Zwammerdam

Zwammerdam is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland 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 build in the Rhine river in 1165 AD by Count Floris III of Holland, to protect the land stream downwards from floods.

Zwammerdam
Town
Centre of Zwammerdam
Flag
Coat of arms
The town centre (dark green) and the statistical district (light green) of Zwammerdam in the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn.
Coordinates: 52°6′21″N 4°43′38″E
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceSouth Holland
MunicipalityAlphen aan den Rijn
Population
 (2001)
 • Total1,709
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)

In 2020, the town of Zwammerdam had 1850 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 62 km², and contained 484 residences.[1] The statistical area "Zwammerdam", which also can include the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 1810.[2]

Zwammerdam was a separate municipality until 1964, when it was divided between Alphen aan den Rijn and Bodegraven.[3] The town is the current home of the Jostiband Orchestra.

The ancient Romans did build fortress (castrum) Nigrum Pullum as part of the defence system of the Roman Empire northern frontier (Limes Germanicus) close to what now Zwammerdam is.[4] In the 1970s during groundwork for the building of a new caregiving residence, remains were found of wooden ships from the Roman period.[5] Extensive archeological excavations brought up six ships of different sizes, known as Schepen van Zwammerdam, now exhibited at the nearby open-air museum Archeon.[6][7]

  • Kerklaan
  • Windmill for waterpumping
  • Oude Rijn at Zwammerdam
  • Castrum Nigrum Pullum, artist impression Stevie Xinas
  • Excavation ancient Roman ship 1973

References
  1. Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001 . (Statistics are for the continuous built-up area).
  2. Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Gemeente Op Maat 2004: Alphen aan den Rijn .
  3. Ad van der Meer and Onno Boonstra, "Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten", KNAW, 2006. "Repertorium van Nederlandse gemeenten 1812-2006". Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  4. Nigrum Pullum, Zwammerdam livius.org
  5. (in Dutch) F. den Houter, 'Zwammerdam - kerkhof van schepen uit Romeinse tijd' NRC Handelsblad, 24th of January 1973, page 9
  6. Boats from Zwammerdam, wealth of knowledge, Leiden University, 2nd November 2016
  7. Zwammerdam ships restoration yard, website Archeon


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