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HAARLEM, formerly HARLEM, city, W Netherlands, capital of North Holland Province, on the Spaarne R., near the North Sea and Amsterdam. The chief industries in Haarlem are printing and publishing, brewing, bleaching and dyeing, and the manufacture of chocolates, cotton goods, chemicals, paint, and railway cars. In addition, Haarlem is the center of a prosperous trade in bulbs, notably tulip and hyacinth. A notable building in the city is Saint Bavo's Church, or Groote Kerk, built in the 15th century and containing an organ with 5000 pipes, one of the largest instruments of its kind in the world. In front of the church stands a statue of Laurens Janszoon Coster (c. 1370-c. 1440), to whom the Dutch ascribe the invention of printing. The town hall (13th cent.), formerly the residence of the counts of Holland, contains canvases by the celebrated Dutch painter Frans Hals and a valuable collection of early painted works. Other buildings of note are the Frans Hals Museum, the Dutch Society of Sciences, and the Pavilion (1788), an Italian-style château containing an industrial art museum.

Haarlem took a prominent part in the revolt of the Netherlands against Spanish rule. In 1572 the city was besieged by a Spanish army of 30,000 men, and after a resistance of seven months, was compelled to capitulate. Four years later, William I, prince of Orange, delivered Haarlem from Spain and incorporated the city into the United Netherlands. The section known as Harlem in New York City was named after Haarlem by early Dutch settlers. Pop. (1993 est.) 149,315.