Berkel en Rodenrijs

[[Media:Nl-Berkel en Rodenrijs.ogg|Berkel en Rodenrijs]] is a town and former municipality in the Western part of the Netherlands, and is located in the Dutch province of South Holland.

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 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 expanded to 5,700.

The municipality of Tempel was abolished in 1855 and added to Berkel en Rodenrijs.

On 1 January 2007, the town was merged with neighbouring towns Bergschenhoek and Bleiswijk to form the new municipality of Lansingerland. 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
The line 170 runs on a new dedicated bus road through Lansingerland and known as the ZoRo bus ( Zoetermeer - Rotterdam ). The route is from Zoetermeer Central Station to Rodenrijs Station.
 * RandstadRail Line E
 * Since 9 December 2012 RET provides bus services. Line 170, 171, 173, 174, 270 and 273.

People born in Berkel en Rodenrijs

 * Phil Bloom (born 27 November 1945), Artist
 * Eimert van Middelkoop (born 14 February 1949), politician (ChristianUnion, minister of Defense 2009)
 * Peter Olsthoorn (born 23 January 1960), Freelance ICT- and multimedia-journalist
 * Piet Rietveld (1952–2013) a professor in transport economics at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
 * nl (born 22 May 1960), Olympic rower for the Netherlands, 1980 Summer Games.
 * Tim Vincken (born 12 September 1986), pro football player Feyenoord Rotterdam

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 (*20 May 1911 – 21 May 1995) Dutch poet and well known children's book author lived in Berkel en Rodenrijs for some time during the mid 1960s.
 * Wibi Soerjadi (born 2 March 1970) pianist and composer, has a younger brother Ardjoena Soerjadi who's a musician. Both were child music proteges.
 * Ria Visser (born 20 July 1961), Allround speed skater, National Speed Skating Champion (1980, 1983, 1984, 1985,1986), Silver medal 1500m. 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics.