Leiden, the people, and the walls

An examination of Leidens defensive works, how they serve the city’s inhabitants, and how
this has developed over time

Rosa Freke s3175634

June 2nd 2023
Biography of the Landscape

Introduction

Anyone walking around Leiden can see that it's a city with a rich and long history. As
someone who has always lived in and around Leiden and is interested in history, the city’s
past has always intrigued me. The historical buildings in Leiden are a significant part of the
city’s character and landscape, however the walls that used to defend it are not visible
anymore, yet they shape the design of the historical city center and the pattern of the canals.
For me their absence has always given them a mystical quality; what did they look like and
how did they affect the life of the city’s inhabitants. This combined with their part in the
almost mythical story of Leidens ontzet makes them an interesting topic of research. I would
like to examine their function, meaning and how and why this transformed over time.

Leiden and its defensive works a brief history

The Burcht
The Burcht is the oldest
defensive structure in
Leiden that remains
today, and was built to be
a fortress ca. 880 AD.
We know from
archaeological research
that there were other,
less durable, fortresses
made of wood, in the
same location. This
building, just like the city
walls, served to protect
the people who lived in
Leiden, which was just a
small village at the time
the Burcht was erected
(van den Ende 2007, p.
28). Verhoog, M. C. (1993). De Burcht. Erfgoedleiden.
When Leiden expanded and the city walls were built in the 14th century the Burcht quickly
lost its original purpose as the main form of defense for the settlement, instead turning into a
place for recreation. For example in the 18th century a maze was built inside the Burcht (van
den Ende 2007, p 25). It still remains a place for recreation and education to this day.

13th century
Halfway through the 13th century Leiden was expanding into a substantial city. It had
multiple churches, artisan workshops (e.g. a smith, a butcher etc.), a moat, and possibly a
rudimentary wooden city wall. (van Oosten, 2007, p.92). This moat (and possible wooden
city wall) were positioned on the South west side of the city, as the North East side was
already protected enough by the river Rhine. Just like with the Burcht this wooden wall was
later replaced by a stone structure (van Oerle, 1975, p.113).
As stated, it is unknown when the first city wall was built, however we do know that around
1208 Leiden became an important town in the county, and military protection was becoming
more necessary (van Oerle, 1975, p.54). Additionally we know that there were gates built on
the most important entry points of the city (Homepage, n.d.). This means there was already
a level of control being exercised by the city about who could enter and when, even if it did
not have a wall yet.

“De Grondt Kaart van de Oude Stadt Leyden.” (ca. 1294). Ergoedleiden.
14th century
In 1350 and 1386 Leiden got permission to expand and with this came the construction of a
new city wall and widening of the moat. According to van Oerle, 1372 is the first year that a
city wall is concretely mentioned in archival material and so from this point on we are sure
that Leiden was walled in (1975, p.53). The city had three gates which were not only closed
off during a military crisis, but also on a day to day basis. The gates gave the city the power
to control who came in and who went out at all times. At a certain time at night all of the
gates closed and no one was allowed to leave or come in anymore. (van Oerle, 1975, p.113)
The wall also allowed a city to levy taxes on all incoming goods (van Oerle, 1975, p.258).

15th century
Building the walls cost a great deal of time and money, before they were completely finished
the city was already attacked in 1420. This was by Jan van Beieren who managed to starve
the city so it had to surrender, in 1480 a similar siege took place (van Oerle, 1975, p.117).
In the 14th century people were moving from the countryside into the cities, which were seen
as a place with more freedom, opportunity and safety. The poor were taken care of and
anyone who wanted to could find a job and was protected within the city walls. “Stadslucht
maakt vrij” or “city air liberates" was a medieval saying that clearly demonstrates how
inhabitants felt about city life at the time (van Oerle, 1975, p.117). In the city council there
was a position called vestemeester this person managed the civil engineering works such as
the city walls, gates and moats (van Oerle, 1975, p.251). This shows how important these
structures were to the city (van Oerle, 1975, p. 112).

16th century: The

occupation of Leiden
One of the more well known
parts of the history of Leiden
is the occupation of the city by
the Spanish in 1573-1574. In
order to burden the Spanish
as much as possible Leiden
decided to use the tactiek van
de verschroeide aarde or the
tactics of the scorched earth.
This means almost everything
outside the city walls was
demolished to protect what
was inside. When the second
occupation began the Spanish
army encountered a
completely barren landscape
in which only the city was still
standing, protected by its
walls (van Oerle, 1975, p.279-280).Bramer, L.(1574). “Het groote vack, Leiden belegert, op den toren van Reinsburch.”
Erfgoedleiden
.
The city had to restore and improve much of its defensive structures, which had not been
sufficiently maintained due to the poverty which the 80 years war had brought about. This
restoration was especially necessary as the city’s medieval walls were no match for the fire
weapons that were becoming more common at the time (van Oerle, 1975, p.280-281).

Famously the Spanish cut off all food supply to the city which led many people to starve to
death during the second occupation. However, not only hunger killed the inhabitants, the
plague ended the life of even more Leidenaren. 6.000 of the 15.000 inhabitants died during
the second occupation (Homepage, n.d.).

On the third of October 1574 when the city was liberated because of an army of mercenaries
who dug away the dykes which flooded the land around Leiden and gave the Spanish a
huge tactical disadvantage over the mercenary army who then came in boats and freed
Leiden from the Spanish occupation.

The 17th century

Between 1575 and 1610 the city walls and gates were going through a series of
modernisations. The walls needed to be strong enough to withstand the more modern fire
weapons that were becoming more common at the time and to recover from the Spanish
occupation (Homepage, n.d.).

The city needed to expand again in 1611 in order to accommodate its growing population.
This growth was caused largely by the immigration of religious refugees. The Dutch revolt/
80 year war was still actively happening and many protestants in the South of the
Netherlands were being persecuted for their beliefs. They fled to cities up North that the
Spanish had not been able to conquer. Leiden was attractive for immigrants because of its
thriving fabric industry that provided jobs for anyone who came in (van Oosten, 2007,
p.92-93).

In 1644 the final expansion that is still within the “singles' ' happened, which included
renewing the walls and building ravelijnen, bolwerken and new/restored gates to improve the
defense of the city. This final expansion gave Leiden the recognizable shape. The walls at
this point were much more modern and strong than the medieval walls.

At a certain point the population density was hindering the establishment of new businesses
and industry and thus new walls were built and old ones taken down to make space for the
growing city. This expansion also coincided with the Dutch golden age and just like other
cities in Holland Leiden was thriving economically at this time (van Oerle, 1975, p.361).
Furthermore eighteen gates were torn down and rebuilt during the 17th century. Rebuilding
all the gates was a costly venture and was a way for the city to show off its wealth. The
gates were also practical and could be hermetically sealed in a crisis situation, were used for
collecting the city tax and closed off the city at night (Lambrechtsen- van Essen, 1994, p.43).
Hagen, C. (1675). “De Mare Poort.” Erfgoedleiden. Hagen, C. (1675a). De Blauwe poort. Erfgoedleiden.

In this period the gates were already losing their original purpose. Most of the gates were
two stories high and had rooms above the gate. These spaces were being rented out to a
variety of different institutions, including a school for the poor, chambers of rhetoric, Ars
Aemula Naturae (an association for artists) (Lambrechtsen- van Essen, 1994, p.77).

1672 is also known as the “Rampjaar” or “year of disaster” and marks the end of the Dutch
golden age. This was primarily caused by the war with the French and the English, an
outbreak of the plague and a bad harvest year. Just like many other cities Leiden
experienced decline in its industry and population from this year onward (Homepage, n.d.).
This is also reflected in the building of the city’s gates. During this year the Koepoort was
being rebuilt but this took much longer than expected (Lambrechtsen- van Essen, 1994,
p.68-69).

18th and 19th century: The end of the walls

This economic decline meant that for a long time nothing changed about the walls. With the
growing importance of nation states during the 18th and 19th century defending individual
cities became unnecessary. The walls started to fall into disrepair and as the population
started growing again it was clear that the city walls were an obstruction to the city’s
expansion.
The gates still functioned as tax collection houses but when in 1866 city taxes were
abolished they became almost entirely obsolete. Many of the gates ended up being torn
down after this to make space for the expanding city, moreover a law passed that relieved
cities of the responsibility to preserve their defensive structures. This led many cities in the
Netherlands including Leiden to tear down their walls and gates (Lambrechtsen- van Essen,
1994, p.77).
Current day
Today there are still remains of the city walls hidden in plain sight all throughout Leiden, the
biggest one being the moats that used to surround the city which are still there and
extremely recognizable when looking at a map. There are also two gates remaining: the
Morspoort and the Zijlpoort, the latter of which currently has a restaurant and a flower shop
located inside (Brasserie de Poort, 2022). Finally there is still a tower on the Jan Houtkade
and other parts of the brickwork are still part of houses or underground (Roscher, n.d.).

Conclusion

During the middle ages the walls that surrounded Leiden served the important function of
protecting the city and its inhabitants. In the middle ages the city was seen as a place of
freedom and opportunity in contrast with the countryside where there was less protection
and one could only be a feudal farmer working for a lord. Despite there being more rules and
control by authority in the city, being protected by the city walls was a privilege and it gave
people the opportunity to live their lives more freely. This is illustrated by a saying from the
time: "stadslucht maakt vrij" (city air liberates). This was also before the emergence of nation
states, people identified themselves first as a inhabitant of their city. The city walls made the
divide between the city and “the other” more explicit by being a physical barrier between the
city, and everyone in it, and the rest of the world.
This separation meant the cities could make their own rules and laws that gave them and the
inhabitants of the city the most advantages and freedom. Things like taxing all incoming
goods and not letting people in after certain times kept the city safe and prosperous.

The celebration of the third of october and Leidens ontzet is a story in which the city walls
are a main character. Despite them not existing anymore we are reminded of them every
year when the whole city (and surrounding region) celebrates the victory against the Spanish
army.

During the 17th century when the low countries were becoming richer and more united the
danger of individual cities being attacked dissipated. This meant the city walls and gates lost
their original function. This continued into the 18th and 19th century when they eventually
just became a problem for the city council who did not properly maintain them until they were
eventually torn down. Instead of being a source of freedom and protection like they were in
the middle ages, the walls became an obstacle. They were keeping the city trapped rather
than representing its freedom like they had in the middle ages.
Despite this there were already people at the time arguing for the preservation of the gates
for the history they represent. Nowadays we still hold a similar view, the parts of the city
walls and gate that remain are preserved and protected by the municipality. The remains are
viewed as local heritage and an important part of the city’s history that we are proud of. As
stated previously one of the remaining gates is still being used in a more practical way by
housing businesses. Not only do we now appreciate the remains of the walls as heritage, we
continue to find a new purpose for them and include them in the culture of the city.
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