Zoeterwoude () is a

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. ...

, 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 ...

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

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 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 2023 this had grown to 126.998 ...

, the municipality of Zoeterwoude consists of Gelderswoude, Weipoort, Westeinde, Zoeterwoude-Dorp, Zoeterwoude-Rijndijk and Zuidbuurt.

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, modern ...

. 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 hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

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 * SWIF ...

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 b ...

Heineken International Heineken Naamloze vennootschap, N.V. (), branded as The Heineken Company is a Dutch multinational corporation, multinational brewery, brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. Heineken owns over 165 breweries in m ...

is located in Zoeterwoude.

Notable people

* Lucretia Wilhelmina van Merken (1721–1789), dramatist and poet * Harm Kamerlingh Onnes (1893–1985), portrait painter and ceramist * Paul van Kempen (1893–1955), violinist and conductor * Bram van Velde (1895–1981), fine-art painter * Aar de Goede (1928–2016) politician

Sport

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

(1874–1949) rower, competed at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (), 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 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closin ...

* Jeroen Straathof (born 1972), cyclist and speed skater * Suzanne de Goede (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