| Castricum | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Flag Size: | 100x67px |
| Map Alt: | Highlighted position of Castricum in a municipal map of North Holland |
| Coordinates: | 52.55°N 44°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | North Holland |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Governing Body: | Municipal council |
| Leader Party: | VVD |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Karen Heerschop |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [2] |
| Elevation M: | 0 |
| Population Demonym: | Castricummer |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postcode |
| Postal Code: | 1489, 1900–1906, 1920–1921 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 0251 |
Castricum (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /ˈkɑstrikʏm/) is a municipality and a town in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands.
Castricum is a seaside town in the province of North Holland. It attracts tourists who come mainly to visit the beach and nearby dune landscape. Lake of Alkmaar-Uitgeest is in the vicinity, with facilities for sailing and windsurfing.
On 6 October 1799, a Franco-Dutch army under Guillaume Brune defeated an Anglo-Russian army under Ralph Abercromby and the Duke of York in the Battle of Castricum.
The municipalities of Akersloot and Limmen merged into the municipality of Castricum on 1 January 2002.
The municipality of Castricum is made up of the towns, villages and districts of: Castricum, Akersloot, Bakkum, De Woude and Limmen.
The town is served by Castricum railway station. It has regular trains to Amsterdam, with a journey time of 28 minutes.
The municipal council of Castricum consists of 25 seats which, after the 2022 election, divided as follows:[3]
After 2022 the college van burgemeester en wethouders (the municipal board) was formed by Lokaal Vitaal, VVD, Green Left and CDA.[1]
Castricum aan Zee is the seaside resort of Castricum. It is located on the North Sea coast at 52.5563°N 4.6077°W. It used to be called Bakkum aan Zee, and mainly consists of holiday homes, camping sites and the occasional house. Duincamping Bakkum is the oldest camp site of the Netherlands. The dune area used to be owned by Sophie, Princess of Albania. In 1906, a group of nature lovers asked permission to camp. The princess granted permission, and it developed into a permanent camp site.[4]
In 1942, construction started of the Atlantic Wall to defend against an Allied invasion. As part of the wall Stützpunkt Castricum was built, and 104 bunkers were constructed in the dunes. Many have been demolished, but some are still hidden under the sand. In 2020, a previously unknown bunker was discovered buried in the sand.[5]