Voorhout

Voorhout
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 52°13′23″N 4°29′11″E / 52.22306°N 4.48639°E / 52.22306; 4.48639
Country	Netherlands
Province	South Holland
Water board	Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland
Municipality	Teylingen
Area
• Total	12.62 km2 (4.87 sq mi)
Population (2017)	15,620

Location of Voorhout

Church: de Sint Bartholomeuskerk

Field with hyacinths

Voorhout (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈvoːrɦʌut] ( listen)) is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covered an area of 12.59 km² (4.86 mile²) of which 0.33 km² (0.13 mile²) is covered by water, and had a population of 14,792 in 2004. Together with Sassenheim and Warmond, it became part of the Teylingen municipality on January 1st 2006. Voorhout is located in an area called the "Dune and Bulb Region" (Duin- en Bollenstreek).

It also included the communities of Piet Gijzenbrug (partly) and Teijlingen with the Slot Teylingen.

History

Historic 1867 map of Voorhout

In 1988 Voorhout celebrated its 1000 years anniversary. A letter, mentioning that Voorhout has existed since at least 988, has been preserved. This letter states that count Dirk II of Holland granted the church of “Foranholte” (the old name of Voorhout) to the Egmond Abbey. The second part of the name –holte or –hout (meaning “wood”) is a reference to the dune area that was supposedly very wooded at the time. Around the edges of the area, settlements arose. Voorhout arose at the front of this forest. The nearby Noordwijkerhout also refers to this forest, just like Holland, which is a degeneration of Holtland, meaning woodland.

Far before 988, people also lived in the area, formed by a habitable shoreline. Some Roman coins, about 2000 years old, have been found. In 1907, close to the Rijnsburgerweg, someone found 18 bronze axes and 1 chisel, about 3500 years old, that now are stored in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden.

Since 1150 the nobles of Teylingen take an important role in the area. In the Slot Teylingen Dutch counts regularly meet. The most important inhabitant of the castle was Jacoba van Beieren. Still Voorhout, for centuries, was just a dot on the map. In 1514 there are 40 houses in Voorhout.

In 1657 the Leidsevaart was dug. It was a canal going from Haarlem to Leiden. Because of this Voorhout started to grow very slowly. In 1842 the train track Haarlem-Leiden was opened and Voorhout got two stops. In 1900 Voorhout has about 2000 inhabitants. Most of them working in the Bulb cultivation. It stays this way until World war 2. After 1944 both train stations in Voorhout get closed for passenger transport and a lot of new roads are constructed.

In 1960 about 5000 people lived in Voorhout and in 1988 that number grew to 9360. The fast growth is caused by the new neighbourhood Oosthout. In 1997 Voorhout gets a train station again. Because of the construction of new houses the population grows even more. On January 1st 2005 Voorhout counts 14,919 inhabitants. In modern time only a small part of the population still works in the bulb cultivation. Most people with a job don’t work in Voorhout. On January 1st 2006 Voorhout fuses with Warmond and Sassenheim to form the new municipality Teylingen.

Famous inhabitants

Sights

• Teylingen Castle, in Dutch: Slot Teylingen (monument)
• The Boerhaave House, in Dutch: | het Boerhaavehuis (monument)
• Small Church, in Dutch: Kleine Kerk (monument)
• Saint-Bartholomew Church (or Big Church), in Dutch: Sint-Bartholomeüskerk (of Grote Kerk)
• Polder Mill Hope Brings Life, in Dutch: Poldermolen Hoop Doet Leven] (monument)
• Tulipland Panorama, in Dutch: | Panorama Tulipland (discontinued since 2011)
• The Hooghkamer Farm, in Dutch: | De Hooghkamer (monument)
• Rijnoord Farm, in Dutch: | Rijnoord Boerderij (monument)
• Klein Bouwlust Farm, in Dutch: | Klein Bouwlust (monument)
• Noordhout Farm, in Dutch: Noordhout (monument)

Organisations

External links

• Official website
• Website Panorama Tulipland
• Website Teylingen Castle
• The history of Voorhout

Coordinates: 52°13′23″N 4°29′11″E / 52.22306°N 4.48639°E / 52.22306; 4.48639