Leiden - A city to discover
- Bustling, friendly and an international allure
- Leiden is a bustling, friendly medium-sized city, an urban community full of life with an outward-looking, international character, particularly with its world famous university, more than 400 years old (founded in 1575).
Leiden and its suburbs have a population of 329,000 making it the ninth largest urban region in the Netherlands.
It is an attractive town, because city and region offer an amazing range of temptations. Leiden is very close to the North Sea coast and to beautiful national parks in the dune landscape. Its suburbs to the west are attractive seaside resorts of international style. To the north and east, the town borders on several lakes, with ample sailing facilities.
All of these are within biking distance of Leiden.
- Location
- Leiden is located just eight miles east of the North Sea coast, in between the cities of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht.
Working and living in Leiden also means ease of mobility based on a very well-developed and ever-improving infrastructure: Leiden has excellent connections by train, air and car. It is just twenty minutes by direct intercity train to Schiphol, Amsterdams International Airport.
Other intercity trains connect Leiden directly with Amsterdam (35 min.), The Hague (15 min.), Rotterdam (30 min.) and Utrecht (35 min.): Leiden is therefore part of the European rail network, including the high speed train to Brussels and Paris.
Similar convenient connections are available for transport by car: Leiden is directly connected to the A4, one of the Netherlands most important motorways, and to the A44.
- History
- The city itself has retained all that its past has to offer: a picturesque city centre with an 12th-century fortress, gothic 14th-century churches, beautifully restored 17th-century houses. Leiden has special ties with the United States: the Pilgrim Fathers left from Leiden in 1620.
The propsperity of the city in past centuries is still visible in the noble mansions along the historic canals where many famous scholars lived and worked. Within the city centre you can explore numerous historic inner courtyards (almshouses), walk along the renaissance city hall, visit the 14th centrury 'Count's House' ('Gravensteen'), and enjoy the beautiful view from the 12th century Citadel ('Burcht'). Or just stroll through the narrow medieval streets and enjoy its many restaurants and pubs near the old University and its oldest church, Pieterskerk, built in 1121.
- Birthplace of the Dutch tulip
- The famous botanic garden is the birthplace of the tulip culture in the Netherlands. Tulips have never left the region: the bulb fields and the renowned flower garden Keukenhof are in the direct vicinity of Leiden.
- Birthplace of Rembrandt
- Leiden is a town with a rich cultural heritage, not only of science, but also of arts. One of the world's most famous painters, Rembrandt, was born and educated in Leiden. This town has already been one of Europe's most prominent scientific centres for more than 4 centuries. Modern scientific medical research and teaching started here in Leiden with Boerhaave.
- City of fundamental discoveries
- Leiden is the place of fundamental discoveries:
- refraction of light (Snellius)
- the electrical capacitor (the "Leyden Jar" (Van Musschenbroek)
- the molecular basis of thermodynamics (Van der Waals)
- electron theory (Lorentz)
- superconductivity (Kamerlingh Onnes)
- electro-cardiography (Einthoven)
- the structure of the galaxy and the origin of comets (Oort)
- 11 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Leiden University as faculty members or students, or by obtaining their Ph.D here.
Einstein held a special Chair in Leiden, cooperating with De Sitter on the Expanding Universe.
- Museums
- Leiden boasts with 12 prominent museums well worth a visit:
- Traditional and modern
- Despite this centuries-old cultural tradition, Leiden is at the forefront of the most modern scientific and high-tech developments. The Leiden Bioscience Park is the largest in Europe. According to a recent investigation by the European Commission, Leiden University ranks alongside Oxford and Cambridge at the academic top of the European Union.
The University covers virtually all possible fields of science. Leiden has a high international reputation in both the natural and medical sciences, as well as in the humanities. More than 13,000 researchers and support staff work in all thinkable fields of knowledge, ranging from the study of the early universe to biotechnology, from Asian and African cultures and languages to social psychology, and from superconductivity to immune response and organ transplantation in the large University Hospital.
In the Leiden urban region, ESTEC is Europe's largest space centre, collaborating intensively with the university's astronomy department and spacecraft industry (Dutch Space) based close to the Leiden university.
So it is evident that Leiden is a major, knowledge-intensive place, with ample opportunity for an interaction between regional development, international research, innovation and technology.
- More information about Leiden:
Website Leiden, city of discoveries
