Rijswijk (Dutch: [ˈrɛisʋɛik] ), formerly known as Ryswick ( RIZ-wik) in English, is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was 59,642 in 2024, 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 hamlets of 't Haantje and Sion, currently also known as Rijswijk Buiten.
Contents
Demographics
62% Dutch background,
38% No Dutch background.
History
Archaeological excavations indicate that this area of the coastal dunes was already inhabited some 5500 years ago. The village of Rijswijk formed in the 13th century, and its history was dominated by the presence of mansions and estates of the nobility and affluent.
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.
Until 1900, Rijswijk remained a relatively small community but it became urbanised 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. Over the years its built-up area has grown to the point where it has effectively merged with The Hague, and often regarded as its suburb, 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 Paleis te Rijswijk during Dutch colonial times.
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 small part of the Dutch national Forensic Laboratory, researching clues and objects in order to aid police investigations. The main building has moved to The Hague-Ypenburg.
The Headquarters of TUI Netherlands.
The CBR (Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen) a Dutch driving school.
In the past, Rijswijk also used to host the main research and technology centre of the oil and gas company Shell, with approximately 2000 employees. The company decided to close the centre and relocate the activities to Amsterdam and The Hague in 2017.
Recreation
Parks: Hoekpolder, Plaspoelpolder, Schaapweipolder, Hoge Broekpolder, Noordpolder, Park Overvoorde, Wilhelminapark, Elsenburgerbos, Park Steenvoorde.
Natural swimming location De Put.
Rijswijkse Schouwburg, which hosts national theatre shows.
Von Fisenne Park, which has a petting zoo.
Sports park 'De Schilp', which has an indoor swimming pool.
Museum Rijswijk.
The largest shopping centre is called 'In de Bogaard' and smaller shops are located in the old town centre (Herenstraat). There is the old Schaapweimolen (windmill). De Broodfabriek holds many fairs and events.
Notable people
Public service
Dionysius Koolen (1871–1945) a Dutch politician
Henk Beernink (1910–1979 in Rijswijk) a Dutch politician
Chris van Veen (1922–2009) a politician; also worked for the municipality of Rijswijk 1945/1960
Gerard Veringa (1924–1999 in Rijswijk) a Dutch politician and criminologist
Maurits Kiek (1909–1980) resistance fighter during World War II
Peter Oskam (born 1960) a Dutch politician, former football referee, and judge
Sigrid Kaag (born 1961) a Dutch politician and diplomat, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development since 2017
Arts and learning
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 (1933–2022) author of crime and science fiction novels and books for children
Johan van Benthem (born 1949) former academic logician
Albert Benschop (1949–2018) a Dutch sociologist and academic
Peter Slaghuis (1961–1991) a Dutch musician, DJ, producer and remixer
Eelco Visser (1966–2022), professor of computer science
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (born 1968) a poet, novelist, polemicist, and classical scholar
Sport
Louis Otten (1883–1946) football player, team bronze medallist at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Piet van der Touw (born 1940) a retired cyclist; competed at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics
Richard Knopper (born 1977) a Dutch former footballer with 285 club caps
Anish Giri (born 1994) a Russian-born Dutch chess Grandmaster, lives in Rijswijk
Keye van der Vuurst de Vries (born 2001) a Dutch basketball player, made his debut for the Netherlands national basketball team aged 16
Jeffrey de Zwaan (born 1996) Dutch darts player, born in Rijswijk
Mark Caljouw (born 1995) Dutch badminton player, born in Rijswijk