Zwammerdam is a village in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

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 ...

along Oude Rijn river. It is a part of the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn, and lies about 6 km southeast of Alphen aan de Rijn. The name derives from a dam built in the

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

river in 1165 AD by Count Floris III of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, to protect the land stream downwards from floods. In 2020, the village of Zwammerdam had 1850 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 62 km², and contained 484 residences.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001'

. (Statistics are for the continuous built-up area). The statistical area "Zwammerdam", which also can include the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 1810.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Gemeente Op Maat 2004: Alphen aan den Rijn'

Zwammerdam was a separate municipality until 1964, when it was divided between Alphen aan den Rijn and

Bodegraven Bodegraven () is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covers an area of of which is water. The former municipality of Bodegraven also includes the communities Me ...

. The town is the current home of the

Jostiband Orchestra The Jostiband Orchestra is a Dutch orchestra for the developmentally disabled. The band was formed in September 1966 as a music club of the Johannes Stichting in Nieuwveen. In 1974, it moved to Zwammerdam, which has since been the home of the orc ...

. The ancient Romans did build fortress (

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

) ''Nigrum Pullum'' as part of the defence system of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

northern frontier (

Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubd ...

) close to what now Zwammerdam is. In the 1970s during groundwork for the building of a new caregiving residence, remains were found of wooden ships from the Roman period. Extensive archeological excavations brought up six ships of different sizes, known as ''Schepen van Zwammerdam'', now exhibited at the nearby open-air museum Archeon.Zwammerdam ships restoration yard
website Archeon

Gallery

File:Zwammerdam 012.jpg, Kerklaan File:Molen no 3 Zwammerdam.jpg, Windmill for waterpumping File:Oude-Rijn, Zwammerdam ri. Alphen aan de Rijn.JPG, Oude Rijn at Zwammerdam File:Castellum NigrumPullum vogelvlucht impressie Stevie Xinas 2016.jpg, Castrum Nigrum Pullum, artist impression Stevie Xinas File:Opgraving Romeinsschip in Zwammerdam, overzicht, Bestanddeelnr 927-0653.jpg, Excavation ancient Roman ship 1973

References

{{Authority control Populated places in South Holland Former municipalities of South Holland Alphen aan den Rijn