Voorburg | |
|---|---|
 The Herenstraat in the town centre | |
.svg) Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location in Leidschendam-Voorburg | |
.svg) Location of Leidschendam-Voorburg in South Holland | |
| Coordinates:52°04′12″N04°21′18″E / 52.07000°N 4.35500°E /52.07000; 4.35500 | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | South Holland |
| Municipality | Leidschendam-Voorburg |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2023) | |
• Total | 21,264 |
| Source:CBS,Statline. | |
| Demonym | Voorburger |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Area code | 070 |
Voorburg (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈvoːrbʏr(ə)x]) is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province ofSouth Holland,Netherlands. Together with the townLeidschendam and the villageStompwijk, it merged into the municipality ofLeidschendam-Voorburg in 2002. Situated adjacent to the city ofThe Hague, it is often regarded as one of its suburbs.
Voorburg is considered to be one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands (being founded by the Romans as the townForum Hadriani). It celebrated its 2000th year of existence in 1988.[2]
Voorburg was probably inhabited by humans as an urban settlement since about 2700 BC, although not continuously.The Romans arrived here in 47 AD and established a place between 69 and 70 AD, soon after or during theBatavian Revolt. The first clear traces of a civil Roman settlement date from the time of EmperorDomitian under whom the military district along the Rhine was transformed into the Roman provinceGermania Inferior. It was initially namedMunicipium Cananefatium, i.e. "Town of the Cananefates", since the site formed the nucleus of thecivitas of theCananefates, who lived west of theBatavians. Voorburg became the capital of the tribal area of the Cananefates. After a supposed visit by EmperorHadrian in 121/122 AD, the place became known asForum Hadriani, named after the emperor and which means "Hadrian's Market". Around the middle of the 2nd century, Voorburg receivedtown rights and was given the official nameMunicipium Aelium Cananefatum. Excavations have shown that Voorburg, despite its small size at the beginning (at most 1,000 inhabitants), was a fully-fledged Roman city. Laid out with a chess-board pattern, the town had bathhouses, shops and a city wall with gates. It was the northernmost Roman town oncontinental Europe.[3][4]
Forum Hadriani was situated along theFossa Corbulonis, a canal connecting theRhine and theMeuse, excavated in 47 AD by the Roman generalCorbulo. This waterway is known as theRhine-Schie canal. The section fromLeiden toLeidschendam-Voorburg is more commonly known as the canalVliet, which is still a dominant landmark of the current municipalities.
There was a strong population growth in the town and area in the 2nd century, with possibly around 27,000 people at that time living in this area and surroundings. However, from the 3rd century onwards the number of inhabitants fell sharply; this was related to the attacks byGermanic tribes from above the Rhine, but increasing flooding may also have played a role. The Romans left here definitely around 270 AD, due to this continued Germanics attacks. The settlement continued to collapse over time with not many people left during thefall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. Only since the 20th century, Voorburg has become a place of considerable size again.[3]
Around the year 600 (just after theGreat Migration Period), the Frisian king Ezelsoor (presumamblyAudulf) had built a large castle on its remains, which he calledHogeburch. In the ninth century, the whole area was sacked by theNormans with the castle Hogeburch being destroyed. BishopHunger of Utrecht, who owned a number of farms at the place, but which had been stolen by the Normans, made a list of all his possessions that he hoped to regain. Here, for the first time the current name Voorburg asForeburgh appears on this list from 860.[5] 'Foreburgh' is a portmanteau of the words 'Fore' and 'burgh'. 'Fore' probably comes from the earlier Germanic word 'furrha', meaning forest; 'burgh' (also named into English asborough) means fortified settlement. Thus, Voorburg literally means 'fortified settlement in the forest'.[6]
In the ninth century, the Netherlands were governed by a number of counts. In the twelfth century they divided their land into lower administrative divisions, i.e.Amts. During this time Voorburg became a distinctive ambt, with the first Lord of the Amt of Voorburg being Dirk van Duvenvoorde. He was given the position around 1198. There was a small wooden chapel in Voorburg at that time. At the beginning of the thirteenth century this was replaced by theOld Church of Voorburg. In the fifteenth century there were 108 houses in Voorburg. However, most people lived on small farms. Large areas of a wetland existed along theVliet canal. These wetland accumulatedpeat, which could be made into a popular fuel at that time. The peat-rich soil led to a strong increase of inhabitants in the area and Voorburg. With trade on the Vliet canal, the area also became a lot busier from the seventeenth century onwards. Due to the newLeidsche dam in the Vliet canal (which would become the town ofLeidschendam), trading skippers had to transfer their goods, travellers had to wait for their barge and workmen offered their services there. All those people had to live, eat or sleep somewhere. This also led to an increase in residents in Voorburg.[5]
Although an ancient city, during medievalHolland it was never granted a 'city charter' by its sovereign leader(s) or none available is that old.
Famous inhabitants of Voorburg include the 17th century author and poetConstantijn Huygens, who spent many years building his small country houseHofwijck with adjacent geometrically shaped gardens alongside theVliet. His son, the famous astronomer and mathematicianChristiaan Huygens, spent several years in his father's country house in Voorburg. Thehouse, located next to the main railway station, now functions as a museum.
PhilosopherBaruch Spinoza lived in Voorburg from 1663 to 1670. In Voorburg, Spinoza continued work on theEthics and corresponded with scientists, philosophers, and theologians throughout Europe. He also wrote and published hisTheological Political Treatise in 1670, in defense of secular and constitutional government, and in support ofJohan de Witt, the Grand Pensionary of the Netherlands, against theStadtholder, the Prince of Orange. He equated God with Nature.
Until 2009 Voorburg hosted the major branch of the country's statistics institute, theCBS (Central Bureau for Statistics), which provides most of the statistical data used by the government. That year the CBS relocated a few kilometres eastward to Leidschenveen, one of the new developments in the municipality ofThe Hague.
Until June 2006 the town had three railway stations:Voorburg,Voorburg 't Loo andLeidschendam-Voorburg station. The latter two are now part of theRandstadRail network. Voorburg station used to be anIntercity station, because there was an eternal agreement with the railways that every passing train should stop there. It lost that status, as the new railway station infrastructure is elevated and therefore no longer on the soil of Voorburg.[citation needed]
Voorburg Cricket Club (VCC)Sportpark Westvliet cricket ground was approved by theICC as theNetherlands' latestODI venue. It joins theVRA ground inAmstelveen and theHazelaarweg ground inRotterdam in gaining ODI status.[7][8][9]Bangladesh played oneTwenty20 International match each againstScotland andNetherlands there in July 2012.[10][relevant? –discuss]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
