Oegstgeest

History

Oegstgeest is one of the earliest inhabited places along the coast. Evidence of a Batavian settlement from the second century was found in 1946 in an extension of a coastal dune in the Elgeesterpolder, although it is not certain whether this location remained permanently inhabited in the centuries after that. By the 9th century, there was already a little church in the same location as the current Little Green Church (Groen Kerkje) which, according to legend, was dedicated by Willibrord. The existence of this church is an indication that there may have been a community there. From the 11th to the 14th century, Oegstgeest enjoyed a period of progress. This ended when Leiden was granted city rights. The carrying out of trades and construction were no longer permitted within a certain distance from the city. In 1399, the heerlijkheid of Oegstgeest and that of Poelgeest were merged because their declining populations could no longer afford to pay the required taxes to the Count of Holland. Until the 19th century the boundary of Oegstgeest extended right to the city walls and moats of Leiden. But in the 19th and 20th century, it conceded more and more of its territory to the rapidly expanding city of Leiden. Before the early 20th century, Oegstgeest had a rural character and did not have a centre of population. It consisted of several unconnected smaller settlements. Only after 1900 were new neighbourhoods built between the settlements. First Wilhelminapark was built, followed by Prins Hendrikpark (circa 1915), Buitenlust or Indische Buurt (1925), Julianapark, Oranjepark, and Emmapark (1920-1950), and Grunerie and the area between Emmalaan and Lange Voort (1950s). In the 1980s and 1990s, the Haaswijk and Morsebel neighbourhoods were built, followed by Poelgeest in the…

Geography

The municipality of Oegstgeest covers an area of of which is water. Oegstgeest lies just to the north of Leiden, with which it is conjoined in a conurbation and formed the Leiden region. Oegstgeest is a separate municipality, but it is effectively a suburb of Leiden. The municipality of Katwijk is to the west, the municipality of Teylingen to the north, the Kaag Lakes (Kagerplassen) to the northeast and Leiderdorp to the east.

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Coot

  Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  33,824
• Common Chiffchaff

  Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  30,374
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  28,856
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  28,099
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  27,301
• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,872
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  26,819
• Great Crested Grebe

  Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,081

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2008-10-11
  19 km WNW of Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands
• M 3.7 — 2001-09-12
  54 km WNW of Petten, Netherlands
• M 3.4 — 2001-09-10
  10 km W of Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
• M 3.8 — 2001-09-09
  7 km W of Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands