Leidschendam-Voorburg

Origin

The municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg is the result of merging the municipalities Leidschendam and Voorburg in 2002. It consists of the two towns Leidschendam and Voorburg, which grew towards each other in the first half of the 20th century. The village Stompwijk and a hamlet called Wilsveen also belong to the municipality.

Leidschendam-Voorburg abuts the city of The Hague and is often regarded as its suburb, even though it is an independent municipality. It is part of the Haaglanden conurbation. Stompwijk is still a rural village, located a few kilometres northeast of Leidschendam.

Historic town centres

Both Leidschendam and Voorburg have their own historic town centre, which are decentrally situated.

Historic Leidschendam lies around the ancient locks in the Vliet canal in the eastern part of the town.

About 3 kilometres to the south is the beginning of the Herenstraat, the main street of the Voorburg town centre. The canal also forms the eastern border of the town. The most important buildings like Swaensteyn House, the Old Church (Oude Kerk) and Hofwijck are in or very near the Herenstraat.

Mall of the Netherlands

Until 2019 the Leidschendam shopping mall Leidsenhage underwent a makeover. The new shopping area was expanded to 117.000 square metres. The centre also got a new name: Westfield Mall of the Netherlands.

Sister cities

Leidschendam-Voorburg is twinned with:

The municipality was also twinned with Temecula in California, United States from 1993 to 2019.

Transport

Public transport

Three railway stations are located within the municipality, providing links with all major cities in the Randstad. The main train station is Voorburg station on The Hague-Utrecht railway line. This station is on the Southern edge of the town centre.

There are two stations on the Rotterdam-Amsterdam line, which are situated on the border of The Hague: Den Haag Laan van NOI (for some Intercity trains and local trains) and Den Haag Mariahoeve (only for local trains).

Leidschendam-Voorburg has two stations on the RandstadRail lines. RandstadRail is the official name for a light rail project connecting the cities of The Hague, Rotterdam and Zoetermeer. These lines use former train routes, which are now converted for use by light rail vehicles.

Despite its name, RandstadRail is only used for tram 3 and 4 to Zoetermeer. The line to Rotterdam is exploited as a branch of the Rotterdam metro: Rotterdam metro line E.

Stations in Leidschendam-Voorburg (for both trams and metro) are Voorburg 't Loo and Leidschendam-Voorburg. RandstadRail also stops at Den Haag Laan van NOI train station.

There are two major bus services running through this municipality: HTM and EBS.

Several tram trajectories through Leidschendam-Voorburg – run by HTM – connecting various parts of the city with each other, as well as with neighbouring cities.

Roads

Leidschendam-Voorburg is connected to the A4 (Amsterdam to the Belgian border via Rotterdam) and A12 (The Hague to the German border via Utrecht) motorways, which cross each other near the city centre of Voorburg.

The N14 dual carriageway, which connects the A4 at Leidschendam to the N44 dual carriageway at Wassenaar runs through a series of tunnels in the municipality.

Together with a part of motorway A4 and several local roads the N14 forms the Ring Den Haag.

Cycle paths

Like every Dutch municipality, Leidschendam-Voorburg provides a wide range of facilities for cyclists. As an example, on the eastern edge, there are two large cycle bridges that cross different roads and ditches.

Notable people

Public thinking and public service

Jan van Valckenborgh (ca. 1575 in Voorburg − 1624) a military engineer who built fortresses

Barbera van Meerten-Schilperoort (1778 in Geestbrug – 1853) a Dutch women's rights activist

Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer (1801 in Voorburg – 1876) a Dutch politician and historian

Jacobus Aarden (1914-1997) lived much of his life and died in Voorburg. A member of the municipal council of Voorburg for 20 years, member of House of Representatives

Willem Scholten (1927 – 2005 in Leidschendam) a politician, held several ministerial offices

Jan Broekman (born 1931 in Voorburg) a philosopher, legal and social scientist, living in Belgium

Theo van Boven (born 1934 in Voorburg) a jurist and professor emeritus in international law

Jan de Leeuw (born 1945 in Voorburg) a Dutch statistician, psychometrician and academic

Johannes Willibrordus Maria Hendriks (born 1954 in Leidschendam) the Auxiliary Bishop-elect of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam since 2011

Maxime Verhagen (born 1956) a retired Dutch politician, Deputy Prime Minister 2010/2012, lives in Voorburg

Father Roderick Vonhögen (born 1968 in Leidschendam) a Roman Catholic priest, podcaster and new media producer

Carla Dik-Faber (born 1971 in Voorburg) a Dutch art historian and politician

The arts

Jacob Elias la Fargue (1735–1778) and Karel la Fargue (1738–1793), brothers and painters

Marcellus Emants (1848 in Voorburg – 1923) a Dutch naturalist novelist

Cornelis Rol (1877-1963) a Dutch graphic artist, painter, lithographer and illustrator; lived and worked in Voorburg from 1929

Willem van Genk (1927 in Voorburg – 2005) a Dutch painter and graphic artist of Outsider Art

Xander de Buisonjé (born 1973 in Voorburg) a Dutch singer and TV presenter

Hans van Hemert (born 1945 in Voorburg) a Dutch record producer and songwriter

Toon Verhoef (born 1946 in Voorburg) a Dutch painter, ceramist and art lecturer

Johan de Meij (born 1953 in Voorburg) a Dutch conductor, trombonist and composer

Frans Schrofer (born 1956 in Voorburg) a Dutch furniture designer and industrial designer

Ariane Schluter (born 1966 in Voorburg) a Dutch film actress

Sport

Bertha Brouwer (1930 in Leidschendam – 2006) a Dutch sprinter, silver medallist at the 1952 Summer Olympics

Christiaan van Velzen (born 1932 in Voorburg) a retired Dutch shooter, competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Gerben Karstens (born 1942 in Voorburg) a former professional racing cyclist, won a team gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics

André Stafleu (born 1955 in Leidschendam) a retired Dutch footballer with over 350 club caps

Peter Blangé (born 1964 in Voorburg) a retired volleyball player, team silver and gold medallist in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics

Edwin Vurens (born 1968 in Stompwijk) a Dutch football manager and former international player with 268 club caps

Maurits Crucq (born 1968 in Voorburg) a former field hockey defender, team bronze and gold medallist in the 1988 and 1996 Summer Olympics

Maarten van der Linden (born 1969 in Voorburg) a former rower, team silver medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics

Sander van Gessel (born 1976 in Leidschendam) a Dutch footballer with 280 club caps

Pascal Matla (born 1981 in Leidschendam) a former American football player, grew up in Voorburg

Daan van Bunge (born 1982 in Voorburg) a Dutch cricketer

Cees Juffermans (born 1982) is a former Dutch short track speed skater, competed at the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics