Hildebrandmonument, Fountain and sculpture group in Haarlemmerhout, Netherlands
The Hildebrandmonument is a fountain and sculpture group in the Haarlemmerhout park in Haarlem. It features an octagonal fountain surrounded by eight stone statues of characters, with a ninth figure of Hildebrand set on a central pedestal observing the scene below.
A design competition was held in 1914 to mark the centenary of Nicolaas Beets, and Jan Bronner's proposal won against 25 other submissions. The original sculptures were completed in 1948 from Euville stone, a type that gradually weathered over time.
The monument displays characters from Camera Obscura, a novel by Nicolaas Beets that looked at Dutch middle-class life in the 1800s. The figures around the fountain help visitors connect with how ordinary people lived and thought during that era.
The monument sits in the Haarlemmerhout, a park that is easy to walk to from the city center. The figures you see today are bronze replicas installed in 2014 with reinforced steel frames, designed to withstand the weather without maintenance problems.
The original stone figures from 1948 were not discarded but relocated to the sculpture garden of Nijenhuis Castle near Heino for long-term care. This allowed the original artworks to survive in a protected setting while visitors to the park see a weather-resistant version.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
