Hillegom () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

. Hillegom is part of an area called the Duin- en Bollenstreek ("Dune and Bulb Region"). As such, a large portion of the local economy was traditionally geared to the cultivation of bulb flowers. The name Hillegom is derived from the abbey named ''Hijlighem'' (

Old Frankish Frankish ( reconstructed endonym: *), also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 9th century. After the Salian Franks settled in Roman Gaul, its speakers in Picardy an ...

for "Holy Home"). This abbey no longer exists. The current Lord of Hillegom is Jan Six X.

History

Hillegom was formed on the eastern edge of the coastal

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s where the old Leiden to

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

route crossed the ''Hillegommerbeek'' (Hillegom's Creek), not far from the shores of the '' Haarlemmermeer'' (Haarlem's Lake). Places with the suffix "-heim" (or variant spellings) usually developed before the year 1000 and therefore it is assumed that this may apply to Hillegom as well. In 1150 the abbot of Egmond had the rights to naming priests in Hillegom, indicating that a church or chapel existed there. In 1248 the count Willem II gave the Chapel of Hijllinghem and all its buildings to the Abbot of Egmond. In the middle of the 14th century, Hillegom gained some prominence when the counts of Holland convened there 3 times for council. In 1369, there were 46 houses with a population of 283, growing to 67 houses and 412 people in 1477. During the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

, Hillegom found itself several times between the opposing Spanish and Dutch Rebel armies, resulting in its near destruction in 1577. But after the middle of the 17th century, the area became prosperous through the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, growing on the sandy soil of fields dug out the dunes. In 1722, the rich Amsterdam merchant Jan Six II bought the fiefdom Hillegom and built improvements, including a stone bridge over the Hillegommerbeek and a pump in the village square as well as paving a portion of the main road. In 1749, he purchased ''Het Hof'' (The Courtyard), an

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

in the centre of Hillegom. At this time, there were many other estates of rich merchants and

stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

s in Hillegom, such as Bethlehem, Oostende, Horstendael, Weeresteyn, Treslong, Duin en Weg, Meer en Dorp, Het Hof, Lapinenburg and Elsbroek (many of these names survive as neighborhood names). The population grew to 930 in 1732 and to 1050 in 1795. In 1855 Hillegom absorbed the former municipality of

De Vennip De Vennip is a former municipality in the Netherlands, which at the time belonged to the province of South Holland. It consisted of a small area of land east of Hillegom, and a large part of the Haarlemmermeer lake, including the island of Beinsdor ...

. During the 19th century, the beauty of the area and its estates slowly began to disappear. Developers bought the estates, cut down the forests, and excavated the sand dunes to create fields for

bulb In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs duri ...

flower cultivation. This process accelerated in 1904 when a lime-sand brick factory was built just south of Hillegom, which needed large amounts of sand. By the early 1920s, all estates had disappeared, except for ''Het Hof'' which became Hillegom's

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. This same period saw the rapid growth of the bulb flower industry and Hillegom's population, up to 8800 in 1916. Hillegom's convenient location led to another rapid growth period during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, when many new neighborhoods were built to accommodate families working in either Haarlem, Amsterdam, or Leiden. Its economy became less dependent on the bulb flower trade and more diversified with the establishment of a few business parks.

Geography

Hillegom is bordered by the municipalities of Bloemendaal (and formerly

Bennebroek Bennebroek () is a village and former municipality in the northwest Netherlands, now part of Bloemendaal, North Holland. Before its merger, it was the smallest municipality in the Netherlands, covering an area of only 1.75 km². History Ben ...

) to the north, Haarlemmermeer to the east, Lisse to the south, and Noordwijk (formerly Noordwijkerhout) to the west. The municipality covers an area of of which is water.

Neighborhoods

Demographics

Population on January 1: *1899: 5,361 *1930: 10,812 *1960: 14,789 *1970: 16,963 *1980: 17,937 *1990: 19,885 *2000: 20,664 *2004: 20,588 *2006: 20,317 *2011: 20,627 *2017: 21,629 :''Source: Statistics Netherlands''

Transportation

Historically, much of the town's transportation was done by water, either canals or streams. The Hillegommerbeek (Hillegom's Creek) was used to transport goods from the town to Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem's Lake) and, after its

reclamation Reclaim, reclaimed, reclaimer, reclaiming or reclamation means "to get something back". It may refer to: * Land reclamation, creating new land from oceans, riverbeds, or lake beds * Dedesertification, reversing of the land degradation in arid ...

, to the Ringvaart. Several docks and wharfs still line the creek and canal. The ''

Leidsevaart The Leidsevaart (also known as Leidse trekvaart, Dutch for "Leiden's Pull-Canal") is a canal between the cities of Haarlem and Leiden in the Netherlands. It was dug in 1657, making it one of the oldest canals in the Netherlands. It was the major ...

'' (Leiden Canal) was completed in 1657 and runs between Leiden and Haarlem just west of Hillegom. This canal has fallen in disuse because of its many non-operable bridges. Hillegom is served by Provincial Roads 207, 208, and 442.

Railway

Hillegom is served by

Hillegom railway station The railway station of Hillegom in the Netherlands is located on the railway line between Haarlem railway station, Haarlem and Leiden Centraal railway station, Leiden. The first railway station in the town was opened in 1891, closed in 1898 and to ...

, with direct connections to

in the north and Leiden and The Hague southward.

Tourism and attractions

The most interesting time to visit is during the spring when the fields around Hillegom are in a colourful bloom. At this time a flower

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

, the ''Bloemencorso'', travels through its main streets. Hillegom was home to the Den Hartogh Ford Museum, which had the world's largest collection of Ford automobiles, until it closed down in 2016. It had over 200 classic cars, all from before World War II.

Notable persons from Hillegom

Adriaan van der Willigen Pz. Adriaan van der Willigen Pz. (20 September 1810, Hillegom – 22 August 1876, Rheden)Adriaan van der Willigen Pz.< ...

(1810 in Hillegom – 1876) a doctor and historian * Dr. Willem Pleyte (1836 in Hillegom – 1903) a Dutch Egyptologist and museum director *

Jacob Cornelis van Slee Jacob Cornelis van Slee (1841–1929) was a Dutch Reformed clergyman and scholar. He was the author of a study of the Windesheim Congregation, ''De kloostervereeniging van Windesheim'' (Leiden, 1874), and between 1875 and 1900 contributed article ...

(1841 in Hillegom – 1929) a Dutch Reformed clergyman and scholar * Constantijn Muysken, Dutch Wiki (1843 in Hillegom - 1922), architect *

Piet van Zeil Piet may refer to: People *Piet (given name), a common name in the Netherlands and South Africa *Henri Piet (1888–1915), French lightweight boxer *Tony Piet (1906–1981), American Major League Baseball player Schools *Purushottam Institute of ...

(1927 in Hillegom – 2012) a Dutch politician and trade union leader *

Hans 't Mannetje Johan George (Hans) 't Mannetje (Hillegom, 9 September 1944 – 2 May 2016) was a Dutch sculptor, mostly known for his gable stones. He studied for several years at the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten and was executor at City Sculptor Hildo ...

(1944 in Hillegom – 2016) a Dutch sculptor, mostly of gable stones. *

Wim Turkenburg Wim C. Turkenburg (born 1947, in Hillegom) is emeritus professor 'Science, Technology & Society' (STS) at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, and owner of a consultancy on energy and environmental issues. He is member of the board of the Foundati ...

(born 1947 in Hillegom) an academic on energy and environmental issues * Thea de Roos-van Rooden (born 1949 in Hillegom), historian and former politician *

Annemarie Spilker Annemarie Spilker (born 1980, Hillegom) is a Dutch photographer best known for her self-portraits and landscapes. Spilker attended The Photography Academy in Amsterdam where she graduated cum laude in 2003, with the series self-portraits "Searchi ...

(born 1980 in Hillegom) a Dutch photographer

Sport

* Dick van Egmond, Dutch Wiki (born 1961 in Hillegom) soccer referee * Jesse Huta Galung (born 1985) a former Dutch professional tennis player, lives in Hillegom *

Marc Evers Marc Evers (born 17 July 1991) is a Dutch Paralympic swimmer. He swims in S14 and SB14 classification events, specializing in both backstroke and breaststroke competitions. He is a Paralympic, World and European champion in the 100m breaststrok ...

(born 1991 in Hillegom) a Dutch Paralympic swimmer

Gallery

File:Voormalig Postkantoor Hillegom.jpg, Former post office File:Silo’s van de kalkzandsteenfabriek - Hillegom.jpg, Silos of the siliceous brick factory File:Hillegommerbeek dichtgevroren foto 2.JPG, Frozen ''Hillegommerbeek'' (Hillegom's Creek) File:Moskee Al Ansaar - Hillegom.jpg, Mosque Al Ansaar File:Hillegom, ophaalbrug met de toren van de Maartenskerk RM22136 foto5 2017-04-09 16.06.jpg, Hillegom, drawing bridge with churchtower (de Maartenskerk)

References

External links

Official websiteHistory of Hillegom
(in Dutch) {{Authority control Municipalities of South Holland Populated places in South Holland