Editing Haarlem (section)

====Cultural life====
After the fall of Antwerp, many artists and craftsmen migrated to Haarlem and received commissions from the Haarlem council to decorate the city hall. The paintings commissioned were meant to show Haarlem's glorious history as well as Haarlem's glorious products. Haarlem's cultural life prospered, with painters like [[Frans Hals]] and [[Jacob van Ruisdael]], the architect [[Lieven de Key]] and [[Jan Steen]] who made many paintings in Haarlem. 

The Haarlem councilmen became quite creative in their propaganda promoting their city. On the Grote Markt, the central market square, there's a statue of [[Laurens Janszoon Coster]] who is allegedly the inventor of the [[printing press]]. This is the second and larger statue to him on the square. The original stands behind the city hall in the little garden known as the Hortus (where today the [[Stedelijk Gymnasium Haarlem|Stedelijk Gymnasium]] school is located). 

Most scholars agree that the scarce evidence seems to point to [[Johann Gutenberg]] as the first European inventor of the printing press, but Haarlem children were taught about "Lau", as he is known, well into the 20th century. This legend served the printers of Haarlem well, however, and it is probably for that reason the most notable Dutch history books from the Dutch Golden Age period were published in Haarlem; by [[Hadrianus Junius]] (Batavia), [[Dirck Volkertszoon Coornhert]] (Works), [[Karel van Mander]] (Schilderboeck), [[Samuel Ampzing]] (Description and Ode to Haarlem), [[Petrus Scriverius]] (Batavia Illustrata), and [[Pieter Christiaenszoon Bor]] (Origin of the Dutch wars).

[[File:Berkheyde-Haarlem.jpg|thumb|The Grote Markt in 1696, painting by Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde]]