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Oegstgeest

Oegstgeest
Town / Municipality
Wind mill Oudenhofmolen in Oegstgeest
Wind mill Oudenhofmolen in Oegstgeest
Flag of Oegstgeest
Flag
Coat of arms of Oegstgeest
Coat of arms
Highlighted position of Oegstgeest in a municipal map of South Holland
Location in South Holland
Coordinates: 52°11′N 4°28′E / 52.183°N 4.467°E / 52.183; 4.467Coordinates: 52°11′N 4°28′E / 52.183°N 4.467°E / 52.183; 4.467
Country Netherlands
Province South Holland
Government
 • Body Municipal council
 • Mayor Emile Jaensch (VVD)
Area
 • Total 7.97 km2 (3.08 sq mi)
 • Land 7.30 km2 (2.82 sq mi)
 • Water 0.67 km2 (0.26 sq mi)
Elevation 0 m (0 ft)
Population (May 2014)
 • Total 22,903
 • Density 3,137/km2 (8,120/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Oegstgeestenaar
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode 2340–2343
Area code 071
Website www.oegstgeest.nl

Oegstgeest (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌuxstˈxeːst]) is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the western Netherlands. Its population was 22,903 in 2014.

The portion geest in the name refers to the geest lands, which were excavated in the seventeenth century for the benefit of the urban expansion of Leiden.

About the Oegst part more uncertainty exists. Different stories go about. The name was formerly often spelled Oestgeest or Oostgeest, which could indicate the geographical location of the village: east of the geest lands. However, the oldest spelling found in a copy of a list of goods of the St. Martin's Cathedral in Utrecht from the tenth century states Osgeresgeest. This could indicate an original resident and owner of the territory: Osger.

In the Middle Ages they also spoke of the Church of Kerckwerve if one referred to the Oegstgeester parish church (now the Green Church).

Oegstgeest is one of the earliest inhabited places along the coast. Evidence of a Batavian settlement from the second century was found in 1946 in an extension of a coastal dune in the Elgeesterpolder, although it is not certain whether this location remained permanently inhabited in the centuries after that.

By the 9th century there was already a little church in the same location as the current Little Green Church (Groen Kerkje) which, according to legend, was dedicated by Willibrord. The existence of this church is an indication that there may have been a community there.

From the 11th to the 14th century, Oegstgeest enjoyed a period of progress. This ended when Leiden was granted city rights. The carrying out of trades and construction were no longer permitted within a certain distance from the city. In 1399, the heerlijkheid of Oegstgeest and that of Poelgeest were merged because their declining populations could no longer afford to pay the required taxes to the Count of Holland.


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Wikipedia

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