Rijswijk, Netherlands

Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was in , and it has an area of , of which is water.

The municipality also includes the former villages 't Haantje and Sion, currently also known as Rijswijk-Buiten.

Demographics

62% Dutch background,
38% No Dutch background

History

Archeological excavations indicate that this area of the coastal dunes was already inhabited some 5500 years ago. The formation of the village Rijswijk took place in the 13th century, and its history was dominated by presence of mansions and estates of the nobility and affluent. Among the many country estates known to have been in Rijswijk are:

* Arentsburg
* Burchvliet
* Cromvliet
* Den Burgh
* De Voorde
* Drievliet
* 's-Gravenmade
* Haag- en Delftzicht
* Hilvoorde
* Hoekenburg
* Hofrust
* Hoornwijk
* Huis te Werve
* Huis ter Nieuwburg
* Leeuwendaal
* Oversteen
* Overvoorde
* Schoonoord
* Sion
* Steenvoorde
* Te Blotinghe
* Tollenshuis
* Vredenoord
* Welgelegen
* Zuidhoorn

The Treaty of Ryswick was signed at the Huis ter Nieuwburg in 1697, ending the Nine Years' War. A monument, the Needle of Rijswijk (1792), was erected to commemorate the treaty in the Rijswijk Forest.

Until 1900 Rijswijk remained a relative small community but it became urbanized during the 20th century when it expanded rapidly. Today, Rijswijk's area has almost been completely built-up. The last major development is the new Ypenburg neighbourhood, built on the lands of the former Ypenburg Airfield but this part of Rijswijk was annexed by The Hague in 2002. Rijswijk is part of the Haaglanden conurbation. During the years its built-up area has grown to the point where it has effectively merged with The Hague, even though it is still a separate municipality.

Up until 2009 Rijswijk had a polytechnic college for applied sciences; TH Rijswijk (Technische Hogeschool Rijswijk). After a merger with the Haagse Hogeschool, this was moved to the campus of the TUDelft in Delft. The building still remains.

Istana Negara, one of the six presidential palaces of Indonesia, in the Jakarta neighbourhood of Harmoni (formerly Rijswijk-Molenvliet), was called Palais te Rijswijk during Dutch colonial times.

Transportation

*Rijswijk station
*Stopplaats Rijswijk-Wateringen

Economy

Rijswijk is home to:
*The Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC).
*The Netherlands Patent Office, at the same location as a branch of the European Patent Office.
*A large technology centre of the oil company Shell, on Kessler Park.
*A small part of the Dutch national Forensic Laboratory, researching clues and objects in order to aid police investigations. The main building is moved to The Hague-Ypenburg.
* The Headquarters of TUI Netherlands.

Recreation

*Parks: Hoekpolder, Plaspoelpolder, Schaapweipolder, Hoge Broekpolder, Noordpolder, Park Overvoorde, Wilhelminapark, Elsenburgerbos, Park Steenvoorde.
*Natural swimming location De Put
*Rijswijkse Schouwburg, which hosts many national theatre shows.
*The Von Fisenne Park has a petting zoo.
*Sports park 'De Schilp' has an indoor swimming pool.
*Museum Rijswijk located at Herenstraat 67, 2282 BR Rijswijk, which has many works of art

The largest shopping center is called 'In de Bogaard' and smaller shops are located in the old town center (Herenstraat). There is the old Schaapweimolen (windmill). De Broodfabriek holds many fairs and events.

Notable residents

Public thinking and public service

* Dionysius Koolen (1871–1945) a Dutch politician
* Henk Beernink (1910 – 1979 in Rijswijk) a Dutch politician
* Chris van Veen (1922–2009) a politician; also worked for the municipality of Rijswijk 1945/1960
* Gerard Veringa

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