Editing Leiden (section)

== History ==

Leiden was formed on an artificial hill (today called the [[Burcht van Leiden]]) at the confluence of the rivers [[Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland)|Oude]] and Nieuwe Rijn (Old and New Rhine). The settlement was called ''Leithon''. The name is from Germanic *''leitha'' (canal).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Leyden+jar&allowed_in_frame=0 |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-date=6 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906102136/http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=Leyden+jar&allowed_in_frame=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Leiden has erroneously been associated with the Roman outpost [[Brittenburg|Lugdunum Batavorum]]. This was thought to be located at the Burcht of Leiden, and the city's name was thought to be derived from the Latin name Lugdunum. However, the ''castellum'' was in fact closer to the town of [[Katwijk]], whereas the Roman settlement near Leiden was called [[Matilo]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Jona Lendering |url=https://www.livius.org/ga-gh/germania/lugdunum.html |title=Towns in Germania Inferior: Lugdunum (Brittenburg) |publisher=Livius.org |access-date=11 June 2010 |archive-date=24 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524104914/http://www.livius.org/ga-gh/germania/lugdunum.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Siege of 1420 ===

In 1420, during the [[Hook and Cod wars]], [[John III, Duke of Bavaria|Duke John III of Bavaria]] along with his army marched from [[Gouda, South Holland|Gouda]] in the direction of Leiden in order to conquer the city since Leiden did not pay the new [[Count of Holland]] [[Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut]], his niece and only daughter of [[William II, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing|Count William VI of Holland]].

Burgrave Filips of Wassenaar and the other local noblemen of the Hook faction assumed that the duke would besiege Leiden first and send small units out to conquer the surrounding citadels. But [[John of Bavaria-Straubing|John of Bavaria]] chose to attack the citadels first.

He rolled the cannons along with his army but one which was too heavy went by ship. By firing at the walls and gates with iron balls the citadels fell one by one. Within a week John of Bavaria conquered the castles of Poelgeest, Ter Does, Hoichmade, de Zijl, ter Waerd, Warmond and de Paddenpoel.

On 24 June the army appeared before the walls of Leiden. On 17 August 1420, after a two-month siege, the city surrendered to John of Bavaria. The burgrave Filips of Wassenaar was stripped of his offices and rights and lived out his last years in captivity.

=== 16th to 18th centuries ===

Leiden flourished in the 16th and 17th century. At the close of the 15th century, the weaving establishments of Leiden (mainly [[broadcloth]]) were very important. In the same period, Leiden developed an important printing and publishing industry. Printers [[Lucas van Leyden]] and [[Otto van Veen]] lived here, and so did [[Christoffel Plantijn]]. One of Christoffel's pupils was [[Lodewijk Elzevir]] (1547–1617), who established the largest bookshop and printing works in Leiden, a business continued by [[House of Elzevir|his descendants]] through 1712.
[[File:Veen01.jpg|thumb|left|''Relief of Leiden'' (1574), painting by [[Otto van Veen]]. Inundated meadows allow the Dutch fleet access to the Spanish infantry positions.|200x200px]]

In 1572, the city sided with the [[Dutch Revolt]] against Spanish rule and played an important role in the [[Eighty Years' War]]. It was [[Siege of Leiden|besieged]] from May to October 1574 by the Spanish but was relieved by the cutting of the dikes, thus enabling ships to carry provisions to the inhabitants. [[William I of Orange]] founded the [[University of Leiden]] in 1575 as a reward for their heroic defense. The end of the siege is still celebrated in Leiden on October 3 each year. According to tradition, the citizens of Leiden were offered the choice between a university and a certain exemption from taxes and chose the university. The siege is notable also for being the first instance in Europe of the issuance of paper money, with paper taken from prayer books being stamped using coin dies when silver ran out.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thecurrencycollector.com/pdfs/Siege_Notes_-_Windows_to_the_Past_Part_I.pdf |title=Siege Notes - Windows To The Past |author=John E. Sandrock |work=thecurrencycollector.com |access-date=9 June 2016 |archive-date=8 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208185511/http://thecurrencycollector.com/pdfs/Siege_Notes_-_Windows_to_the_Past_Part_I.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Leiden Oude vest.jpg|thumb|left|17th-century houses along the Oude Vest|200x200px]]
Leiden is known as the place where the [[Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)|Pilgrims]] and some of the settlers of [[New Amsterdam]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/modules.php?name=Sections&op=printpage&artid=40 |title=The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society – Access Denied |publisher=Newyorkfamilyhistory.org |access-date=11 June 2010 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927221847/http://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/modules.php?name=Sections&op=printpage&artid=40 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pages.prodigy.net/parrish/MapGroundZero.html |title= Connection to Ground Zero|website=pages.prodigy.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102104823/http://pages.prodigy.net/parrish/MapGroundZero.html |archive-date=2 November 2007}}</ref> lived, operating a printing press<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pilgrimhall.org/pilpress.htm |title=The Pilgrim Press |publisher=Pilgrimhall.org |date=18 May 2005 |access-date=11 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990503060700/http://www.pilgrimhall.org/pilpress.htm |archive-date=3 May 1999 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> for a time in the early 17th century before their departure to [[Massachusetts Bay Colony|Massachusetts]] and [[New Amsterdam]] in the [[New World]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/dutch-door-america |title=The Dutch Door to America |publisher=Americanheritage.com |date=April 1999 |access-date=28 November 2011 |archive-date=17 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217230416/http://www.americanheritage.com/content/dutch-door-america |url-status=live }}</ref>

Leiden prospered in the 17th century, in part because of the impetus to the textile industry by refugees from [[Flanders]]. The city had lost about a third of its 15,000 citizens during the siege of 1574, but it quickly recovered to 45,000 in 1622 and may have come near to 70,000 {{Circa|1670}}. During the Dutch Golden Era, Leiden was the second largest city of Holland after Amsterdam.<ref>{{cite book |title=Geschiedenis van Nederland. Van de Opastand tot het Heden. |publisher=Boom Amsterdam |date=2017 |page=96 |edition=4th}}</ref> It played a crucial role in the establishment of modern chemistry and medicine due to the work by [[Herman Boerhaave]] (1668–1738).

Leiden slumped from the late 17th century on, mainly due to the decline of the textile industries. The baize manufacture was given up at the beginning of the 19th century, although industry remained central to Leiden economy. This decline can be seen in the fall in population, which had sunk to 30,000 between 1796 and 1811, and in 1904 was 56,044.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://vanosnabrugge.org/leiden.htm |title=Van Osnabrugge, Osenbruggen, Ossenbruch etc. Genealogy |access-date=18 September 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418085928/http://vanosnabrugge.org/leiden.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Leiden was the publishing place from the 17th to the early 19th century of the important journal ''[[Nouvelles Extraordinaires de Divers Endroits]]'', known also as ''Gazette de Leyde''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100306730 |title=News and Politics in the Age of Revolution: Jean Luzac's "Gazette de Leyde" |last=Popkin |first=Jeremy D. |date=1989-10-01 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=9781501700712 |location=Ithaca, NY |access-date=20 February 2019 |archive-date=21 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221112010/http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100306730 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 19th and 20th centuries ===

On 12 January 1807, a [[Leiden gunpowder disaster|catastrophe]] struck the city when a boat loaded with {{cvt|17400|kg|0|abbr=off}} of gunpowder blew up in the middle of Leiden. 151 people were killed, over 2,000 were injured and some 220 homes were destroyed. King [[Louis Bonaparte]] personally visited the city to provide assistance to the victims. Although located in the centre of the city, the area destroyed remained empty for many years. In 1886 the space was turned into a public park, the Van der Werff park.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.amazing-holland.nl/assets/leiden-english.pdf |title=Leiden |website=Amazing Holland |access-date=31 December 2018 |archive-date=31 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231092354/http://www.amazing-holland.nl/assets/leiden-english.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1842, the railroad from Leiden to [[Haarlem]] was inaugurated and one year later the railway to [[The Hague]] (Den Haag) was completed, resulting in some social and economic improvement. Perhaps the most important piece of Dutch history contributed by Leiden was the [[Constitution of the Netherlands]]. [[Johan Rudolf Thorbecke]] (1798–1872) wrote the Dutch Constitution in April 1848 in his house at Garenmarkt 9 in Leiden.

Leiden's reputation as the "city of books" continued through the 19th century with the establishment of publishing dynasties by [[Evert Jan Brill]] and [[Albertus Willem Sijthoff]].<ref name="BN-History">{{cite web |url=http://www.b-n.nl/new_index.php?page=history |title=History: Leiden, city of books |publisher=Burgersdijk & Niermans |access-date=29 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017011232/http://www.b-n.nl/new_index.php?page=history |archive-date=17 October 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Sijthoff, who rose to prominence in the trade of translated books, wrote a letter in 1899 to [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands|Queen Wilhelmina]] regarding his opposition to becoming a signatory to the [[Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works]]. He felt that international copyright restrictions would stifle the Dutch publishing industry.<ref name="Publishers-Circular-1899">{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IGtNAAAAYAAJ&q=Albertus+Willem+Sijthoff&pg=PA597 |title=The Netherlands and the Berne Convention |page=597 |work=The Publishers' circular and booksellers' record of British and foreign literature, Vol. 71 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co. |access-date=29 August 2010 |year=1899 |archive-date=18 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418074653/https://books.google.com/books?id=IGtNAAAAYAAJ&q=Albertus+Willem+Sijthoff&pg=PA597 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Leiden began to expand beyond its 17th-century moats around 1896 and the number of citizens surpassed 50,000 in 1900. After 1920, new industries were established in the city, such as the [[canning]] and metal industries. During [[World War II]], Leiden was hit hard by Allied bombardments. The areas surrounding the railway station and Marewijk were almost completely destroyed.

The University of Leiden has been the site of many discoveries, including [[Snell's law]] (by [[Willebrord Snellius]]), and
the [[Leyden jar]], a capacitor made from a glass jar, invented in Leiden by [[Pieter van Musschenbroek]] in 1746. Another development was in [[cryogenics]]: [[Heike Kamerlingh Onnes]] (1913 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]]) liquefied [[helium]] for the first time (1908) and later managed to reach a temperature of less than one degree above the [[absolute zero|absolute minimum]]. [[Albert Einstein]] also spent some time at Leiden University during his early to middle career.

=== Leiden today ===

The city's biggest and most popular annual festival is celebrated on 3 October and is called simply [[3 October Festival|3 Oktober]]. The people of Leiden celebrate the end of the Spanish siege of 1574.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NPQ7-CqG3kUC&q=leiden+oktober+3&pg=PA315 |title=Film & Television Coll Europe |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |page=315 |isbn=978-1-135-10295-1 |access-date=14 November 2020 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416072941/https://books.google.com/books?id=NPQ7-CqG3kUC&q=leiden+oktober+3&pg=PA315 |url-status=live }}</ref> It typically takes place over the course of two to three days and includes parades, a [[hutspot]] feast, historical reenactments, a funfair and other events. Since 2006, the city has also hosted the annual [[Leiden International Film Festival]].<ref name="dawson">{{cite magazine |url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/76384-leiden-international-film-festival-announces-new-us-indie-competition/ |title=Leiden International Film Festival Announces New US Indie Competition |first=Nick |last=Dawson |magazine=Filmmaker Magazine |date=28 September 2013 |access-date=8 October 2013 |archive-date=2 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002064451/http://filmmakermagazine.com/76384-leiden-international-film-festival-announces-new-us-indie-competition/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Leiden has important functions as a shopping and trade centre for communities around the city.

The city also houses the [[Eurotransplant]], the international organization responsible for the mediation and allocation of [[organ donation]] procedures in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Slovenia. Leiden also houses the headquarters of [[Airbus]], a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide. The group includes [[Airbus]], the leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft worldwide.