- Hoofddorp
Dutch town locator maps
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caption = The town of Hoofddorp in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. On this map, airportSchiphol is included in Hoofddorp (to the east of the town).Hoofddorp (literally translated as "Main Village") is the main
town of theHaarlemmermeer municipality in the province ofNorth Holland in theNetherlands . In 2007, the population was 70,030. The town was founded in 1853, immediately after the Haarlemmermeer had been drained.History
After the draining of the Haarlemmermeer, it was decided to establish two villages, Kruisdorp and Venneperdorp, in the centre of the polder. In 1868, they were renamed to Hoofddorp and Nieuw-Vennep respectively. The development of Hoofddorp was more prosperous than that of Nieuw-Vennep, and it rapidly became the most important place of the district, even though
Badhoevedorp still had more inhabitants, due to its economic and administrative functions and favourable location.Landmarks
In the late 19th century, Hoofddorp was included in the Defense line of Amsterdam. [http://www.stelling-amsterdam.org/english/index.htm The Defence Line of Amsterdam] , retrieved 24 January 2007.] A
fort was built next to the main canal, two batteries are now located in the outskirts of Hoofddorp, and severalcasemate s were built to the east of Hoofddorp. A large dike known as the "Geniedijk" (Engineers' dike) connects the fort at Hoofddorp to the batteries and the casemates, and ultimately to the fort atVijfhuizen in the west and the fort atAalsmeer in the east.In 1856, the first
windmill in the Haarlemmermeer was built in the centre of Hoofddorp by Dirk David van Dijk. [http://www.eersteling.com/ Home page of mill "De Eersteling"] , retrieved 27 March 2008.] It was called "De Eersteling" ("The first"). Due to increased building around the mill, it wasn't able to operate for a long time, but in 1977 the mill was moved to another location near fort Hoofddorp. It was operated regularly from that moment, and is open to the public.Public transport
On
3 August 1912 , Hoofddorp was connected by rail toLeiden ,Aalsmeer andHaarlem . [http://www.haarlemmermeerspoor.nl/ nl icon Informational page about the Haarlemmermeer Spoorlijnen] , retrieved 19 January 2007.] These railway lines, operated by theHollandsche Electrische Spoorwegmaatschappij (HESM), were closed on31 December 1935 .In 1981, Hoofddorp was connected by rail for the second time, this time to
Leiden andSchiphol Airport as a part of the Schiphollijn. The Southern High-Speed Line, that will open in 2007, will use existing conventional track from Amsterdam Central Station to Hoofddorp, where it will branch off onto a dedicated track. The trains will not stop at Hoofddorp. [http://www.hslzuid.nl/hsl/uk/lijn/HSL_track/Haarlemmermeer/index.jsp HSL-Zuid] , retrieved 19 January 2007]Hoofddorp is connected by many bus lines to many cities and towns in the immediate surroundings. Most bus lines are operated by
Connexxion . In 2002, Hoofddorp was connected toHaarlem ,Schiphol Airport andAmsterdam Zuidoost by the high quality bus lineZuidtangent . [http://www.noord-holland.nl/projecten/zuidtangent/Algemeen/index.asp nl icon Zuidtangent informational page] , retrieved on 19 January 2007] The Zuidtangent will be expanded by adding lines from Hoofddorp toNieuw Vennep andUithoorn .The bus station at Spaarne Hospital in Hoofddorp is the world's biggest structure built entirely from synthetic materials: factory-cut
polystyrene foam with apolyester skin. At this moment it has been painted in a sort of orange/gold color.Private transport
Hoofddorp is well connected to several of the main roads in the Netherlands. At
Knooppunt de Hoek , the A5 motorway branches off toHaarlem from the A4 motorway that leads toAmsterdam andThe Hague . The A9 motorway can easily be reached viaBadhoevedorp or the junction of the A4 and A9 atKnooppunt Badhoevedorp .Hoofddorp itself lies on the crossing of the two main secondary roads in
Haarlemmermeer : the N201 fromHilversum toZandvoort and the N520, that runs alongside the main canal of the Haarlemmermeer and disects thepolder from north to south. The burough "Toolenburg" is connected to a yet to be developed industrial area by the bridge "Lute", that was designed byarchitect Santiago Calatrava as part of a series of 3 bridges over the main canal along the N520. The secondary road N205 connectsNieuw Vennep toHaarlem and is part of the ring around Hoofddorp; the N201 also forms part of the ring.People from Hoofddorp
*
Fanny Blankers-Koen , 4-time gold medallist at the 1948 Olympic Games inLondon .
* C. Joh. Kieviet, writer of children's literature.
*Tineke Netelenbos , former minister of Transport and Water Management in thesecond cabinet of Wim Kok .References
External links
* [http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/hoofddorpbus/ Hoofddorps polystyrene bus stop]
* [http://www.connexxion.nl/cms/data/images/23/ZTroutestrip_gr.gifpicture of the route and stations of the Zuidtangent.]
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