Zoeterwoude () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

, Western

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 ...

. It covers of which is water. It had a population of in . Located to the southeast of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...

and north of

Zoetermeer Zoetermeer () is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. A small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950. By 2013 this had grown to 123,328 ...

, the municipality of Zoeterwoude consists of

Gelderswoude Gelderswoude is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zoeterwoude, and lies about 5 km northeast of Zoetermeer Zoetermeer () is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holla ...

Weipoort Weipoort is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zoeterwoude, and lies about 6 km north of Zoetermeer Zoetermeer () is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The ...

, Westeinde,

Zoeterwoude-Dorp Zoeterwoude-Dorp is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zoeterwoude, and lies about 3.5 km south of Leiden. It has its origins in the 13th century, and even though the whole town went up in flames ...

Zoeterwoude-Rijndijk Zoeterwoude-Rijndijk is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zoeterwoude, and lies about southeast of Leiden. The statistical area "Zoeterwoude-Rijndijk", which also can include the surrounding cou ...

and

Zuidbuurt Zuidbuurt is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zoeterwoude, and lies about 6 km north of Zoetermeer Zoetermeer () is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The ...

Topography

''Dutch topographic map of Zoeterwoude, Sept. 2014. Click to enlarge.''

History

The name Zoeterwoude is first mentioned in a document from 1205, which references a certain "Florentius van Sotrewold". It is uncertain if this is a reference to the village. The first confirmed existence is from 1276 when Dirk van Santhorst received the "Soetrewold" fiefdom from

Floris V, Count of Holland Floris V (24 June 1254 – 27 June 1296) reigned as Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1256 until 1296. His life was documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his chronicler. He is credited with a mostly peaceful reign, moderni ...

. Its municipal boundaries were set circa 1300. At that time it was one of the largest municipalities in the Netherlands, but later much land was annexed by surrounding cities, notably

. In 1450, the first bridge between

Leiderdorp Leiderdorp () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland near the city of Leiden. It had a population of in . The municipality covers an area of of which is water. Leiderdorp has now become a suburb ...

and Zoeterwoude was built. In 1574, Zoeterwoude was burnt to the ground and its

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains ...

s inundated by Leideners in order to increase the range of the city's cannons. Almost no inhabitants remained in Zoeterwoude. Around 1650, Zoeterwoude had been almost rebuilt and 50 years later it was prospering. After 1800, Leiden started a long series of annexations, reducing the land area of Zoeterwoude. In 1960, the A4 motorway was built and since 1966 it has been the municipal boundary between Leiden and Zoeterwoude.

Economy

A datacenter from

SWIFT Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

is located in Zoeterwoude. The main

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

Heineken International Heineken N.V. () is a Dutch multinational brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. , Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produces 348 international, regional, local and speciality be ...

is located in Zoeterwoude.

Notable people of Zoeterwoude

Lucretia Wilhelmina van Merken Lucretia Wilhelmina van Merken (21 August 1721 – 19 October 1789) was a Dutch poet and playwright. Born in Amsterdam, she began writing occasional poetry and in her early twenties had published her first tragedy. Influenced by the Enlightenment ...

(1721-1789), dramatist and poet *

Harm Kamerlingh Onnes Harm Henrick Kamerlingh Onnes (15 February 1893 – 20 May 1985 in Leiden) was a Dutch portrait painter and ceramist, Mienke Simon Thomas (2008). Goed in vorm: honderd jaar ontwerpen in Nederland'' p. 188 who also produced designs for stamps and ...

(1893–1985), portrait painter and ceramist *

Paul van Kempen Paul van Kempen (16 May 1893 – 8 December 1955) was a Dutch conductor. Personal life Van Kempen was born in Zoeterwoude, Netherlands. He studied at the Amsterdam conservatory from 1910 to 1913, including composition and conducting with J ...

(1893–1955), violinist and conductor *

Bram van Velde Bram (Abraham Gerardus) van Velde (19 October 1895 – 28 December 1981) was a Dutch painter known for an intensely colored and geometric semi-representational painting style related to Tachisme, and Lyrical Abstraction. He is often seen as me ...

(1895–1981), fine-art painter *

Aar de Goede Arie "Aar" de Goede (21 May 1928 – 16 May 2016) was a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 (D66) party. He served in the House of Representatives (1967–1973), European Parliament (1979–1984) and Senate (1986–1987). As part of the executi ...

(1928–2016) politician

Sport

François Brandt François Antoine Brandt (29 December 1874 – 4 July 1949) was a Dutch rower who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Brandt was part of the Dutch eight team that won a bronze medal with Hermanus Brockmann as the coxswain. Brockmann ...

(1874–1949) rower, competed at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from ...

Jeroen Straathof Johannes Nicolaas Maria ("Jeroen") Straathof (born 18 November 1972) is a retired Dutch racing cyclist and speed skater. Straathof was the first, and still the only, athlete in the world to represent his country at the Summer Olympics, the Winter ...

(born 1972), cyclist and speed skater *

Suzanne de Goede Suzanne de Goede (born 16 April 1984) is a former Dutch professional racing cyclist. Palmarès ;2000 :2nd, Dutch National Road Race Championships, Newcomers ;2002 :1st, Dutch National Road Race Championships, Juniors :1st, UCI World Road Race ...

(born 1984), cyclist

Gallery

File:Zoeterwoude. Dorpsgezicht van Zoeterwoude vanaf het Watertje.jpg, Zoeterwoude. Village view, as seen from the Watertje File:Weipoort een langgerekt buurtschap in de gemeente Zoeterwoude.jpg, Weipoort, a stretched out neighbourhood within Zoeterwoude File:Netherlands, Zoeterwoude - Zuidbuurt (3), Westbroekpolder.JPG, View over the Westbroekpolder near Zoeterwoude-Zuidbuurt File:Netherlands, Zoeterwoude, Westeinde (1), Christina's hoeve.JPG, Christina's farm in Westeinde File:Zoeterwoude 030.jpg, Skyline of Zoeterwoude File:Netherlands, Zoeterwoude, Zoeterwoude-dorp (1).JPG, Former shipyard in the old centre File:Noordbuurtseweg 35 Zoeterwoude - 1.jpg, Noordbuurtseweg, Zoeterwoude

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of South Holland Populated places in South Holland