Laurens Janszoon Coster, or Laurens Jansz Koster, is the purported inventor of a printing press from Haarlem. He allegedly invented printing simultaneously with Johannes Gutenberg and was regarded by some in the Netherlands well into the 20th century as having invented printing first.
Illustration from a pamphlet by Petrus Scriverius, 1628
Statue of Laurens Janszoon Coster designed by Romeyn de Hooghe.
Laurens Jansz Coster 300 years of Typographia
Statue of Laurens Janszoon Coster on the Grote Markt in Haarlem, where he was born. He holds the letter "A" up high.
Haarlem is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the more populated metropolitan areas in Europe; it is also part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. Haarlem had a population of 162,543 in 2021.
Grote Kerk ("Great Church") or St.-Bavokerk ("Church of St. Bavo") on the Grote Markt, Haarlem's central square
The City Hall on the Grote Markt, built in the 14th century, replacing the Count's castle after it partially burnt down. The remains were given to the city.
A sketch of the siege of Haarlem seen from the North, with Het Dolhuys on the right, and the river Spaarne on the left
The legend of the Haarlem shield, painting (c. 1630) by Pieter de Grebber in the City Hall
