Leerdam () is a city and 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

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. The municipality was merged with the municipalities of

Vianen Vianen () is a city and a former municipality in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located south of the Lek river. Before 2002 it was part of the province of South Holland. Vianen is made up of a historic town centre tha ...

and

Zederik Zederik () is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covered an area of of which is water. It had a population of in . The municipality of Zederik was formed on January 1, 1986, thro ...

on 1 January 2019. The name of the new municipality is

Vijfheerenlanden Vijfheerenlanden (; ), is a municipality in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands. The municipality was created on 1 January 2019 through the merger of the former municipalities of Vianen (Utrecht), Leerdam and Zederik (both South Holland). ...

which is a part of the province

. The former municipality Leerdam was a part of the province

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. ...

. The south border of the town is formed by the river

Linge The Linge is a river in the Betuwe that is 99.8 km long, which makes it one of the longest rivers that flow entirely within the Netherlands. The river starts near the village of Doornenburg near the German border. A legend tells us that i ...

. The name originates from a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

in the river Lede which was a branch from the river Linge towards

Meerkerk Meerkerk is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Vijfheerenlanden, and lies about 9 km north of Gorinchem. In 2001, the village of Meerkerk had 2281 inhabitants. The built-up area of the village was ...

. Leerdam is situated almost exactly in the middle of the three highways A2, A15, and A27.

History

Leerdam received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1407. The small river Linge, bordered by beautiful water meadows, defines the atmosphere and tone of the landscape. Several centuries ago Leerdam formed a part of the Vijfheerenlanden domain, before it was raised to the level of County in 1498. In 1551, Leerdam, together with

Acquoy Acquoy ()In Dutch formerly also ''Akkooi'', ''Acquooi'', ''Ackooy'', ''Ackoy'', ''Accoy'', and ''Arkel''. is a village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typica ...

, became property of the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of O ...

and part of the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire from its inception until 1433. From 1433 onward it was part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading pro ...

. The rich history of Leerdam can be found in well-kept historic buildings such as the ''Grote Kerk'' (Great Church), the ''

Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden The Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden is a museum and former hofje in Leerdam, Netherlands, on the Kerkstraat (numbers 57 and 89). It was built during the years 1770-1772 on the former location of the "Kasteel van Leerdam", a castle that was destroye ...

'' (Mrs. Aerden Almshouses, now a museum), the remaining and restored city walls on the ''Zuidwal'' and the ''Oude Raadhuis'' (Old City Hall). In South Africa a fort was built by the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

between 1666 and 1679 in the coastal city

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. It is called

Castle of Good Hope A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This i ...

. The corners of this fort received names in honour of William of Orange-Nassau and because Leerdam was part of the

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of Or ...

one of those corners were named Leerdam.

Gallery

Image:Leerdam 1866.png, Leerdam in 1866. File:Historische kaart Vijfheerenlanden (16e eeuw).jpg, Historical map of the

File:Frans Hals 072.jpg, '' Two laughing boys with mug of beer'' by Frans Hals; Hofje van Mevrouw van Aerden, Leerdam

Glass industry

Since the 18th century, the town's culture has been strongly influenced by the

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

industry and the

timber industry Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

. The glass currently manufactured in Leerdam is internationally known as Royal Leerdam or (particularly in respect of designer glass and

glass art Glass art refers to individual works of art that are substantially or wholly made of glass. It ranges in size from monumental works and installation pieces to wall hangings and windows, to works of art made in studios and factories, including gl ...

) as Royal Leerdam Crystal. This, with the National Glass Museum, the Glass Centre (with its

glassblowing Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer''. A '' lampworke ...

and demonstration activities), and several art galleries, make Leerdam a major tourist attraction in the Netherlands.

Glassblower Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison) with the aid of a Blowpipe (tool), blowpipe (or blow tube). A person who blows glass is called a ''glassblower'', ''glassmith'', or ''gaffer'' ...

s work in the Glass Centre in Leerdam, which is open to the public.

Cheese

The cheese

Leerdammer Leerdammer () is a Dutch semihard cheese made from cow's milk. It has an ageing time around 3–12 months. It has a creamy white texture and was made to be similar in appearance and flavor to Emmental. Its sweet and somewhat nutty flavour becomes ...

is named after Leerdam, but is actually producted in

Schoonrewoerd Schoonrewoerd is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Vijfheerenlanden, and lies about 25 km south of the city of Utrecht (city), Utrecht. Leerdammer cheese is produc ...

, located in the same municipality.

Public transport

The Leerdam railway station is situated on the

Elst–Dordrecht railway The Elst–Dordrecht railway is a railway line in the Netherlands running from Elst to Dordrecht, passing through Tiel, Geldermalsen and Gorinchem. It is also called the ''Betuwelijn'' ( Batavia line). MerwedeLingelijn is the name of the weste ...

Born in Leerdam

Cornelis Pieter van den Hoek Cornelis Pieter "Piet" van den Hoek (7 June 1921 – 12 February 2015) was a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II. Van den Hoek was one of the few knights of the Dutch Military William Order. Resistance fighter In 1942 Van den Hoek was ...

(1921–2015), resistance fighter during World War II * Jan van Houwelingen (1939–2013), politician *

Manon van Rooijen Manon van Rooijen (born 3 July 1982 in Leerdam) is a freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands. She was a member of the Dutch Women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay Team (alongside Inge de Bruijn, Wilma van Hofwegen and Thamar Henne ...

(born 1982), freestyle swimmer

References

External links

Museum Hofje van Mevrouw Van Aerden
{{Dutch municipality Vijfheerenlanden Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2019 Former municipalities of South Holland Populated places in Utrecht (province) Vijfheerenlanden