Leiderdorp

Sister cities

• Šamorín

History

Excavations have shown that as early as during the Iron Age in the area of current day Leiderdorp hunters and fishers roamed around and lived on the dry places around the river. The Rhine, which passes through Leiderdorp, functioned as the Northern border of the Roman Empire. Close to Leiderdorp, the Romans built a fort, Matilo. Around the fall of the Western Roman Empire the Romans retreated from the area. From 1597 till 1795 Leiden had administrative rights over Leiderdorp, which led to the town becoming even more dependent on the larger city. In 1795 Leiderdorp decreases in size as the neighbouring Leiden expands. A rope factory was constructed in 1806, and in 1862 the first school was established on the Hoofdstraat (main street). A shipyard was constructed in 1877, and in 1915 social housing designed by famous Dutch architect Willem Marinus Dudok was erected. During the Second World war a bunker was constructed in the neighbouring fields, and a pen factory and community centre were destroyed to make way for it. The spires of one of the churches was used as a sniper's nest.