Editing Uithoorn (section)

== History ==
The name ''De Uithoorn'' (or ''De Uythoorn'') was used at the end of the Middle Ages for the location of the lower courts of the deanery of Saint John. The village formed around its courthouse.

People depended on agriculture and animal husbandry. Agriculture became increasingly more difficult due to the steady soil [[subsidence]]. From c. 1600 on, [[peat]] extraction became important and resulted in the formation of large ponds, which in turn would be made into polders later on.

During the [[Franco-Dutch War]] in the [[rampjaar|"disaster year" of 1672]], Uithoorn was on the front lines and fortifications were built.

During the [[Batavian Republic]] period, the neighbouring village of [[Thamen]] was merged with Uithoorn. Its economy was limited, but improved in the middle of the 19th century when some industries (including chemical) were established in the area. The reclamation of a few large ponds provided extra agricultural land at the end of the same century.

A sulphuric acid plant was established on the banks of the [[Amstel]] in 1863, it closed in the early 1900s; in 1922 the site was used for a [[coal tar]] processor, ''[[Teerbedrijf Uithoorn]]'', later known as [[Cindu Chemicals]]. A subsidiary company [[Nevcin Polymers]] also operated on the site: both companies were major employers in the town, and also polluters of the air and water bodies. In 1992 a reactor at the Nevcin site exploded, causing three deaths and several injuries. As of 2012 both plants remain in operation.
 
In circa 1885, several fortifications were built around Uithoorn as part of the [[Stelling van Amsterdam]].

In 1915, the Bovenkerk – Uithoorn line of the former [[Haarlemmermeer railway lines]] reached Uithoorn, near the village centre on the Amstel. Passenger service would end in 1950 and freight service in 1972. Most of the line was scrapped by 1987. The former Uithoorn railway station still stands.<ref name="MVV-B-U" /><ref name="EMA-Spoorlijn" /><ref name="Nieuws-2021-02-25" /> Later a busway would be built on part of the abandoned right-of-way. Tram line 25 (dubbed the [[Amsteltram]]) would be extended along the right-of-way opening in 2024.<ref name="MVV-B-U" /><ref name="Uithoornlijn" />

After World War II, Uithoorn developed quickly: in 1948 the Thamerdal neighbourhood was built, followed by Zijdelwaard in 1960, Legmeer in 1972, Meerwijk-West and Meerwijk-Oost from 1985 on. In 1991 a new shopping centre was built in the town centre, at the expense of many original buildings.