Leiden

Coordinates: 52°10′N 4°29′E / 52.16°N 4.49°E / 52.16; 4.49
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Leiden
municipality
Zijlpoort on the Zijlsingel
Zijlpoort on the Zijlsingel
Beestenmarkt
Beestenmarkt
Lokhorstkerk
Lokhorstkerk
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
2300–2334
Area code071
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Map
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Topographic map of Leiden

Leiden (Dutch pronunciation:

municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 127,046 (31 January 2023),[6] but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration with its suburbs Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten and Zoeterwoude with 215,602 inhabitants. The Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) further includes Katwijk in the agglomeration which makes the total population of the Leiden urban agglomeration 282,207 and in the larger Leiden urban area also Teylingen, Noordwijk, and Noordwijkerhout are included with in total 365,913 inhabitants. Leiden is located on the Oude Rijn, at a distance of some 20 km (12 mi) from The Hague to its south and some 40 km (25 mi) from Amsterdam to its north. The recreational area of the Kaag Lakes (Kagerplassen
) lies just to the northeast of Leiden.

A

university city, university buildings are scattered throughout the city and the many students from all over the world give the city a bustling, vivid and international atmosphere. Many important scientific discoveries have been made here, giving rise to Leiden's motto: 'City of Discoveries'. The city houses Leiden University, the oldest university of the Netherlands, and Leiden University Medical Center. Leiden University is one of Europe's top universities, with thirteen Nobel Prize winners. It is a member of the League of European Research Universities and positioned highly in all international academic rankings. It is twinned with Oxford, the location of the United Kingdom's oldest university. Leiden University and Leiden University of Applied Sciences
(Leidse Hogeschool) together have around 35,000 students. Modern scientific medical research and teaching started in the early 18th century in Leiden with Boerhaave.

Leiden is a city with a rich cultural heritage, not only in science, but also in the arts. One of the world's most famous painters, Rembrandt, was born and educated in Leiden. Other Leiden painters include Lucas van Leyden, Jan van Goyen and Jan Steen.

History

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
13985,000—    
149711,000+0.80%
151414,250+1.53%
157412,456−0.22%
158112,144−0.36%
162244,745+3.23%
163244,000−0.17%
166567,000+1.28%
173270,000+0.07%
175038,105−3.32%
179530,955−0.46%
Source: Lourens & Lucassen 1997, pp. 112–114

Leiden was formed on an artificial hill (today called the

pluralis
, thus meaning "at the canals". "Canal" is actually not the most accurate term word. A leitha (later "lede") was a human-modified river, partly natural, partly artificial.

Leiden has in the past erroneously been associated with the Roman outpost Lugdunum Batavorum. This particular castellum was thought to be located at the Burcht of Leiden, and the city's name was thought to be derived from the Latin name Lugdunum. However the castellum was in fact closer to the town of Katwijk, whereas the Roman settlement near modern-day Leiden was called Matilo.[8]

Windmill museum De Valk

The landlord of Leiden, situated in a stronghold on the hill (motte), was initially subject to the Bishop of

Utrecht but around 1100 the burgraves
became subject to the county of Holland. This county got its name in 1101 from a domain near the stronghold: Holtland or Holland.

Leiden was sacked in 1047 by Emperor Henry III. Early 13th century, Ada, Countess of Holland took refuge here when she was fighting in a civil war against her uncle, William I, Count of Holland. He besieged the stronghold and captured Ada.

Leiden received

city rights
in 1266. In 1389, its population had grown to about 4,000 persons.

Siege of 1420

In 1420, during the

Count William VI of Holland
.

Burgrave Filips of Wassenaar and the other local noblemen of the Hook faction assumed that the duke would besiege Leiden first and send small units out to conquer the surrounding citadels. But

John of Bavaria
chose to attack the citadels first.

He rolled the cannons along with his army but one which was too heavy went by ship. By firing at the walls and gates with iron balls the citadels fell one by one. Within a week John of Bavaria conquered the castles of Poelgeest, Ter Does, Hoichmade, de Zijl, ter Waerd, Warmond and de Paddenpoel.

On 24 June the army appeared before the walls of Leiden. On 17 August 1420, after a two-month siege, the city surrendered to John of Bavaria. The burgrave Filips of Wassenaar was stripped of his offices and rights and lived out his last years in captivity.

16th to 18th centuries

Relief of Leiden (1574), painting by Otto van Veen. Inundated meadows allow the Dutch fleet access to the Spanish infantry positions.
17th-century houses along the Herengracht
Town hall and bridge (de Koornbrug)
Sijthoff
printing office, Leiden
Leiden's west gate, the Morspoort
Leiden's east gate, the Zijlpoort
The Singel at night, showing the chimney of the Light Factory

Leiden flourished in the 16th and 17th century. At the close of the 15th century the

Christoffel Plantijn. One of Christoffel's pupils was Lodewijk Elzevir (1547–1617), who established the largest bookshop and printing works in Leiden, a business continued by his descendants through 1712 and the name subsequently adopted (in a variant spelling) by contemporary publisher Elsevier.[citation needed
]

In 1572, the city sided with the

paper money, with paper taken from prayer books being stamped using coin dies when silver ran out.[9]

Leiden is known as the place where the Pilgrims (as well as some of the first settlers of New Amsterdam)[10][11] lived, operating a printing press[12] for a time in the early 17th century before their departure to Massachusetts and New Amsterdam in the New World.[13] After the expulsion of the Spaniards, Leiden cloth, Leiden baize, and Leiden camlet became familiar terms.[citation needed]

In the 17th century, Leiden prospered, in part because of the impetus to the textile industry by refugees from Flanders. While the city had lost about a third of its 15,000 citizens during the siege of 1574, it quickly recovered to 45,000 inhabitants in 1622, and may have come near to 70,000 c. 1670. During the Dutch Golden Era, Leiden was the second largest city of Holland, after Amsterdam.[14] Particularly due to the work by Herman Boerhaave (1668–1738), it played a crucial role in the establishment of modern chemistry and medicine.

From the late 17th century onwards Leiden slumped, mainly due to the decline of the textile industries. In the beginning of the 19th century the baize manufacture was altogether given up, although industry remained central to Leiden economy. This decline is painted vividly by the fall in population. The population of Leiden had sunk to 30,000 between 1796 and 1811, and in 1904 was 56,044.[15]

From the 17th to the early 19th century, Leiden was the publishing place of one of the most important contemporary journals, Nouvelles Extraordinaires de Divers Endroits, known also as Gazette de Leyde.[16]

19th and 20th centuries

On 12 January 1807, a catastrophe struck the city when a boat loaded with 17,400 kg (38,360 lb) of gunpowder blew up in the middle of Leiden. 151 people were killed, over 2,000 were injured and some 220 homes were destroyed. King Louis Bonaparte personally visited the city to provide assistance to the victims. Although located in the centre of the city, the area destroyed remained empty for many years. In 1886 the space was turned into a public park, the Van der Werff park.[17]

In 1842, the railroad from Leiden to

Johan Rudolf Thorbecke
(1798–1872) wrote the Dutch Constitution in April 1848 in his house at Garenmarkt 9 in Leiden.

Leiden's reputation as the "city of books" continued through the 19th century with the establishment of publishing dynasties by

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. He felt that international copyright restrictions would stifle the Dutch publishing industry.[19]

Leiden began to expand beyond its 17th-century moats around 1896 and the number of citizens surpassed 50,000 in 1900. After 1920, new industries were established in the city, such as the canning and metal industries. During World War II, Leiden was hit hard by Allied bombardments. The areas surrounding the railway station and Marewijk were almost completely destroyed.

The University of Leiden is famous for its many discoveries including Snell's law (by Willebrord Snellius) and the famous Leyden jar, a capacitor made from a glass jar, invented in Leiden by Pieter van Musschenbroek in 1746. Another development was in cryogenics: Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1913 Nobel prize winner in physics) liquefied helium for the first time (1908) and later managed to reach a temperature of less than one degree above the absolute minimum. Albert Einstein also spent some time at Leiden University during his early to middle career.

Leiden today

The city's biggest and most popular annual festival is celebrated on 3 October and is called simply 3 Oktober. The people of Leiden celebrate the end of the Spanish siege of 1574.[20] It typically takes place over the course of two to three days and includes parades, a hutspot feast, historical reenactments, a funfair and other events. Since 2006, the city has also hosted the annual Leiden International Film Festival.[21]

Leiden has important functions as a shopping and trade centre for communities around the city.

The city also houses the Eurotransplant, the international organization responsible for the mediation and allocation of organ donation procedures in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovenia. Leiden also houses the headquarters of Airbus, a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide. The group includes Airbus, the leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft worldwide.

Rivers, canals and parks

Canal near Leiden - May 1978

The two branches of the

printers
.

Buildings of interest

Because of the economic decline from the end of the 17th until the middle of the 19th century, much of the 16th- and 17th-century city centre is still intact. It is the second largest 17th-century town centre in the Netherlands, the largest being Amsterdam's city centre.

A hundred buildings in the centre are decorated with large murals of poetry, part of a wall poem project active from 1992, and still ongoing.[22][23]

Fortifications

At the strategically important junction of the two arms of the Oude Rijn stands the old

fortress in the 13th century it has since served as house, library and prison.[26]
Presently it is one of the university's buildings.

Churches

Hooglandse Kerk, Leiden
Sint Lodewijkskerk

The chief of Leiden's numerous churches are the

Reformation. It is an example of Dutch Classicism. In the drawings by Van 's Gravesande the pulpit is the centrepiece of the church. The pulpit is modelled after the one in the Nieuwe Kerk at Haarlem (designed by Jacob van Campen). The building was first used in 1650, and is still in use. The Heilige Lodewijkkerk is first catholic church in Leiden that was built after the Reformation. This church was given to the Catholics after the gunpowder explosion in 1807, which killed 150 inhabitants and destroyed a large part of the city centre.[27][28] The 'Waalse Kerk' (Breestraat 63) was originally part of the Katharina Hospital. In 1584 it became the church of Protestant refugees from the Southern Netherlands (Brugge) and France. Later churches in the centre include the St. Joseph in expressionistic
style.

University buildings

The 1860 Leiden Observatory, after restoration (2013)

The city centre contains many buildings that are in use by the

Society of Dutch Literature (1766) and the collection of casts and engravings. In recent years the university has built the Leiden Bio Science Park at the city's outskirts to accommodate the Science departments.[citation needed
]

De Waag (1900)

Other buildings

Culture

The former residence of Leiden's master carpenter at the Stadstimmwerwerf (city carpenter's or construction yard) with large stepped gable, open to the public and in use as art gallery.The former residence of the city's master carpenter at the Stadstimmerwerf (city carpenter's or construction yard), open to the public and in use as art gallery.
The former residence of Leiden's master carpenter at the Stadstimmerwerf (city carpenter's or construction yard), open to the public and in use as art gallery.

Museums

Public transport

Leiden, central railway station

Bus transport in Leiden is provided by Arriva.[30]

Railway stations within the municipality of Leiden are:

Notable people

The following is a selection of important Leidenaren throughout history:

William II, Count of Holland in the Lakenhal

Public officials and scholars

The arts

Rembrandt van Rijn, ca.1655
Willem van de Velde II, ca.1660)
Leoni Jansen, 2013

Science

Herman Boerhaave
Johannes Diderik van der Waals

Sport

Alfons Groenendijk, 2017
Kjeld Nuis, 2018
Buurtpoes Bledder

Others

International relations

Twin cities – sister cities

Leiden is twinned with:

Eastern gate 'Zijlpoort' at the Singel

Miscellaneous

The poem on Leiden's Stadhuis

Nae zWarte HVnger-noot
GebraCht had tot de doot
bInaest zes-dVIzent MensChen;
aLst god den heer Verdroot
gaf hI Vns Weder broot
zo VeeL WI CVnsten WensChen.

(Dutch: "When the Black Famine had brought to the death nearly six thousand persons, then God the Lord repented, and gave bread again as much as we could wish".)[68]

Sports

Zorg en Zekerheid Leiden is the basketball club of Leiden. In 2011, 2013 and 2021 they won the National Title, in 2010 and 2012 the National Cup and in 2011 and 2012 the National Super Cup. The club also played in the FIBA EuroChallenge
and reached the Second Round (Best 16) in 2011/2012.

See also

References

Citations

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  2. ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
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  5. ^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; Regionale kerncijfers Nederland" [Regional core figures Netherlands]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
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Sources

  • Lourens, Piet; Lucassen, Jan (1997). Inwonertallen van Nederlandse steden ca. 1300–1800. Amsterdam: NEHA. .

Further reading

  • Cruz Laura. 2009. The Paradox of Prosperity : The Leiden Booksellers' Guild and the Distribution of Books in Early Modern Europe. 1st ed. New Castle DE: Oak Knoll Press.

External links

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