Hoofddorp (literally translated as Main Village) is the main town of the Haarlemmermeer municipality in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. 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. A fort was built next to the main canal, two batteries are now located in the outskirts of Hoofddorp, and several casemates 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 at Vijfhuizen in the west and the fort at Aalsmeer in the east.

In 1856, the first windmill in the Haarlemmermeer was built in the centre of Hoofddorp by Dirk David van Dijk. 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 to Leiden, Aalsmeer and Haarlem. These railway lines, operated by the Hollandsche Electrische Spoorwegmaatschappij (HESM), were closed on 31 December 1935.

In 1981, Hoofddorp was connected by rail for the second time, this time to Leiden and Schiphol 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.

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 to Haarlem, Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam Zuidoost by the high quality bus line Zuidtangent. The Zuidtangent will be expanded by adding lines from Hoofddorp to Nieuw Vennep and Uithoorn.

The bus station at Spaarne Hospital in Hoofddorp is the world's biggest structure built entirely from synthetic materials: factory-cut polystyrene foam with a polyester 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 to Haarlem from the A4 motorway that leads to Amsterdam and The Hague. The A9 motorway can easily be reached via Badhoevedorp or the junction of the A4 and A9 at Knooppunt Badhoevedorp.

Hoofddorp itself lies on the crossing of the two main secondary roads in Haarlemmermeer: the N201 from Hilversum to Zandvoort and the N520, that runs alongside the main canal of the Haarlemmermeer and disects the polder from north to south. The burough Toolenburg is connected to a yet to be developed industrial area by the bridge Lute, that was designed by architect Santiago Calatrava as part of a series of 3 bridges over the main canal along the N520. The secondary road N205 connects Nieuw Vennep to Haarlem 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 in London.
• C. Joh. Kieviet, writer of children's literature.
• Tineke Netelenbos, former minister of Transport and Water Management in the second cabinet of Wim Kok.

References

External links

• Hoofddorps polystyrene bus stop
• picture of the route and stations of the Zuidtangent.