that products—mainly strawberries for the neighbouring town [[Beverwijk]], where the fruits were sold—were brought to the market with donkeys, people from Heemskerk got the name of Donkey as a nickname and symbol.

The former town hall was built in 1911 after a design by [[Jan Stuyt]] and was raised with an additional floor in 1949. Today this is the building where Janssen's notary office is located. The Roman Catholic Laurentiuskerk, designed by architect [[J. H. Tonnaer]], was completed in 1891 and is a rare example of a Catholic church in Holland in a [[Renaissance Revival architecture|neo-renaissance]] style. There is nothing left of other historical monuments, like Castle Oud Haerlem.