Lisse () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

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

in the

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

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. ...

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 ...

. The municipality, which lies within the

Duin- en Bollenstreek The Duin- en Bollenstreek (; Dutch for "Dune and Bulb Region") is a region in the Western Netherlands, that features coastal dunes and the cultivation of Bulb, flower bulbs. Situated at the heart of historical Holland nearby the city of Leiden, So ...

, covers an area of of which is water. Its population was in . Located within the municipal boundary is also the community De Engel.

History

Early history

The history of Lisse is closely related and similar to the neighboring towns of

Hillegom Hillegom () is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland. Hillegom is part of an area called the Duin- en Bollenstreek ("Dune and Bulb Regi ...

and

Sassenheim Sassenheim () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covered an area of 6.62 km2 (of which 0.23 km2 water) and had a population of 14,906 in 2005. Since ...

. Based on a document from 1198 which makes official mention of the town's name, Lisse celebrated its 800-year anniversary in 1998, although there is an indication that there was already a settlement there in the 10th century. In the Middle Ages, Lisse was a small settlement; there were only 50 houses in 1500. Because of prolonged warfare (particularly the wars of

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

and the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

), poverty was prevalent. Its population lived from

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

and

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 ...

harvesting.

Recent history

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Lisse was, like

, home to many estates of rich merchants and nobility. The forests and gardens of

Keukenhof Keukenhof (; ), also known as the Garden of Europe, is one of the world's largest flower gardens, situated in the municipality of Lisse, in the Netherlands. According to the official website, Keukenhof Park covers an area of and approximately 7 ...

, Meerenburg, Wildlust, Zandvliet, Overduin en Akervoorde, Wassergeest, Grotenhof, Ter Specke, Dubbelhoven, Rosendaal, Veenenburg en Berkhout, Middelburg, Ter Beek and Uytermeer estates all added to the town's beauty and glory. Yet in the following centuries, every one of these estates (except Keukenhof) was removed to make way for the cultivation of

bulb In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

flowers. The sandy soil in Lisse's surroundings were highly suitable for its growth provided the soil was fertilised. The nearby

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s were excavated and forests cut down progressively over time for more fields for the flower business. This brought employment and prosperity to this area.

Floriculture centre

In the 20th century, the bulb flower business continued to boom, resulting in the establishment of auction and trading houses, large-scale cultivators and

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

s. Today, Lisse exports bulbflowers in large quantities to over a hundred countries worldwide. Located at the centre of the "Dune and Bulb Region" (

), Holland's flower-growing region, Lisse is also a major tourist attraction. During the spring when the fields around Lisse are in a colourful bloom, hundreds of thousands of local and foreign tourists visit the area. The only remaining estate that was not removed for flower cultivation (

) became world-famous for its flower displays.

Tourism and attractions

The most popular attraction in Lisse is

, open only during spring when the

tulip Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colour ...

s are flowering. Also each spring a flower parade called the Bollenstreek ''

Bloemencorso In the Netherlands and Belgium, a ''bloemencorso'' (; meaning " flower parade", "flower pageant" or "flower procession") is a parade where the floats (''praalwagens''), cars and (in some cases) boats are magnificently decorated or covered in f ...

'' is held through the main streets of Lisse. In August the fantasy festival

Castlefest Castlefest is a medieval/fantasy festival in the Netherlands, held in the gardens of Castle Keukenhof in Lisse since 2005. History During the first edition in 2005, 3,500 visitors attended the event, in 2007 the festival attracted 16,000 visitor ...

is held in the gardens of Castle Keukenhof. Other places of interest are the museums: *Huys Dever, a restored castle tower from the 14th century *Castle Keukenhof, part of the Keukenhof estate but open year-round *Museum De Zwarte Tulp (Black Tulip Museum), exhibiting the history of the Dutch bulb-growing region * LAM Museum, an art gallery about food Lisse,_kerk_2007-04-18_13.41.JPG, Sint-Agathakerk Halfweg, veld met rode tulpen IMG 8991 2021-04-27 12.37.jpg, A field of tulips in Lisse Molenlisse.jpg, Windmill in Lisse De Keukenhof, Lisse.jpg, Castle Keukenhof

Sports

Lisse is the home of

FC Lisse FC Lisse is a Dutch football club from Lisse, founded in 1981. It currently plays in the Derde Divisie. History The history of FC Lisse is linked to its Catholic religion, the first version of a football club being formed in 1911 by a local Cat ...

, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team currently playing in the Zaterdag

Topklasse The Derde Divisie (; ), formerly known as Topklasse (; ), is the fourth tier of football in the Netherlands, which had its inaugural season as a third tier in 2010–11 and as a fourth tier in 2016–17. The league is placed between the Tweede Div ...

. On 3 May 2008 FC Lisse sealed the championship of the 2007/2008 season in the

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...

Notable people

* Abraham Rademaker (1677–1735), a Dutch painter and printmaker *

Joseph Smit Joseph Smit (18 July 1836 – 4 November 1929) was a Dutch zoological illustrator. L.B. Holthuis, Leiden, (1958, 1995) ''Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, 1820 - 1958''. page 47reprint manuscript, PDF Background Smit was born in Lisse. He ...

(1836–1929), a Dutch zoological illustrator *

Wander Johannes de Haas Wander Johannes de Haas (2 March 1878 – 26 April 1960) was a Dutch physicist and mathematician. He is best known for the Shubnikov–de Haas effect, the De Haas–Van Alphen effect and the Einstein–de Haas effect. Personal life Wander de Ha ...

(1878–1960), a Dutch physicist and mathematician, known for the

Einstein–de Haas effect The Einstein–de Haas effect is a physical phenomenon in which a change in the magnetic moment of a free body causes this body to rotate. The effect is a consequence of the conservation of angular momentum. It is strong enough to be observable in ...

* Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten (1927–1977), a Dutch aircraft captain, died in the

Tenerife airport disaster The Tenerife airport disaster occurred on 27 March 1977, when two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport, Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport) on the Spa ...

* Egbert van 't Oever (1927–2001), a Dutch speed skater, competed in the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( or ), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which ...

* Adrianus Johannes Simonis (1931–2020), cardinal and Archbishop of Utrecht 1983 to 2007 * Jenny Arean (born 1942), a Dutch singer, actress and comedian *

Bram Moolenaar Bram Moolenaar (; 1961 – 3 August 2023) was a Dutch software engineer and activist who was the creator, maintainer, and benevolent dictator for life of Vim (text editor), Vim, a Vi (text editor), vi-derivative text editor. He advocated for ICC ...

(1961–2023), a Dutch computer programmer, author of Vim, a text editor * Marco Vermey (born 1965) a Dutch former professional racing cyclist, rode in the

1994 Tour de France The 1994 Tour de France was the 81st edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Tour began on 2 July with a prologue around the French city Lille. After 21 more days of racing, the Tour came to a close on the street of the ...

* Hans Kroes (born 1965), a Dutch freestyle and backstroke swimmer, competed in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Gert-Jan Segers Gert Jan Maarten "Gert-Jan" Segers (born 9 July 1969) is a Dutch politician who was Leader of the Christian Union between 2015 and 2023. He has been a member of the House of Representatives between 2012 and 2023 and was parliamentary leader betwe ...

(born 1969), a Dutch political scientist and politician * Bastiaan Ragas (born 1971), a Dutch actor and singer IMDb Database
retrieved 28 January 2020

References

External links

*
Official website

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