| She give Leiden | ||
 | ||
Coat of arms and flag   | ||
| State | Netherlands | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | South Holland | |
| Territory | Bollenstreek | |
| Altitude | 0 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 23.27 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 124.294 (2018 estimate) | |
| Name inhabitants | Leidenaar | |
| Prefix tel | 31 71 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 2300-2334 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
Position
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| Tourism site | ||
| Institutional website | ||
She give (Leiden) is a city of the Netherlands, located in the center of the Bollenstreek, a territory of the province ofSouth Holland, famous for its tulip gardens.
To know
Leiden is renowned for its lovely old town at the confluence of the old and the new Rhine. Like many other Dutch towns, it is a city of canals with houses that often emerge directly from the water. A number of old and imposing mills that peek out from its canals contribute to giving it an even more picturesque air.
Leiden has two universities and a college. The University of Leiden was founded in 1575 and is the oldest of the Netherlands. It has seven faculties attended by approximately 24,000 students. The heart of the university is the Academiegebouw, the building that now houses the offices of the rectorate. The University of Leiden also manages a botanical garden which is one of the city's major attractions, an astronomical observatory and a large library.
Since 1983, American Webster University also has a branch in Leiden. Hogeschool Leiden is a higher vocational education institution attended by over 9000 students and located in the Leiden Bio Science Park. ”The park is home to branches of various research institutes and a number of biotechnology companies.
Leiden is also a very important museum center; in the city there are four national museums, all worthy of being visited, plus others that are smaller and less known but very nice.
When to go
Late spring and summer are great for a visit. In April you can admire the blooming of tulips in the nearby Keukenhof gardens and in July / August you can count on the nearby coastal centers of Katwijk is Noordwijk, characterized by coasts and dunes that go up to Haarlem.
In correspondence with the Christmas holidays, the streets of Leiden come to life a lot due to the markets and various events but you will have to deal with perennially gray skies, fogs, frost, a few hours of light and above all with persistent humidity.
Background
The city is mentioned for the first time in a document from the year 860 AD. It was then a small village called "Leithon" developed around a fortress built on an artificial hill and with the task of monitoring the river traffic on the confluence of the old with the new Rhine. The village and the fortress belonged to the bishop of Utrecht but to the early twelfth century both passed into the hands of the counts of Holland. Thanks to its position on waterways crossed by merchant ships, the village prospered and in 1266 was awarded the title of city.
In 1572 the city joined the revolt against the Habsburgs of Spain and in 1579 it became part of the Union of Utrecht, the first embryo of an independent Dutch state. The University of Leiden was founded in 1575, a year after a failed attempt by the Habsburg troops to reclaim the city. At that time the purpose of the University was to prepare doctors of theology who could spread the principles of the reform in an anti-papal and anti-imperial function. The university's motto was and is Praesidium Libertatis, or "stronghold of freedom".
In the 17th century, Leiden prospered thanks to the influx of Calvinist refugees from Flanders, remained under the dominion of the Habsburgs. The newcomers set up numerous textile factories. The population, which counted about 15,000 inhabitants before the siege of 1574, reached 70,000 inhabitants around 1770. During the golden age Leiden was, after Amsterdam, the second largest city in the Republic of the United Provinces.
After the establishment of the Batavian Republic by the French revolutionary forces, the textile industry fell into ruin due to the protectionist measures adopted by the new occupier. The result was a steady decline in population, dropping to 30,000 at the end of the 18th century and to 27,000 in 1815. January 12, 1807 was a disastrous date in the annals of the city: a ship carrying gunpowder exploded as it crossed the canals of the city causing the destruction of many buildings and 150 victims.
Prosperity returned to Leiden in 1842, thanks to the inauguration of a railway line that started from Haarlem. However, in 1866 the city was hit by a serious cholera epidemic that decimated the population.
In 1886 the city was shaken by the news of the arrest of Maria Swanenburg, a private nurse who took care of the elderly and the sick and was therefore nicknamed the "good Marietta" (Goeie Mie). In reality, the nurse was a serial killer who poisoned his patients with arsenic to pocket the insurance proceeds. His first victims were his parents and half-sister Cornelia.
During the Second World War, Leiden was heavily hit by Allied bombing but its pretty old town was spared.
How to orient yourself
The city within the moat (Binnenstad): full screen map.How to get
On the train
- 1 Leiden Central Station (Station Leiden Centraal).
How to get around
What see
Civil and military architectures
- 1 Stadhuis (Town Hall), Stadhuisplein, 1. A Renaissance palace from 1597. A new wing overlooking the New Rhine was built after the 1929 fire that destroyed the palace interiors.
- 2 Burcht van Leiden (Leiden fortress), Burgsteeg 13-16. A circular fortress built on the artificial hill at the confluence of the new with the old Rhine. Apart from the walls, nothing remains of the ancient fortress but the visit allows you to admire the city from above.
- 3 Academiegebouw (Academy Building), Rapenburg 73. The old university building, now used for ceremonial purposes.
- 4 Morspoort. The western gate of the fortified city dates from 1669 and is an example of Dutch mannerism. It is topped by an octagonal dome that once served as a prison. It derives its name from de Morsch, the swamp that once extended outside this stretch of walls.
- 5 Gemeenlandshuis van Rijnland, Breestraat 59.
Open to the public only on Monuments Day.. It was once the seat of the Dutch water institute. Today it is a conference center. - 6 Gravensteen, Gerecht. A beautiful 13th century building, enlarged in the Renaissance period. Originally it served as a secret passage that allowed the counts of Holland to escape in case of danger. It later became a place of detention for those sentenced to death. The last death sentence was carried out in 1856 after which the building was abandoned. Since the beginning of the 21st century it has been the seat of the Institute of Legal History of the Law Faculty of the University of Leiden.
- 7 Molen De Put, Park de Put 11 (about 600 m south of the railway station), ☎ 31 6 21976777. Sat 11: 00-16: 00. The faithful replica of a 1729 mill demolished in 1817. It is located near the famous Rembrandt pedestrian bridge, (Rembrandtbrug) also a replica of a 12th century bridge demolished in 1817.
- 8 De Waag (Public weighs). A seventeenth-century building in which the public weighbridge was located.
Open to the public only on Monuments Day.. It was once the seat of the Dutch water institute. Today it is a conference center.Religious architectures
- 9 Pieterskerk. the largest church in Leiden.
- 10 Hooglandse Kerk.
- 11 Marekerk.
Museums
- 12 Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities), Rapenburg 28, ☎ 31 71 516 3163, @[email protected].
Full € 9.50, discounted € 3.00, free for children up to 3 years. Tue-Fri 10: 00-17: 00, Sat-Sun 12: 00-17: 00.
Full € 9.50, discounted € 3.00, free for children up to 3 years. - 13 Rijksmuseum Boerhaave (Boerhaave National Museum), Lange St. Agnietenstraat 10, ☎ 31 71 5214 224.
- 14 Naturalis (Nederlands Centrum voor Biodiversiteit Naturalis), Darwinweg 2, ☎ 31 71 568 7600, fax: 31 71 568 7666, @[email protected]. Full € 11, discounted € 8, free for children up to 3 years. Mon-Fri 10: 00-17: 00, Sat-Sun 10: 00-18: 00.
- 15 Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde (National Museum of Ethnology), Steenstraat 1, ☎ 31 71 5168 800, fax: 31 71 5128 437, @[email protected]. Full € 10, discounted € 4 (children aged 4 to 12), € 8 (seniors over 65). Tue-Sun 10 am-5pm.
- 16 SieboldHuis (Japan museum), Rapenburg 19, ☎ 31 71 512 5539, fax: 31 71 512 8063, @[email protected]. Full 8 €. Tue-Sun 10 am-5pm. There is a large number of objects collected by Philipp Franz von Siebold, a Dutch diplomat stationed in Nagasaki from 1823-1829.
- 17 Museum De Lakenhal (Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal), Oude Singel 28-32, ☎ 31 71 5165 360, fax: 31 71 5134 489, @[email protected]. Full € 10. Tue-Sun 10 am-5pm.
- 18 Molenmuseum De Valk (De Valk mill museum), 2e Binnenvestgracht 1, ☎ 31 71 516 5353, @[email protected]. Adult € 4. Tue-Sat 10: 00-17: 00, Sun 13: 00-17: 00.
- 19 Museum Het Leids Wevershuis (Museum The Leiden Weaver House), Middelstegracht 143, ☎ 31 71 51 24 061, @[email protected]. free. Tue-Sun 13: 00-16: 00.
Parks and gardens
- 20 Hortus Botanicus (Botanical Garden), Rapenburg 73, ☎ 31 71 527 5144. €7.50. Tue-Sun 10: 00-16: 00. The oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands.
- 21 Van der Werffpark.
Events and parties
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Night clubs
- 1 Gebr. de Nobel, Marktsteeg 4-8, ☎ 31 71 303 1666. Live music venue.
- 2 Rock café Lazarus, Nieuwe Beestenmarkt 32, ☎ 31 71 512 2849. Mon-Sun 4:00 pm - 2:00 am.
- 3 Café De Twee Spieghels, Nieuwstraat 11, ☎ 31 71 887 3943. Mon-Sun 16: 00-03: 00. Jazz music venue.
- 4 The Duke of Oz, 2 Oude Singel, @[email protected]. Mon-Thu 15: 00–01: 00, Fri-Sat 12: 00–02: 00, Sun 15: 00–01: 00. Renowned sports pub opened in 2009 by a Dutch and an Australian.
- 5 Poolcafé The Church, Nieuwstraat 45, ☎ 31 71 514 5335. Billiard room.
- 6 de Kroon, Langegracht 65, ☎ 31 71 522 0640. Fri-Sat 22: 00–04: 00. Gay club run by the LGBTQ Coc Leiden association.
- 7 Café De Roze Beurs, Oude Singel 128, ☎ 31 71 528 0680. Wed-Sun 19: 00–01: 00. Gay club.
Where to eat
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Moderate prices
- 1 Eetcafé La Bota, Herensteeg 9, ☎ 31 71 514 6340. Mon-Sun 17: 00-22: 00. Appreciated for the moderate prices, large portions and very varied menu. The Milanese cutlet is € 10, the tagliatelle with mushrooms and cheese € 12 (year 2019).
- 2 Very Italian Pizza (VIP), Turfmarkt 8, ☎ 31 71 532 6118. Mon-Sun 11am - 12am. Not an artisanal pizzeria but the branch of an Italian fast food chain present in large Dutch cities. If you don't trust pizzas and dry pasta, you can try raw appetizers and salads with ingredients imported from Italy.
Average prices
- 3 El Gaucho, Steenstraat 59, ☎ 31 71 513 2530. Mon-Sun 16: 00-23: 00. Argentine restaurant. Grilled meats, empanada, chorizos, churrasco
- 4 Italian bar-bistro City Hall, Stadshuisplein 3, ☎ 31 71 514 4055. Mon-Sun 10: 00–00: 00.
- 5 Just Meet, Breestraat 18, ☎ 31 71 750 4570. Tue-Sun 17: 30-22: 00. Famous restaurant for the preparation of steak tartare and roast-beef with asparagus.
- 6 Lot en de Walvis, Haven 1, ☎ 31 71 763 0383. Mon-Sun 09: 00–00: 00. Also appreciated for its location on the canal.
- 7 Oudt Leyden, Steenstraat 49, ☎ 31 71 513 3144. Mon-Sun 11: 30–21: 30. Renowned restaurant specializing in the preparation of pancakes.
- 8 Fratelli restaurant, Lange Mare 112, ☎ 31 71 513 0269. Mon-Sun 17: 00-22: 00.
High prices
- 9 Het Prentenkabinet, Kloksteeg 25, ☎ 31 71 512 6666. Mon-Wed 17: 00–00: 00, Thu-Sun 12: 30–00: 00. French / international cuisine restaurant set up in the premises of an old printing house (Prentenkabinet).
- 10 Woods Restaurant, Haagweg 81, ☎ 31 71 522 2225. Mon-Sun 12: 00-15: 00 and 18: 00-22: 00. Refined restaurant with international cuisine obtained from the premises of an old sawmill. Its menu also includes Italian dishes but interpreted differently as ravioli in scampi cream or lobster sauce or avocado.
