Kenau Simonsdr Hasselaar with the Decapitated Head of a Spanish Army Commander

Haarlem defends itself from the Spanish besiegers with all its might in 1573. The deeds of Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaar even become legendary and are soon blown out of proportion. In reality, she never beheaded a Spanish commander, as this print would have us believe. During this siege, however, around ten thousand soldiers in the Spanish army do perish.