Rijswijk

Rijswijk (formerly known as Ryswick in English) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. (population: 0 in ) and covers an area of undefined km2 of which undefined km2 is covered by water.

The municipality of Rijswijk also includes the villages 't Haantje and Sion.

History
Archeological excavations indicate that this area of the coastal dunes was already inhabited some 5500 years ago. The formation of the village Rijswijk took place in the 13th century, and its history was dominated by presence of mansions and estates of the nobility and affluent. Among the many country estates known to have been in Rijswijk are:

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 relative small community but it became urbanized 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. During the years its built-up area has grown to the point where it has effectively merged with The Hague, 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.

Transportation

 * Railway station: Rijswijk
 * nl

Economy
Rijswijk is home to:
 * The Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC).
 * The Netherlands Patent Office, at the same location as the Dutch branch of the European Patent Office.
 * A large technology centre of the oil company Shell, on Kessler Park.
 * A small part of the Dutch national Forensic Laboratory, researching clues and objects in order to aid police investigations. The main building is moved to The Hague-Ypenburg.

Recreation

 * nl
 * The nl Park has a petting zoo.
 * Sports park 'De Schilp' has an indoor swimming pool.

The largest shopping center is called 'In de Bogaard' and smaller shops are located in the old town center (Herenstraat). There is the old Schaapweimolen (windmill). De Broodfabriek holds many fairs and events.

Notable residents

 * Adriaen van der Kabel, painter (1630–1705)
 * Hendrik Tollens, poet (1780–1856)
 * nl, artist and politician (1866–1944)
 * nl, painter (1873–1930)
 * nl, comedian and artist (1877–1958)
 * Louis Otten, football player (1883–1946)
 * Teddy Scholten, winner Eurovision Song Contest 1959 (1926–2010)
 * Felix Thijssen, writer (born 1933)
 * Johan van Benthem, logician (born 1949)
 * Peter Slaghuis, DJ and musician (1961–1991)
 * nl, television personality (born 1965)
 * Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, poet (born 1968)
 * nl, television actress (born 1976)
 * Richard Knopper, football player (born 1977)
 * Peter Dreijer, teacher (born 1905)
 * Anish Giri, top-rated chess player (born 1994)
 * nl (Bill Baker), Baker and Big Band Director