Alkmaar after the cheese market season: the Weigh House still has a story
There is no cheese market on Waagplein in October. The Cheese Museum inside the Weigh House keeps the history of trade and production in view.
Anyone visiting Waagplein in Alkmaar on Monday 19 October will not find a cheese market. The official calendar shows the next season starting on 26 March 2027. The square and its Weigh House still offer a way into the city’s cheese history.
According to the market’s history page, Alkmaar already had weighing rights and a cheese scale in 1365. The date of the first market is unknown, but the cheese market is firmly documented by 1622. The Cheese Carriers’ Guild was founded in 1593. Waagplein was enlarged several times over the following centuries.
The Dutch Cheese Museum occupies the historic Weigh House. Since its founding in 1983, it has collected and displayed objects connected with making, trading and weighing cheese. There is a treasure hunt for children. The subject remains open to visitors even outside market days.
The museum is at Waagplein 2. General information lists Monday opening, but the museum also has a calendar that may show exceptions. Daily opening hours and ticket details for the Cheese Museum are listed at kaasmuseum.nl and may change. For the market itself, plan a visit in the new season.