Katwijk

Katwijk is a coastal municipality and town in the province of South Holland, which is situated in the mid-western part of the Netherlands.

The Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine") river flows through the town and into the North Sea. Katwijk is located on the North Sea, northwest of Leiden and 16 km north of The Hague. It shares its borders with the municipalities of Noordwijk, Teylingen, Oegstgeest, Leiden, and Wassenaar.

In March 2015, Katwijk had a population of 63.978 and covers an area of undefined km2, of which undefined km2 is water.

Katwijk is by far the largest town in the so-called Duin- en Bollenstreek ("Dune and Bulb Region").

Districts
The town consists of a number of districts, including namesakes Katwijk aan den Rijn and Katwijk aan Zee. On 1 January 2005 the various districts had the following populations:


 * Katwijk aan den Rijn (5,916)
 * Katwijk aan Zee (22,405)
 * Katwijk-Noord (13,845)
 * Rijnsburg (15,450)
 * Valkenburg (3,904)

Lying on the coast, Katwijk aan Zee is (and has always been) the larger town. Katwijk aan den Rijn lies just slightly inland. Rijnsburg is situated east of Katwijk aan den Rijn whereas Valkenburg finds itself to the south. Katwijk-Noord is situated north of Katwijk aan Zee.

Although consisting of historically separate towns (except Katwijk-Noord) that still today maintain separate identities, the towns have more or less grown together and merged into a single conurbation. The creation of the municipality of Katwijk is a recognition of that fact. The town hall of the current municipality of Katwijk is located in Katwijk aan den Rijn, near the boundary of Katwijk aan Zee. All these districts lie along the Oude Rijn.

History
The name "Katwijk" probably has its origins in the name of a Germanic tribe called the Chatten (Chatti). The Dutch word "wijk" means "area", so the name probably meant something like "the Chatti area".

In Romans times, Katwijk was a place of strategic importance. It was located at the Roman Empire's northern border, at the mouth of the Rhine river, which in Roman times was larger in this area than it is today. There was a good deal of traffic along the Rhine. Katwijk was also a jumping-off point for the voyage to Britain.

Built during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54), the town's name was Lugdunum Batavorum. The town's name was later associated with the name of the city of Leiden, but this is now thought to be incorrect.

In 1231, the first reference to Catwijck appeared in records.

The history of the modern municipality of Katwijk is essentially the history of its constituent parts, which for each village extends back to Roman times. However, Katwijk aan Zee, Katwijk aan den Rijn and Valkenburg were part of the same heerlijkheid called "Beide de Katwijken en 't Zand" (or something similar). They have been administratively joined for centuries despite their differing characters. Katwijk aan Zee was a fishing town and Katwijk aan den Rijn had an agricultural character.

During World War II, Katwijk aan Zee was heavily damaged. On May 1, 1942, beach access was no longer permitted and large scale evacuation took place. From October 1943 houses were demolished as part of the construction of the Atlantic Wall.

On 1 January 2006, Rijnsburg and Valkenburg were also merged into the municipality, it's called nowadays Katwijk.

Public transportation
Katwijk is a larger town in the Netherlands without a railway station, and the largest without any railway connection. The nearest railway stations are Voorhout and Leiden. Katwijk is connected by bus with Noordwijk, Leiden, The Hague and Nieuw-Vennep. The public transport by bus is served by Arriva. As of from 9 December 2012 new buslines came to Katwijk.

Bus 30
Travels from Katwijk Poolster via the Biltlaan and Zeeweg and N206 to Leiden Centraal. During the day, this bus departs every 15 minutes in every direction.

Bus 31
Travels from Katwijk Poolster via the Melkweg and Rijnmond over the Boulevard. It then continues its way via Tramstraat and Zeeweg to the N206 to Leiden Centraal. During the day, this bus departs every 15 minutes.

Bus 37
Travels from Katwijk Vuurbaak over the Boulevard to the Hoorneslaan, Biltlaan, Raadhuis, Rijnstraat, Sandtlaan, Oegstgeesterweg, Oegstgeest to Leiden Centraal, once an hour the entire route and once an hour only between Raadhuis and Leiden.

Bus 38
Travels from Katwijk Vuurbaak via the Parklaan, Boslaan, Zanderij through Valkenburg to Leiden Centraal, once an hour.

Bus 90
Travels from Lisse, Noordwijkerhout, Noordwijk, Katwijk, Wassenaar to The Hague, once an hour. Buses on this route have been converted to allow bicycles to be brought onto the bus.

Q-liner 385
Q-liner 385 travels from Noordwijk, via Katwijk to The Hague.

Additionally, Rijnsburg and the far northeastern part of Katwijk-Noord are served by bus 20 and 21, running between Noordwijk and Leiden.

People born in Katwijk

 * Cees de Vreugd, (1952–1998) strongman and powerlifter
 * Dirk Kuyt, Dutch footballer, currently playing at Feyenoord
 * Esther Ouwehand, Dutch politician, parliamentarian for the Party for the Animals
 * Elianne Smit, Dutch fashion model
 * Jan Gesink, Dutch nude model and porn actor
 * Charley Toorop (1891–1955), Dutch painter
 * Diana van der Tuuk, TV personality
 * Jeffrey Talan, former professional Dutch international footballer

Tourist attractions
Katwijk is a seaside resort with a wide sandy beach. Its attractiveness is mainly due to its laid-back atmosphere. The boulevard along the shore is not spoiled by large hotels or apartment blocks and has not given in to an excessive commercialisation. Although most buildings lining the boulevard are tourist apartments and pensions, most are just three floors high (and none more than 5) and offer a distinctive 'feel' of the 1950s. Besides the beach, there are a few museums in Katwijk, like the old fisherman's museum Katwijks Museum and the Spinoza-museum. A few kilometers inland is the Valkenburg Lake Steam Train, a narrow gauge railway museum where a scenic steam locomotive driven train ride can be taken around Lake Valkenburg. Katwijk has many hotels and three camping places, mostly situated in the dunes.

Miscellaneous

 * Katwijk is the landing point for the TAT-14 international telecommunications cable.
 * Just north of the Katwijk-Noord district, European space research center ESTEC is located in the municipality of Noordwijk (although several kilometers from the village of Noordwijk).

Sister cities
Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia

Lowestoft, UK (until the 1990s)

Siegen, Germany (since merge with Valkenburg and Rijnsburg)