Zoetermeer

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Zoetermeer


imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Centre of Zoetermeer


flag_size = 120x100px
image_shield = Wapenzoetermeer.jpg
shield_size = 120x100px


mapsize = 280px
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Netherlands
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = South Holland
area_footnotes = (2007)
area_total_km2 = 37.05
area_land_km2 = 33.70
area_water_km2 = 3.35
population_as_of = 1 December, 2007
population_note = Source: CBS, [http://statline.cbs.nl/ Statline] .
settlement_type = Municipality
population_total = 119293
population_density_km2 = 3220
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
latd = 52.06
latNS = N
longd = 4.49
longEW = E
website = [http://www.zoetermeer.nl www.zoetermeer.nl]

Zoetermeer (pronunciation|Nl-Zoetermeer.ogg) is a city in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 37.06 km² (of which 2.15 km² is water). Though a small village until the late 1960s, with only 6,392 people living in the entire municipality in 1950 [http://www.nidi.knaw.nl/nl/atlas/size/1950/] , by March 1, 2007 this number had grown to 118,483, making Zoetermeer the third largest population center in the province of South Holland, after Rotterdam and The Hague.

The name "Zoetermeer" (which literally translates into English as "Sweet Lake") refers to the former fresh lake at the site of the town.

History

In the 10th century Zoetermeer was a small village, primarily home to farmers and fishermen. Somewhere in the 13th century a village centre was formed which still exists to this day as the historic Dorpsstraat. Until the 17th century there was a lake, called the Zoetermeer. Nowadays only a small portion of it remains, as the "Noord Aa" at the northern edge of town. This man-made lake was created when tons of sand were needed as building material for the foundations for new housing development, and the area north of Zoetermeer provided a good source.

Until 1935 the village centre we know today was actually split into two villages, Zoetermeer and Zegwaard. The standard of living at the time was said to be higher in Zoetermeer than in ZegwaardFact|date=July 2007. Nowadays, the name Seghwaert (older way of spelling of Zegwaard) is used for one of the neighbourhoods outside the old village centre.

Zoetermeer began to grow slightly when the first train service came around 1868. A few decades later the Numico factory started near the station. The real growth started in 1966, when there was an urgent need of houses from people around The Hague. From then they started to build new quarters around the old village centre, so Zoetermeer began to grow and became a city in the meantime.

Although Zoetermeer nowadays has the image of a modern city, there are still remains of the past. Like the old village centre with its small houses and the church with late medieval 15th century clock tower (on picture, wooden top from 1642), and the old farms, surrounded by modern houses nowadays.

Lake Dobbe divides the old town from the new city centre, with the medieval village centre on one side of the lake and the modern high-rise and skyscrapers on the other side.

Neighbourhoods

Zoetermeer is a town divided into 10 neighbourhoods. Every neighbourhood has at least one (smaller) shopping mall and a tram station (see above at "Transport").

These neighbourhoods have the following names (in brackets the year the neighbourhood was designated, although some of the neighbourhood already existed before designation):
*Buytenwegh de Leyens (1974)
*Dorp (1962)
*Driemanspolder (1965)
*Meerzicht (1969)
*Noordhove (1986)
*Oosterheem (1999)
*Palenstein (1966)
*Rokkeveen (1987)
*Seghwaert (1975)
*Stadscentrum (1978)

Economy

Zoetermeer is a so called ICT-city which means Zoetermeer has a modern infrastructure and a lot of schools that offer ICT-related education. Also 20% of the population of Zoetermeer already has an ICT-related job. Siemens and Toshiba also have factories in Zoetermeer. The municipality of Zoetermeer designates a comparatively large part of the budget to computers for schools.

To stress the ICT-tradition of Zoetermeer, the city is the first in the world to have a city hall in Second Life. Zoetermeer is sometimes referred to as the Dutch Silicon Valley.

Transportation

A light rail system is reconstructed recently. The former urban railway called Zoetermeer Stadslijn was rebuilt for that purpose. The stadslijn was the only urban railway in The Netherlands and was comparable to the S-Bahn in Berlin or RER in Paris. It had 12 stations in Zoetermeer and runs to and from The Hague Central Station.

The new light rail system is part of the RandstadRail project between The Hague, Rotterdam and Zoetermeer. Besides the rebuild stadslijn, which now has 13 stations, a new line has been constructed called the Oosterheemlijn. This new line leads to a new part of town called Oosterheem, with 30.000 inhabitants when finished the largest quarter of Zoetermeer. The Oosterheemlijn now has three stations, but will be extended to Rotterdam in the future. The RandstadRail has been postponed due to several derailment incidents.

There are two stations in use on the main railway between The Hague and Utrecht. Zoetermeer was one of the first cities in the Netherlands to be connected by a railway in 1868. The old station Zoetermeer-Zegwaard burnt down in 1906 and is now called Zoetermeer-Oost. The newer station called "Zoetermeer" is the main train station nowadays.

The HSL-Zuid, as the Dutch Thalys TGV highspeed railway line from Amsterdam to Paris is called, also runs through Zoetermeer, but does not stop there yet. In the future a new station might be built where RandstadRail, the main railway between The Hague and Utrecht and the HSL-Zuid meetFact|date=July 2007.

Zoetermeer is built next to the A12 highway between The Hague and Utrecht.

Religion

Zoetermeer is the only location in the Netherlands that has a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, situated near the old village centre. [ [http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/cgi-bin/pages.cgi?the_hague&operating The Hague Netherlands LDS (Mormon) Temple ] ]

Entertainment and recreation

This former new town used to function as a suburb of The Hague, as many residents commuted to work, shop, and even entertain in The Hague. With the growth of Zoetermeer came a large theatre, mega cinema, and other entertainment such as go-karts, laser gaming, survival centre, and a golf centre. Discotheque "Locomotion" is the oldest of them, plus the first mega disco of The Netherlands.

nowWorld

SnowWorld was the first indoor ski slope made of real snow in Europe, when it opened in 1996. It now has three slopes, of which the 200 meter slope is the longest. Plans are being made to build a new 500 meter slope. SnowWorld attracts over a million visitors each year, making it the most important tourist attraction of Zoetermeer.

Dutch Water Dreams

Dutch Water Dreams (DWD) is an artificial Olympic wild water rafting circuit. It is a copy of the one being built in China for the Olympic Games of 2008 and is mainly used for training purposes by European rafting teams. You can also visit DWD for team building or recreation. Besides the rafting circuit DWD also has an indoor wave boarding centre.

ilverdome

Silverdome is an indoor Olympic ice skating track and convention centre. It's used as a training centre for the KNSB, the Dutch Olympic and world championship ice skaters. Outside the skating season it is used as a convention centre and concert hall and even large raves.

Indoor Dive

There are plans to build an indoor diving centre in Zoetermeer. With 70 m in diameter and 30 m deep, it will be the largest indoor diving centre in the world. There will be a coral reef and under water caves and a large beach around the edge. 10000 life tropical fish should make it as realistic as possible.

Parks

Zoetermeer has a lot of parks all over the town, the biggest one being the "Westerpark" on the west side of town. It is almost as large as Central Park, New York City. Other notable parks are the "Buytenpark", the "Westerpark", the "Aldo van Eijkpark", the "Binnenpark", the "Van Tuyllpark (where you can find Dutch Water Dreams and Aquapark Keerpunt), the "Hoekstrapark", the "Wilhelminapark", the "floriade park", the "Seghwaertse Hout" and the "Seghwaertpark".

At the north side there is a lake, the "Zoetermeerse Plas", often referred to as lake "Noord Aa", because it lies in the Noord Aa Recreational Area. There's a beach along one side of the lake and a marina on the other. Wind- and kite surfing, sailing and fishing are the most popular activities on the lake.

On both the west and east side of the city man made forests are being planted, called "Balijbos" (west side) and Bentwoud (east side). These forests are intended to form a "natural" barrier between the ever growing cities of The Hague and Zoetermeer.

Virtual Zoetermeer

Virtual Zoetermeer is a game made by the municipality of Zoetermeer. It lets you rebuild the city of Zoetermeer. It kind of looks like SimCity and is in Dutch. You can download the game [http://www.zoetermeer.nl/index.php?simaction=content&mediumid=18&pagid=3093&stukid=17479#titel17479 here] .

There used to be a castle in Zoetermeer, called Palenstein. You can experience the life in the castle in [http://www.zoetermeer.nl/index.php?simaction=content&mediumid=18&pagid=3093&stukid=17480#titel17480 this] game.

ister cities and twin towns

* Nitra, Slovakia
* Jinotega, Nicaragua

References

External links

* [http://www.zoetermeer.nl Official website (Dutch)]
* [http://079.startpagina.nl Zoetermeer Startpagina]
* [http://flickr.com/photos/zoetnet/sets/1269008/ Fotos of Zoetermeer]
* [http://www.plattegronden.nl/zoetermeer/index.html Street map of Zoetermeer]
* [http://www.haagsehogeschool.nl/Opleidingen/AcademyICT/Informatica/ ICT Academy]
* [http://www.kerkvanjezuschristus.nl/temples/contactgegevens.htm The Den Haag Temple]
* [http://www.zoetermeerinbeeld.nl/ Zoetermeer in Beeld (Dutch)]