Siege of Haarlem The siege of Haarlem was an episode of the Eighty Years ' War . From 11 December 1572 to 13 July 1573 an army of Philip II of Spain laid bloody siege to the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands , whose loyalties had begun wavering during the previous summer . After the naval battle of Haarlemmermeer and the defeat of a land relief force , the starving city surrendered and the garrison was massacred . The resistance nonetheless was taken as an heroic example by the Orangists at the sieges of Alkmaar and Leiden . Pretext . The city of Haarlem had a moderate view in the religious war that was going on in the Netherlands at that time . The city managed to escape from the Reformed iconoclasm in 1566 that affected other cities in the Netherlands . When the city of Brielle was conquered by the Geuzen revolutionary army on 1 April , the Haarlem municipality did not immediately start supporting the Geuzen . Initially , most city administrators — unlike many citizens — did not favor open revolution against Philip II of Spain , who had inherited rule of the Netherlands from his father , the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V . However , after much political debate the city officially turned against Philip II on 4 July 1572 . The ruler of Spain was not pleased , and sent an army up north under command of Don Fadrique ( " Don Frederick " in Dutch ) , son of the Duke of Alva . On 17 November 1572 all citizens of the city of Zutphen were murdered by the Spanish army , and on 1 December the city of Naarden suffered the same fate . From Amsterdam , still a pro - Spain city , the message came that perhaps negotiations with Don Fadrique were possible . The city administration sent a deputation of 4 people to Amsterdam . The cities defenses were commanded by city - governor Wigbolt Ripperda , a commandor put in charge by the William the Silent , the Prince of Orange . He strongly disapproved of negotiating with the Spanish army , and called the city guard together in De Doelen , and convinced them to stay loyal to the Prince of Orange . The city ' s administration was replaced with pro - Orange members . When the deputation came back from Amsterdam , they were convicted as traitors and sent to the Prince . The Sint - Bavokerk ( Saint Bavo Church ) was cleared of Roman Catholic symbols the same day . Under siege . On 11 December 1572 the Spanish army put Haarlem under siege . The city was not very strong , militarily speaking . Although the city was completely surrounded by citywalls , they were not in good shape . The area around the city could not be inundated , and offered the enemy many places to set up camp . However , the existence of the Haarlemmermeer ( a great lake ) nearby made it difficult for the enemy to cut off the transportation of food into the city completely . In the Middle Ages it was unusual to fight in the winter , but the city of Haarlem was crucial and Don Fadrique stayed and put the town under siege . During the first two months of the siege , the situation was in balance . The Spanish army dug two tunnels to reach the city walls and collapse them . The defenders made tunnels to blow up the Spanish tunnels . The situation became worse for Haarlem on 29 March 1573 . The Amsterdam army , faithful to the Spanish king , occupied the Haarlemmermeer and effectively blocked Haarlem from the outside world . The hunger in the city grew , and the situation became so tense that on 27 May many ( Spanish - loyal ) prisoners were taken from the prison and murdered . On 19 December no less than 625 shots were fired at the defensive wall between the Janspoort to the Catherijnebridge . This forced the defenders to put up a completely new wall . Two city gates , the Kruispoort and the Janspoort collapsed from the fighting . Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer , a very strong woman , helped defending the city . In the beginning of July William I of Orange put together an army of 5000 soldiers near Leiden , to rescue Haarlem . However , the Spanish trapped them at the " Manpad " and defeated the army . Surrender . In the early days of the battle , the Spanish army tried an assault of the city walls , but this attempt to quickly conquer the city failed due to the insufficient preparation by the Spanish army , which had not expected much resistance . This initial victory gave the defenders ' morale a big boost . After seven months the city surrendered on 13 July 1573 . Usually , after such a siege , there would be a period of time that the soldiers of the victorious army could pillage the city , but the citizens were allowed to buy themselves and the city free for 240 , 000 guilder s . The written assurances that had been given to the city were respected , but the whole garrison ( which included many English , French Huguenots and Germans ) was executed with the exception of the Germans . 40 burghers considered guilty of sedition were executed as well ; the besiegers having run out of ammunition , many of them were drowned in the Spaarne river . Governor Ripperda and his lieutenant were beheaded . Don Fadrique thanked God for his victory in the Sint - Bavokerk . The city would have to host a Spanish garrison . Although ultimately the city could not be kept for the Prince of Orange , the siege showed other cities that the Spanish army was not invincible . This idea , and the great losses suffered by the Spanish army ( maybe 10 , 000 men ) , helped the cities of Leiden and Alkmaar in their sieges . The latter city would later defeat the Spanish army , a major breakthrough in the Dutch Revolt . In the Sint - Bavo church the following words can still be read : In dees grote nood , in ons uutereste ellent < br > Gaven wij de stadt op door hongers verbant < br > Niet dat hij se in creegh met stormender hant . < br > < br > In this great need , in our uttermost misery , < br > we gave up the city , forced by hunger , < br > not that he took her by storm . Literature . Some Dutch cities celebrate their victory over the Spanish with a yearly celebration of independence , such as Leiden since 2 – 3 October 1574 and Alkmaar since 18 October 1573 . Haarlem did not win on 13 July 1573 , however , and this has made independence celebrations somewhat problematic . The siege of Haarlem has been made into 3 plays ; most notably by Juliana de Lannoy in 1770 .