Kaeskoppenstad Festival is a cool medieval festival in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. For two days, in June, the streets of the old city (d’Oude Stad) are a portal to the 16th century Alkmaar — year 1573 more exactly. Why this year, you might ask? There’s a good reason for that: 1573 marks the end of the Spanish siege on the city of Alkmaar, during the Eighty Years’ War. Alkmaar was the first city to overcome a siege by the Spanish army, and this marked a turning point in that war. Alkmaar is very proud of this glorious moment in its history, and that’s why they chose to celebrate it through the Kaeskoppenstad Festival and on the October 8, with the Alkmaar Ontzet Festival.

During the Kaeskoppenstad, we get to see how the city looked like during those times, thanks to the hundreds of actors who re-created the medieval city life. Entering the streets of the Oude Stad, we’ve met fishermen, cooks, laundry workers, plague victims, beggars, musicians and much more. Snippets of life were re-enacted on the streets.

I moved to Alkmaar right before the pandemic started, so I didn’t get to experience much of the life of the city until this year. When I went to the festival, I was almost put off by the huge queue, but I’m glad I didn’t turn around. I had fun pretending to meet people from a different century, and I took pictures with them. We ended the tour with drinks in the main square (Waagplein), enjoying the sun and the view over the beautiful tower of De Waag.

If you want to visit this festival, keep an eye on the Kaeskoppenstad website to find out when the next editions will take place. Until then you can enjoy a few pictures I took on Saturday.

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