- Witte van Haemstede
Witte van Haemstede (1280/1282-1321) was a bastard son of
Floris V, Count of Holland . His half-brotherJohn I, Count of Holland , gave him the property ofHaamstede , in Southern Holland.He married Agnes van der Sluys, the date is unknown but it was before 1307. In 1304 he led an army consisting of peasants and farmers to victory in a battle against the Flemish, who were threatening the city of
Haarlem . He is said to have defeated the Flemish inHeemstede with the help of the Haarlemmers at the site of the "Manpad".Manpad
In 1817 Mr. David Jacob van Lennep, who lived in the stately house called
Huis te Manpad next to the Manpad, encouraged the Heemstede council to erect a monument. He had already composed a romantic song about Witte van Haemstede that was quite popular. The legend says that Witte van Haemstede arrived by ship atZandvoort and traveled overland to Haarlem over the Manpad, to help the Haarlemmers in their battle against the Flemish who had traveled overland fromHillegom andLisse . The monument is called 'De Naald ', meaning the pin.
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