Berkel en Rodenrijs is a town and former municipality in the Western part of the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, and is located in the Dutch province of South Holland

South Holland

South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...

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History

Berkel en Rodenrijs was founded in 963. Its character changed across the centuries. Prior to its development, the land consisted of peat soil, which was cultivated for the production of turf.
This cultivation resulted in the appearance of moors. During the 18th century the moors were drained and agricultural use of polder

Polder

A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...

 land commenced. The years that followed resulted in significant changes to the town due to residential and commercial building developments. (source: Gemeente Lansingerland)

In 1850 the town had a population count of 1,250, which by 1950 had extended to 5,700.

On 1 January 2007, the town was merged with neighbouring towns Bergschenhoek

Bergschenhoek

thumb|250px|right|Town signBergschenhoek is a town and former municipality in the Netherlands. It is situated roughly 10 km to the north of Rotterdam in the province of South Holland. The former municipality had a population of 16,608 in 2006, and covered an area of 15.52 km² of which...

 and Bleiswijk

Bleiswijk

Bleiswijk is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 10,222 in 2006, and covered an area of 21.96 km² of which 0.83 km² is water...

 to form the new municipality of Lansingerland

Lansingerland

Lansingerland is the name for the new municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It was formed on January 1, 2007, by the merger of the municipalities of Berkel en Rodenrijs, Bleiswijk and Bergschenhoek, collectively known as the "B-Triangle".The name was chosen from...

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On January 2008, the former municipality had a population of 22,626 (source: official municipality guide), and covered an area of 18.91 km² (7.30 mile²) of which 0.29 km² (0.11 mile²) is water.

Public transport

• RandstadRail
  RandstadRail
  RandstadRail network in the southern part of the Randstad conurbation in the west of the Netherlands, connecting The Hague, Zoetermeer and Rotterdam, consists of a metro-like line between The Hague and Rotterdam and two light rail lines between The Hague and Zoetermeer...
  
   Line E
• Qbuzz
  Qbuzz
  Qbuzz is a public transport bus company in the Netherlands. It operates services in Rotterdam, Drenthe, Groningen, and south-east Friesland.-Corporate:Qbuzz was founded in 2008 by two former directors of Connexxion. NS has a 49% stake in Qbuzz...
  
   Bus Services. Line 170, 171, 173, 174, 270 and 273.

People born in Berkel en Rodenrijs

• Phil Bloom
  Phil Bloom
  Phil Bloom is a Dutch artist, entertainer and actress known to have appeared as the first completely nude person on Dutch television on 28 July 1967. She was a member of the Fluxus network....
  
   (born November 27, 1945), Artist
• Eimert van Middelkoop
  Eimert van Middelkoop
  Eimert van Middelkoop is a Dutch politician of the ChristianUnion party.From 2007 till 2010 he was Minister of Defence in the Cabinet Balkenende IV...
  
   (born 14 February 1949), politician (ChristianUnion
  ChristianUnion
  The ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
  
  , minister of Defense 2009)
• Peter Olsthoorn (1960), Freelance ICT- and multimedia-journalist
• Piet Rietveld
  Piet Rietveld
  Piet Rietveld is a professor in transport economics at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and a fellow at the Tinbergen Institute. He studied econometrics at Erasmus University, Rotterdam and received his PhD in economics at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam...
  
   (born 1952) a professor in transport economics at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
• Victor Scheffers (born 22 May 1960), Olympic rower for the Netherlands, 1980 Summer Games.
• Tim Vincken
  Tim Vincken
  Tim Vincken is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as a right-winger for SBV Excelsior...
  
   (born 12 September 1986), pro football player Feyenoord Rotterdam
  Feyenoord Rotterdam
  Feyenoord is a Dutch professional football club located in Rotterdam. Along with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands. These three clubs and Utrecht and Roda JC are the only clubs never to have been relegated from the Dutch first division...
  
  

Other famous people who lived in Berkel en Rodenrijs

• Rob Madna (born 8 June 1931 in Den Haag, died 5 April 2003 in Berkel en Rodenrijs) Pianist, trumpeter and composer.
• Annie M.G. Schmidt (*May 20, 1911 – May 21, 1995) Dutch poet and well known children's book author lived in Berkel en Rodenrijs for some time during the mid 1960s.

External links

• Official Website
• Eimert van Middelkoop http://www.government.nl/Government/Previous_governments/Balkenende_IV_Government/Eimert_van_Middelkoop
• Landsingerland detailed streetmap (includes Berkel en Rodenrijs) http://www.plattegronden.nl/lansingerland/
• Short history of Berkel en Rodenrijs [NL] http://www.histverberkelenrodenrijs.nl/beknopte_geschiedenis_van_berkel.htm