Den Helder (Dutch pronunciation: [dɛn ˈɦɛldər] ⓘ) is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.

From here the Royal TESO ferryboat service operates the transportation link between Den Helder and the nearby Dutch Wadden island of Texel to the north.

Another explanation is that the name derived from Helsdeur (Hell's Door), likely because in the water between Den Helder and Texel (called Marsdiep) the current was so strong that many ships were lost.

Due to its strategic location at the tip of the North Holland peninsula, multiple fortifications were built in the area.

During the Dutch Golden Age, ships would be assembled near Den Helder and sail the world's oceans from there.

An Anglo-Russian invasion force landed at Den Helder in August 1799 and captured the Batavian navy there (see Battle of Castricum).

French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, visiting Den Helder in 1811, was impressed with the town's strategic location and ordered the construction of a fort (Kijkduin) and naval dockyards (Willemsoord).

The old naval dockyards of Willemsoord, located in the north of the city, now house restaurants, a cinema, and other recreational facilities.