Voorburg
Encyclopedia
Voorburg is a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 town and former municipality in the western part of the province of South Holland
South Holland
South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...

, the Netherlands. As also Leidschendam
Leidschendam
Leidschendam is a town and former municipality in the province of South Holland of the Netherlands. Along with Voorburg and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg.- History :...

 and Stompwijk
Stompwijk
Stompwijk is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is located between the cities Leiden and Zoetermeer and is part of the municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg....

, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg
Leidschendam-Voorburg
Leidschendam-Voorburg is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 73,832 in 2004, and covers an area of 35.68 km² of which 2.86 km² is water.-Origin:...

. It has approximately 39,000 inhabitants.

In 2002, the cities of Leidschendam and Voorburg were merged under the new city name "Leidschendam-Voorburg". Situated adjacent to the city of The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

, it is often regarded as one of its suburbs.

Voorburg, the most densely populated of the three towns in the municipality, has its roots in the 2nd century, when a local civilian settlement gained city rights from the Romans, becoming known as Forum Hadriani
Forum Hadriani
Forum Hadriani, at the modern town of Voorburg, was the northern-most Roman city on the European continent and the second oldest city of The Netherlands. It was located in the Roman province Germania Inferior and is mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana, a Roman road map.The site Forum Hadriani...

. It was positioned along the Fossa Corbulonis, a canal connecting Rhine and Meuse that had been dug in 47 by the Roman general Corbulo. This waterway is now known as the Rijn-Schie canal (more commonly referred to as the Vliet) and is still a dominant landmark of the present day borough.

Famous inhabitants of Voorburg include the 17th century author and poet Constantijn Huygens
Constantijn Huygens
Constantijn Huygens , was a Dutch Golden Age poet and composer. He was secretary to two Princes of Orange: Frederick Henry and William II, and the father of the scientist Christiaan Huygens.-Biography:...

, who spent many years building his small country house Hofwijck with adjacent geometrically shaped gardens alongside the Vliet. His son, the famous astronomer and mathematician Christiaan Huygens, spent several years in his father's Voorburg country house. The house, located next to the main railway station, now functions as a museum.
Philosopher Spinoza also lived in Voorburg (from 1663 to 1670).

Until 2009 Voorburg hosted the major branch of the country's statistics institute, the CBS
Statistics Netherlands
Statistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the Netherlands. In Dutch it is known as the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, often abbreviated to CBS. It is a department of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is...

, which provides most of the statistical data used by the government. That year the CBS
Statistics Netherlands
Statistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the Netherlands. In Dutch it is known as the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, often abbreviated to CBS. It is a department of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is...

 relocated a few kilometers eastward to Leidschenveen, one of the new developments around the city of The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...



Until June 2006 the town had three train stations : Voorburg
Voorburg railway station
Voorburg is a railway station located in Voorburg, The Netherlands. The station was opened in 1870, and is located on the Gouda–Den Haag railway...

, Voorburg 't Loo and Leidschendam-Voorburg station. The latter two are now part of Randstad Rail. Voorburg used to be an Intercity station, because there was an eternal agreement with the railways, that every passing train should stop. It lost that status, as the new train station is elevated and therefore no longer on the soil of Voorburg.

Famous people from Voorburg

  • Connie Breukhoven, model
  • Daan van Bunge
    Daan van Bunge
    Daan Lodewijk Samuel van Bunge is a Dutch cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm leg break bowler.Van Bunge has represented the Netherlands at many age levels, including at the Under-15 World Cup in 1996, and on their Under-17 tour of England in 1997...

    , cricketer
  • Ferry Maat, DJ
  • Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer
    Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer
    Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer , Dutch politician and historian, was born at Voorburg, near the Hague.-Overview:...

    , politician and historian
  • Ehsan Jami
    Ehsan Jami
    Ehsan Jami is a Dutch politician of Iranian origin. From March 7, 2006 until November 6, 2007 he was member of the city council of Leidschendam-Voorburg on behalf of the Dutch Labour Party . From that date until 2010 he continued to be a member of the city council as independent member 'fraction...

    , politician and activist
  • Hans Vermeulen, composer and bandleader of Rainbow Train / television presenter
  • Johan de Meij
    Johan de Meij
    Johannes Abraham de Meij is a Dutch conductor, trombonist, and composer, best known for his Symphony No. 1, nicknamed "The Lord of the Rings" symphony.- Biography :...

    , conductor, trombonist, and composer
  • Julian Thomas
    Julian Thomas
    Julian Stewart Thomas is a British archaeologist, publishing widely on the Neolithic and Bronze Age prehistory of Britain and north-west Europe...

    , singer-songwriter
  • Marcellus Emants
    Marcellus Emants
    Marcellus Emants , 14 October 1923) was a Dutch novelist who was one of the few examples of Dutch Naturalism. He is seen as a first step towards the renewing force of the Tachtigers towards modern Dutch literature, a movement which started around the 1880s...

    , author
  • Robert Jensen
    Robert Jensen
    Robert William Jensen is a professor of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin College of Communication. He joined the faculty in 1992 after completing his Ph.D. in media law and ethics in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota...

    , television presenter
  • Alan van Jones, inventor
  • Eljero Elia
    Eljero Elia
    Eljero George Rinaldo Elia is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Italian Serie A club Juventus and the Dutch national team. He scored on his debut for the Dutch national team in September 2009 and participated at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.-ADO Den Haag:Before excelling in the...

    , Dutch footballer
  • Johan Maasbach, Well known Pentacostal evangelist that became known as the translator of T.L. Osborn at the Hague Revival of 1958
  • Pieter Winsemius
    Pieter Winsemius
    Dr. Pieter Winsemius is a Dutch politician for the VVD.On September 22, 2006, he became Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment in the Third Balkenende cabinet . His appointment followed the resignation of Sybilla Dekker...

    , politician
  • Karen Mulder
    Karen Mulder
    Karen Mulder is a Dutch former model and singer. During the 90s, she had a successful modeling career and was recognized as a world-class "supermodel" by various media...

    , former model
  • Gerben Karstens
    Gerben Karstens
    Gerben Karstens is a former professional racing cyclist from the Netherlands, who won the gold medal in the 100 km team trial at the 1964 Summer Olympics, alongside Bart Zoet, Evert Dolman, and Jan Pieterse...

    , former professional cyclist

External links



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