Jacobswoude () is a former municipality in the western

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, in the province of

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

, now part of municipality

Kaag en Braassem Kaag en Braassem () is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It was formed on 1 January 2009, through the merger of Alkemade and Jacobswoude. Kaag en Braassem consists of 10 towns: In addition, there are 5 ...

. Before the merger with Alkemade, the municipality covered an area of of which is water, mainly the lakes Braassemermeer and Wijde Aa. It consisted of the communities Bilderdam, Hoogmade,

Leimuiden Leimuiden is a Dutch village in the South Holland municipality of Kaag en Braassem. Leimuiden is located between the Braassemermeer, the Westeinderplassen and the Ringvaart. Leimuiden is located north of Alphen aan den Rijn. History The village ...

Rijnsaterwoude Rijnsaterwoude is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located about 6 km north of the town of Alphen aan den Rijn, in the municipality of Kaag en Braassem. History The village was first mentioned in the first half of t ...

, and

Woubrugge Woubrugge is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located about 10 km east of the city of Leiden, in the municipality of Kaag en Braassem. History The village was first mentioned in 1493 as Woubregge, and means "bridge ...

, all located around the above-mentioned lakes. It had a population of 10,692 on 1 January 2004. Jacobswoude is located in the center of the ''Groene Hart'' (Green Heart), the slightly less densely populated center area of the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or Circular arc, arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that includes almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Net ...

. Inhabitants of Jacobswoude depend on

Alphen aan den Rijn Alphen aan den Rijn (; or "Alphen on the Rhine") is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The city is situated on the banks of the river Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland), Oude Rijn (Old Rhine ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

for facilities not offered in the smaller villages. Most of its inhabitants commute daily to one of the larger cities in the region for work. Jacobswoude was created on 1 January 1991 by merging the municipalities of Leimuiden, Rijnsaterwoude and Woubrugge. On 1 January 2009, Jacobswoude merged with Alkemade and formed the new municipality of Kaag en Braassem. The municipality was named after the lost village of Jacobswoude that was located within the former municipal boundaries. The first mention of this village is from 823, when it is thought that Lord Jacob van den Woude was granted the area as a

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

from

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

. The

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

surrounding the village was excavated, making Jacobswoude an island by the middle of the 18th century. This caused the village to deteriorate and its population moved to Woubrugge. Only a monument on the site of the original village remains. Wireless Jacobswoude is a

wireless community network Wireless community networks or wireless community projects or simply community networks, are non-centralized, self-managed and collaborative networks organized in a grassroots fashion by communities, non-governmental organizations and cooperatives ...

under construction, starting in Woubrugge, connected to

Wireless Leiden Wireless Leiden is a wireless community network in Leiden, Netherlands. History The Wireless Leiden Foundation (founded in 2002) set up a Wi-Fi wireless network in Leiden, the Netherlands, only with the help of volunteers, with some financial su ...

External links

Official Website of former municipality () States and territories established in 1991 1991 establishments in the Netherlands Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2009 Former municipalities of South Holland Kaag en Braassem {{SouthHolland-geo-stub