Leerdam () is a city and former municipality in the 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 ...

, in the province of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

. 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, thr ...

on 1 January 2019. The name of the new municipality is Vijfheerenlanden which is a part of the province

. The former municipality Leerdam was a part of the province

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 ...

. The south border of the town is formed by the river Linge. The name originates from a dam in the river Lede which was a branch from the river Linge towards Meerkerk. Leerdam is situated almost exactly in the middle of the three highways A2, A15 and A27.

History

Leerdam received city rights 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, became property of the

House of Orange The House of Orange-Nassau ( Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...

and part of the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a State of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1433 part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading province of the Dutch Republic, of which it remained a part ...

. 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'' (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 ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock c ...

between 1666 and 1679 in the coastal city

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

. It is called

Castle of Good Hope The Castle of Good Hope ( nl, Kasteel de Goede Hoop; af, Kasteel die Goeie Hoop) known locally as the Castle or Cape Town Castle is a bastion fort built in the 17th century in Cape Town, South Africa. Originally located on the coastline of T ...

. 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 ( Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherland ...

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 Vijfheerenlanden 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 a non-Crystallinity, crystalline, often transparency and translucency, transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most ...

industry and the

timber industry Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including Beam (structure), beams and plank (wood), planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as fini ...

. The glass currently manufactured in Leerdam is internationally known as

Royal Leerdam Royal Leerdam Crystal (also known as Royal Leerdam) was a Dutch producer of glassware products based in Leerdam, the Netherlands. It was established in 1878 as a department within a glassware producing factory, , itself founded in 1765. From 1938 ...

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 glas ...

) 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 ''lampworker ...

and demonstration activities), and several art galleries, make Leerdam a major tourist attraction in the Netherlands. Glassblowers work in the Glass Centre in Leerdam, which is open to the public.

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 wa ...

(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 swimmer from the Netherlands, who was a member of the Dutch Women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay Team that won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She ...

(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