Rijswijk Ryswick
Municipality
Jaagpad street in Rijswijk
Flag Coat of arms
Location in South Holland
Coordinates: 52°2′N 4°19′E / 52.033°N 4.317°E / 52.033; 4.317
Country	Netherlands
Province	South Holland
Government [1]
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Huri Sahin
Area [2]
• Total	14.49 km2 (5.59 sq mi)
• Land	13.96 km2 (5.39 sq mi)
• Water	0.53 km2 (0.20 sq mi)
Elevation [3]	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (January 2021)[4]
• Total	55,220
• Density	3,956/km2 (10,250/sq mi)
Demonym	Rijswijker
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode	2280–2289
Area code	070
Website	www.rijswijk.nl

Rijswijk (Dutch: [ˈrɛisʋɛik] ^ⓘ), formerly known as Ryswick (/ˈrɪzwɪk/ RIZ-wik) in English, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was 55,220 in 2021, and it has an area of 14.49 km² (5.59 sq mi), 0.53 km² (0.20 sq mi) 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

Rijswijk in 1867.

Dutch Topographic map of Rijswijk, June 2015

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:

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.

Rijswijk, church (de Oude Kerk) in the street

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.

Country estates known to be in Rijswijk

• 0111 Cromvliet
• 0112 Leeuwendaal
• 0221 Oud-Rijswijk
• 0222 Bomenbuurt
• 0223 Welgelegen
• 0224 Rembrandtkwartier
• 0225 Havenkwartier
• 0331 Julianapark
• 0332 Huis te Lande
• 0333 Stationskwartier
• 0334 Te Werve
• 0441 Spoorzicht
• 0442 Kleurenbuurt
• 0443 Artiestenbuurt
• 0551 Overvoorde
• 0552 Strijp (buurtschap)
• 0553 Presidentenbuurt
• 0554 Ministerbuurt
• 0661 Stervoorde
• 0662 Eikelenburg
• 0663 Hoekpolder
• 0664 Sion (buurtschap)
• 0771 Muziekbuurt
• 0772 Wilhelminapark
• 0881 Plaspoelpolder
• 0882 Elsenburg
• 0883 Pasgeld (buurtschap)
• 0884 Haantje (buurtschap)
• 0991 Hoornwijck
• 0992 Broekpolder
• 0993 Kraayenburg
• 0994 Vrijenban

Public transport

• 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 people

Dionysius Koolen, 1925

Sigrid Kaag, 2018

Arts

• Adriaen van der Cabel (1630–1705) a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter
• Hendrik Tollens (1780 – 1856 in Rijswijk) poet
• P. J. Cosijn (1840–1899) a Dutch scholar of Anglo-Saxon literature
• Jacques van Meegeren (1912–1977) a Dutch illustrator, painter and suspected art forger
• Teddy Scholten (1926–2010) a Dutch singer and winner of the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest
• Felix Thijssen (born 1933) author of crime and science fiction novels and books for children
• Peter Slaghuis (1961–1991) a Dutch musician, DJ, producer and remixer
• Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (born 1968) a poet, novelist, polemicist and classical scholar

Piet van der Touw, 1963

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rijswijk, South Holland.

• Official website
• Museum Rijswijk website