As you already have reading yesterday I've took the HoponHopoff bus from Amsterdam to Leiden. Because I'm very curious in art and culture and not in shopping, we're not strolling but exploring Leiden like a true tourist would do.
History of Leiden
Every city in the Netherlands has a history. About Amsterdam the most people already know a lot , but what about other cities ? About Leiden I didn't knew a lot only that my niece and her family live there but for the rest I really didn't studied about the history of this city.
Source website Municipality of Leiden
A piece of history
The history of Leiden goes way back. At the end of the fifteenth century Leiden was the largest city in the county of Holland . This was due in large part to the international textile industry . From the sixteenth century turned the economic tide . It was the time of the Reformation and Protestant denominations were persecuted fiercely . Leiden joined in 1572 with the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule and was besieged by the Spaniards.
Relief of Leiden
The people fell prey to disease and hunger and almost Leiden had fallen into the hands of the Spaniards. On October 3, 1574 fled the Spanish troops . Still the Leiden residents celebrate every year on October 3 Relief Leiden . The celebration has grown into a large two-day festival with music, a big fair , fireworks and free distribution to the population of herring and white bread . Not only is this great festival is a result of the Spanish siege , the story goes that Leiden as a reward for the heroic resistance was in college.
The Relief is the beginning of a new golden age. In 1577 tens of thousands Southern Dutch for their Calvinist faith to Leiden experienced textile workers and entrepreneurs , which the ailing Leiden's wool industry gave an impetus to new products, technologies , capital and labor.
Leiden was , after Amsterdam, the largest city of the Republic. Despite several major plague epidemics multiplied the population. In 1611 , 1644 and 1659 the city had to be increased again and got the Singelring its current form. At its peak around 1670 , there were over 60,000 people close together.
Our Tour
After reading all this information in the bus, the driver dropped us at the Naturalis museum.
Source Wikipedia :
Naturalis is a research institute and natural history museum in Leiden. It was founded on January 28, 2010 in Leiden NCB Naturalis , a fusion of the Zoological Museum Amsterdam , the National Herbarium of the Netherlands and Natural History Museum Naturalis . Since the summer of 2012, used the name Naturalis .
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| Entrance Naturlis (Pesthuis) |
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| Naturalis: the bridge with the zebraprint |
The museum is located in a beautiful green area with cozy cottages and a rustic park. But when you walk around the corner you suddenly will see an immensely tall and massive new building. I was thinking "Why did you build this building in this nice area?" The building disturbed the serenity of the surroundings of the Naturalis. Its a pity they done it.
The different kinds of museums in Leiden
We couldn't decide what we wanted to see becaus there is too much to visit in Leiden. Through pictures I'll show you how many museums and sightseeing there are in Leiden.
Canal Tour
Because we couldn't make a choise but we wanted to see the whole city within an hour, we booked a canal tour with the voucher we received from Holland Pass. A great momentum we could see many bridges, old buildings, the various locations of the University of Leiden and, of course, have seen the many terraces. The pictures will give you an impression from the canal tour about the city Leiden.
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| The startpoint of the canal tour |
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| The modern foundatin in the middle of a square |
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| The canal tour where you also can order sandwiches and drinks |
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| Leiden seeing from a boat |
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| The many boathouses in de canals |
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| The windmill who was owned by the parents of Rembrandt van Rijn |
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| An old cannon |
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| Lot's of green in the canals |
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| One of the many bridges |
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| The old observatory house |
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| The home of the Masons (Mainsons Masons) |
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| The old flour factory |
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| One of the oldest houses with shutters |
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| The rich people show there richness by building a window with metal fence |
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| The old fishmarket |
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| How cosy it is on this boat |
Of course there is more to see in the city but tomorrow I 'm going to continue because Leiden is a student city with so many cafes, bars, restaurants, etc.
I hope you enjoy this blogpost, so leave a comment below this blogpost.
Greetings,
Paula
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