Zeist () is the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

and largest

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of the municipality of Zeist. The town is located in the

Utrecht province Utrecht (), officially the Province of Utrecht ( nl, Provincie Utrecht, link=no), is a province of the Netherlands. It is located in the centre of the country, bordering the Eemmeer in the north-east, the province of Gelderland in the east an ...

of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, east of the

city of Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Neth ...

History

The town of "Seist" was first mentioned in a charter in the year 838. The original settlement was located at the present ''Dorpsstraat''. In the late 12th century, a church was built here. Its tower is now a part of the Reformed Church, the remainder of which was built in the 19th century. Until medieval times, a branch of the river

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

flowed close to the centre of the town. Three mansions were built near the village: the ''Huis te Zeist'', Kersbergen, and Blikkenburg. From 1677 to 1686, the "Slot Zeist" was built on or near the ruins of "Kasteel Zeist", the original castle (donjon) of Rodgar van Zeist. There is very little documentation on the family that lived there, but a few names are found: in the 12th century a ''Godefridus de Seist'' and in the late 13th century another Godefridus, a knight, with his son Johannes and his daughter Petronilla. (''Bronnen voor de geschiedenis van Zeist'', deel 1, ed. Van Hinsbergen) The last member of the van Zeist family was a woman, Elisabeth (?), who married a member of the Borre van Amerongen family. They had a son who adopted his mother's name and his father's coat-of-arms. In the last quarter of the 17th century, Count Willem Adriaan van Nassau, an illegitimate descendant of Prince

Maurice of Orange Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...

, acquired the property and built Slot Zeist in the Dutch Classisist style. Murals by

Daniel Marot Daniel Marot or Daniel Marot the Elder (1661–1752) was a French-born Dutch architect, furniture designer and engraver at the forefront of the classicizing Late Baroque Louis XIV style. He worked for a long time in England and the Dutch Republic ...

are still largely intact. Members of the ''Evangelische Broedergemeente'' (Evangelical Brethren's Congregation), the Dutch name for the

Moravians Moravians ( cs, Moravané or colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavic ethnographic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech or Common Czech or a mixed form of both. Along with the Silesi ...

, settled in Zeist in 1746, building for their community an impressive array of 18th century Classisist houses planned around two squares. Their headquarters are still located in the centre of town, next to "the palace". The oldest Dutch archives of the Moravians are kept at the Utrecht Archival Centre at

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. In the 19th century, Zeist became a favorite residence for the rich, mainly from the city of Utrecht. Camp New Amsterdam, ( vliegbasis Soesterberg) a former

Royal Netherlands Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

military airbase near this town, was the venue for the

Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988. The 36-week bench trial took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands set ...

to take place outside the UK, but under

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...

. The court was designated the

Scottish Court in the Netherlands The Scottish court in the Netherlands was a special sitting of the High Court of Justiciary set up under Scots law in a former United States Air Force base, Camp Zeist in Utrecht, in the Netherlands, for the trial of two Libyans charged with 270 ...

Organisations and surroundings

Zeist is the location of the

Royal Dutch Football Association The Royal Dutch Football Association (, ; KNVB ) is the governing body of football in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch football leagues (Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie), the amateur leagues, the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch Netherlands nati ...

(KNVB), the

Royal Dutch Korfball Association The Royal Dutch Korfball Association (Dutch: ''Koninklijk Nederlands Korfbalverbond'', or KNKV) is the governing body of korfball in the Netherlands. It organises the main Dutch korfball leagues ( Korfbal League and Hoofdklasse) and the more rec ...

(KNKV) and the

International Korfball Federation The International Korfball Federation (IKF) is the governing body of korfball. IKF is responsible for the organisation of korfball's major international tournaments, notably the IKF World Korfball Championship. The IKF was founded on 11 June 193 ...

(IKF), and is also known for the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s surrounding the town. For many years the Dutch National Archaeological Research Service (''Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek'') was housed at Slot Zeist.

Notable people

The following notable persons were born in Zeist: HendrikMarsman193X

* Guido Verbeck (1830–1898) political adviser, educator and missionary, worked as a foreign adviser in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Hermann Snellen Herman Snellen (February 19, 1834 – January 18, 1908) was a Dutch ophthalmologist who introduced the Snellen chart to study visual acuity (1862). He took over directorship of the Netherlands Hospital for Eye Patients (Nederlandsch Gasthuis vo ...

(1834–1908)

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

invented the

Snellen chart A Snellen chart is an eye chart that can be used to measure visual acuity. Snellen charts are named after the Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen, who developed the chart in 1862. Many ophthalmologists and vision scientists now use an improved ...

Anthon van Rappard Anthon Gerard Alexander van Rappard (14 May 1858, Zeist – 21 March 1892, Santpoort) was a Dutch painter and draughtsman. He was a pupil of Lawrence Alma-Tadema. He was also a friend and mentor of Vincent van Gogh for about four years, who is sai ...

(1858–1892) painter and draughtsman *

Willem Pijper Willem Frederik Johannes Pijper (; 8 September 189418 March 1947) was a Dutch composer, music critic and music teacher. Pijper is considered to be among the most important Dutch composers of the first half of the 20th century. Life Pijper was b ...

, (1894–1947) composer, music critic and music teacher *

Hendrik Marsman Hendrik Marsman (30 September 1899, in Zeist – 21 June 1940, in Gulf of Biscay) was a Dutch poet and writer. He died while escaping to Great Britain, when the ship he was sailing on, the ', either suffered a fatal engine-room explosion, or wa ...

, (1899–1940) poet and writer * Isaäc Arend Diepenhorst, (born 1916) former minister of education *

Johan Witteveen Hendrikus Johannes "Johan" Witteveen (12 June 1921 – 23 April 2019) was a Dutch politician and economist who served as the fifth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1973 to 1978. Witteveen attended the Gymnasium E ...

(1921–2019) politician and MD of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

(IMF) 1973-1978 * Carel Blotkamp (born 1945) artist, art historian, writer and critic *

Wam Kat Pieter Jan Herman Fredrik (Wam) Kat (born 23. November 1956, Zeist) is a Dutch political activist and author who now lives in Germany and serves in the city government of Belzig. Biography As child Wam was a longtime member of the Boy Scouts a ...

, (born 1956) political activist and author * Mark Overmars, (born 1958) author of

GameMaker Studio GameMaker (originally Animo, Game Maker ''(until 2011)'' and GameMaker Studio) is a series of cross-platform game engines created by Mark Overmars in 1999 and developed by YoYo Games since 2007. The latest iteration of ''GameMaker'' released ...

* Jan van de Pavert (born 1960) sculptor, painter, draftsman, animator, and video artist *

Mirjam Sterk Willemina Roziena Catharina (Mirjam) Sterk (born 23 May 1973 in Zeist) is a Dutch former politician, civil servant, NH editor as well as educator. As a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (Christen-Democratisch Appèl) she was an MP f ...

(born 1973) former politician, civil servant and educator

Sport

* Henk Kamerbeek (1893–1954) hammer thrower, competed at the 1924 and

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

André Bolhuis Johan Henk André Bolhuis (born 4 October 1946) is a retired field hockey player from the Netherlands. He competed at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics and finished in fourth place in both Games. He was the Olympic flag bearer for the Netherland ...

(born 1946) a retired field hockey player, competed at the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

Bert Blyleven Bert Blyleven (born Rik Aalbert Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. Blyleven recorded 3,701 ...

, (born 1951)

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Hall of Fame

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Guusje van Mourik Guusje van Mourik (born 5 October 1955, Zeist, Netherlands) she is a Dutch karateka, judoka and boxer. She has a 4th Dan black belt in karate, and is the winner of multiple Karate World Championships, World Karate Championships, and is in ''T ...

(born 1955)

karateka (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

, judoka and boxer *

Jos Ruijs Jos Ruijs (born 18 March 1955) is a Dutch rower. He competed in the men's coxed four event at the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into for ...

(born 1955) rower, competed in the

* Chima Onyeike (born 1975) football coach and former professional player with 257 caps * Jeroen Rauwerdink (born 1985) volleyball player *

Eva de Goede Eva de Goede (born 23 March 1989) is a Dutch field hockey player who played in the Dutch teams that won the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also k ...

(born 1989) field hockey player, gold medalist in the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

silver medallist at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Transport

Zeist has two railway stations.

Driebergen-Zeist railway station Driebergen-Zeist is a railway station located between Driebergen-Rijsenburg and Zeist, Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Utrechtse Heuvelrug. The station was opened on 17 June 1844 and is located on the Amsterdam–Arnhem railway. ...

is located between Zeist and

Driebergen-Rijsenburg Driebergen-Rijsenburg is a town in the municipality Utrechtse Heuvelrug in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is the home of Michelin starred restaurant La Provence. Transportation *Driebergen-Zeist railway station ...

, to the south of Zeist. It is on the

Amsterdam–Arnhem railway The Amsterdam–Arnhem railway, also referred to as the Amsterdam–Elten railway or ''Rhijnspoorweg'' in Dutch language, Dutch (English: Rhine railway), is an important Rail transport, railway that connects Amsterdam in the Netherlands with Utre ...

Den Dolder railway station Den Dolder is a railway station located in Den Dolder, Netherlands. The station is located on the Utrecht–Kampen railway The Utrecht–Kampen railway (also known as ''Centraalspoorweg'') is an important railway line in the Netherlands running ...

is located in Den Dolder. It is on the

Utrecht–Kampen railway The Utrecht–Kampen railway (also known as ''Centraalspoorweg'') is an important railway line in the Netherlands running from Utrecht to Kampen, passing through Bilthoven, Amersfoort, Nijkerk, Ermelo, Harderwijk, Nunspeet, Wezep and Zwolle. The ...

and the Den Dolder–Baarn railway.

Gallery

File:Main shopping street "Slotlaan" (lane of the castle) of Zeist at 31 July 2015 - panoramio.jpg, Main shopping street, Zeist File:Jan de Baat De Zee Zeist 03.jpg, Jan de Baat De Zee Zeist File:Triodos Zeist A.jpg, Triodos Bank, Zeist File:Zeist 4469.JPG, Shops in Zeist Image:Zeist, Ma Retraite RM510262 foto8 2012-05-27 17.54.jpg, Villa Ma Retraite

References

External links

* *
Website
{{Authority control Zeist Populated places in Utrecht (province) Cities in the Netherlands