Voorburg is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Together with Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it makes up the municipality

Leidschendam-Voorburg Leidschendam-Voorburg () is a municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It had a population of in , and covers an area of of which is water. Origin The municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg is the resu ...

. It has a population of about 39,000 people. It is considered to be the oldest city in The Netherlands and celebrated its 2000th year of existence in 1988. However in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

the status of 'city' normally commenced with the bestowing of a 'city charter' by its sovereign leader(s) and none available is that old. Human occupation has certainly been established as occurring two millennia ago, where Voorburg is located now. In 2002, the cities of Leidschendam and Voorburg were merged under the new municipality named "Leidschendam-Voorburg". Situated adjacent to the city of

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, it is often regarded as one of its suburbs.

History

Voorburg, the most densely populated of the three towns in the municipality, has its roots in the 2nd century, when a local civilian settlement gained city rights from the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, becoming known as ''

Forum Hadriani Forum Hadriani, in the modern town of Voorburg, was the northernmost Roman city on the European continent and the second oldest city of the Netherlands. It was located in the Roman province Germania Inferior and is mentioned on the Tabula Peuti ...

''. It was along the

Fossa Corbulonis The Fossa Corbulonis (Dutch: ''Kanaal van Corbulo'') was a Roman canal that was dug around 50 AD under the direction of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. The project was mentioned by the historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio,Tacitus ''Annales'' XI 20; Cassiu ...

, a canal connecting the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

that had been dug in 47 AD by the Roman general Corbulo. This waterway is now known as the Rijn-Schie canal (more commonly referred to as the '' Vliet'') and is still a dominant landmark of the present day borough. Famous inhabitants of Voorburg include the 17th century author and poet

Constantijn Huygens Sir Constantijn Huygens, Lord of Zuilichem ( , , ; 4 September 159628 March 1687), was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was also secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Ch ...

, who spent many years building his small country house ''

Hofwijck Hofwijck (; or Vitaulium in Latin) is a mansion built for 17th-century politician Constantijn Huygens. It is located in Voorburg on the Vliet canal from The Hague to Leiden. Formal address of the cultural heritage is 2 Westeinde, Voorburg, the N ...

'' with adjacent geometrically shaped gardens alongside the ''Vliet''. His son, the famous astronomer and mathematician Christiaan Huygens, spent several years in his father's country house in Voorburg. The house, located next to the main railway station, now functions as a museum. Philosopher Baruch Spinoza lived in Voorburg from 1663 to 1670. In Voorburg, Spinoza continued work on the ''

Ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

'' and corresponded with scientists, philosophers, and theologians throughout Europe. He also wrote and published his '' Theological Political Treatise'' in 1670, in defense of secular and constitutional government, and in support of

Johan de Witt Johan de Witt (; 24 September 1625 – 20 August 1672), ''lord of Zuid- en Noord-Linschoten, Snelrewaard, Hekendorp en IJsselvere'', was a Dutch statesman and a major political figure in the Dutch Republic in the mid-17th century, the ...

, the Grand Pensionary of the Netherlands, against the Stadtholder, the Prince of Orange. He equated God with Nature. Until 2009 Voorburg hosted the major branch of the country's statistics institute, the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

(Central Bureau for Statistics), which provides most of the statistical data used by the government. That year the CBS relocated a few kilometers eastward to Leidschenveen, one of the new developments around the city of

Until June 2006 the town had three railway stations: Voorburg, Voorburg 't Loo and

Leidschendam-Voorburg station Leidschendam-Voorburg () is a municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It had a population of in , and covers an area of of which is water. Origin The municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg is the resu ...

. The latter two are now part of the

Randstad Rail RandstadRail () is a light rail network in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area in the west of the Netherlands that is jointly operated by HTM Personenvervoer (HTM) and Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram (RET). It connects the cities of Rott ...

network. Voorburg used to be an Intercity station, because there was an eternal agreement with the railways that every passing train should stop there. It lost that status, as the new railway station is elevated and therefore no longer on the soil of Voorburg.

Voorburg Cricket Club (VCC) Sportpark Westvliet, The Hague Cricket ground

Voorburg Cricket Club The Voorburg Cricket Club is a cricket ground in Voorburg, Netherlands. In July 2018, it was initially selected by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB) as one of the two venues to host a One Day International A One Day Internati ...

(VCC)

Sportpark Westvliet Sportpark Westvliet is a multi-sports park in Voorburg, Netherlands. Among others, it contains the grounds of VV Wilhelmus and the Voorburg Cricket Club. Cricket The first recorded match on the ground came in 2010 when Afghanistan played Scot ...

cricket ground was approved by the ICC as the

' latest ODI venue. It joins the VRA ground in

Amstelveen Amstelveen () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 92.353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villages ...

and the Hazelaarweg ground in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

in gaining ODI status.

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

played one

Twenty20 International A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

match each against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and

there in July 2012.

Notable people from Voorburg

* * Johan de Meij, conductor, trombonist, and composer *

Eljero Elia Eljero George Rinaldo Elia (born 13 February 1987) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger. He turned professional at ADO Den Haag and then played for Twente before moving abroad to represent Hamburger SV, Juventus and Werder ...

, Dutch footballer * Marcellus Emants, author * Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, politician and historian *

Bart Groothuis Bart Groothuis (born 1 January 1981) is a Dutch politician serving as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2020. He is a member of the Dutch conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Alliance of Libera ...

, politician * Ehsan Jami, politician and activist *, radio and television presenter * Jerney Kaagman, singer * Gerben Karstens, former professional cyclist *, Dutch Champion Race Walking, re-inventor of Electro Culture in Agriculture *

Karen Mulder Karen Mulder (born 1 June 1970) is a Dutch model and singer. She is well known for her work with Versace, Dior, and Chanel as a supermodel during the 1990s. Mulder repeatedly was featured on the cover of ''Vogue'' and was also a Victoria's Secr ...

, former model *

Julian Thomas Julian Stewart Thomas (born 1959) is a British archaeologist, publishing on the Neolithic and Bronze Age prehistory of Britain and north-west Europe. Thomas has been vice president of the Royal Anthropological Institute since 2007, has been Prof ...

, singer-songwriter * Dylan van Baarle, cyclist * Daan van Bunge, cricketer *

Harry Vanda Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as his stage name Harry Vanda, is a Dutch Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Ea ...

, member of the

Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with th ...

and

Flash and the Pan Flash and the Pan were an Australian new wave musical group (essentially an ongoing studio project) formed in 1976 by Harry Vanda and George Young, both former members of the Easybeats; they were a production and songwriting team known as Van ...

Pieter Winsemius Pieter Winsemius (born 7 March 1942) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businessman. Winsemius worked as a researcher at the Leiden University from February 1966 until October 1970 and as a ma ...

, politician *

Eefje de Visser Eefje de Visser (born 8 February 1986) is a Dutch singer-songwriter. She won the Grote Prijs van Nederland, a national competition for musicians, in 2009. She released her first album, ''De Koek'', in 2011, a breakthrough year in which she perf ...

, singer-songwriter

References

External links

*
Livius.org: Fossa Corbulonis (The Canal of Corbulo)
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2002 Populated places in South Holland Former municipalities of South Holland Germania Inferior Leidschendam-Voorburg