The Transvaal Neighborhood in Leiden

Upon walking through the Morspoort, the west gate of Leiden, you will end up in the Transvaal neighborhood. Nowadays, a passerby might walk through this gate on their way to the Morspoort garage, where they have parked their cars for a daytrip to Leiden. A student might bike past it towards the student’s rowing association Njord or to their living space in the area. Another might make a stop at the Turkish bakery Gülcan to get themselves a treat for the weekend.If you want to know more about the treats and shops in the Transvaal neighborhood, see the story about the shops at the Morsweg. The Transvaal neighborhood, in between the train tracks and the Rijn and Galgewater, just outside the city’s outer canal, is now part of the city Leiden. But that was not the case over 100 years ago.

The area that is now considered the Transvaal neighborhood first belonged to the municipality called Oegstgeest. In the 17th century, the borders of Leiden were still set on the outer canals. The surrounding areas were still part of other municipalities like Leiderdorp and Oegstgeest. The Morspoort would act as the actual border between the cities of Leiden and Oegstgeest.

In the 19th century, Leiden was growing at a fast pace, and the city started to look for room to expand. The adjacent areas, such as the Transvaal neighborhood, were slowly becoming part of Leiden. This resulted in a lively neighborhood with a rich history.Centuries ago in the area of the current Transvaal neighborhood, there were country estates, and later mansions that affluent civilians called home. In the 20th century, this became a neighborhood that accommodated workers who worked in the factories that arose on the land. If you want to know more about the history of this location, read the story Between City Villa and Student Flat.

This story shows what this 1920 map has to tell about the various borders that this neighborhood has known and about its history. Travel with us to the Galgewater, the natural border of the neighborhood!