Zeist

Zeist (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzɛist]) is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands and is the capital of the municipality Zeist, located east of the city of Utrecht.

Dutch Topographic map of Zeist (municipality), Sept. 2014
Zeist
Municipality
Zeist city hall
Flag
Coat of arms
Location in Utrecht
Coordinates: 52°5′N 5°14′E
CountryNetherlands
ProvinceUtrecht
Government
 • BodyMunicipal council
 • MayorKoos Janssen (CDA)
Area
 • Total48.65 km2 (18.78 sq mi)
 • Land48.51 km2 (18.73 sq mi)
 • Water0.14 km2 (0.05 sq mi)
Elevation4 m (13 ft)
Population
 (January 2019)[4]
 • Total63,934
 • Density1,318/km2 (3,410/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Zeistenaar
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
3700–3712, 3734–3735
Area code030
Websitewww.zeist.nl

Population centres

Town of Zeist

The town of "Seist" was first mentioned in a charter in the year 838. The original settlement was located at the present Dorpsstraat. In the late 12th century, a church was built here. Its tower is now a part of the Reformed Church, the remainder of which was built in the 19th century. Until medieval times, a branch of the river Rhine flowed close to the centre of the town. Three mansions were built near the village: the Huis te Zeist, Kersbergen, and Blikkenburg.

Slot Zeist

From 1677 to 1686, the "Slot Zeist" was built on or near the ruins of "Kasteel Zeist", the original castle (donjon) of Rodgar van Zeist. There is very little documentation on the family that lived there, but a few names are found: in the 12th century a Godefridus de Seist and in the late 13th century another Godefridus, a knight, with his son Johannes and his daughter Petronilla. (Bronnen voor de geschiedenis van Zeist, deel 1, ed. Van Hinsbergen) The last member of the van Zeist family was a woman, Elisabeth (?), who married a member of the Borre van Amerongen family. They had a son who adopted his mother's name and his father's coat-of-arms.

In the last quarter of the 17th century, Count Willem Adriaan van Nassau, an illegitimate descendant of Prince Maurice of Orange, acquired the property and built Slot Zeist in the Dutch Classisist style. Murals by Daniel Marot are still largely intact.

Members of the Evangelische Broedergemeente (Evangelical Brethren's Congregation), the Dutch name for the Moravians, settled in Zeist in 1746, building for their community an impressive array of 18th century Classisist houses planned around two squares. Their headquarters are still located in the centre of town, next to "the palace". The oldest Dutch archives of the Moravians are kept at the Utrecht Archival Centre at Utrecht.

In the 19th century, Zeist became a favorite residence for the rich, mainly from the city of Utrecht.

Camp New Amsterdam, (vliegbasis Soesterberg) a former Royal Netherlands Air Force military airbase near this town, was the venue for the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial to take place outside the UK, but under Scots law. The court was designated the Scottish Court in the Netherlands.

Zeist is the location of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), the Royal Dutch Korfball Association (KNKV) and the International Korfball Federation(IKF), and is also known for the forests surrounding the town. For many years the Dutch National Archaeological Research Service (Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemonderzoek) was housed at Slot Zeist.

Tourist Attractions in Zeist

Zeisterbos[5]

Slot Zeist[6]

Militaire Luchtvaart Museum[7]

Stichting "Museum Het Hernhutter Huis"[8]

Notable people

The following notable persons were born in Zeist:

Hendrik Marsman 1930's

Sport
Eva de Goede, 2009

Transport
  • Main shopping street, Zeist
  • Jan de Baat De Zee Zeist
  • Triodos Bank, Zeist
  • Shops in Zeist
  • Villa Ma Retraite

References
  1. "Burgemeester" [Mayor] (in Dutch). Gemeente Zeist. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  2. "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. "Postcodetool for 3701HS". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  4. "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  5. "Zeisterbos - Utrechts Landschap". www.utrechtslandschap.nl. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  6. "Slot Zeist | Overweldigend, warm en excentriek | Prachtige locatie op de Utrechtse Heuvelrug". www.slotzeist.nl. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  7. "Militaire Luchtvaart Museum Kamp van Zeist, Soesterberg - Zoeken in de collectie - Nationaal Militair Museum". NNM. Fabrique - Merken, design & interactie, http://www.fabrique.nl. Retrieved 2019-12-16.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. "www.hethernhutterhuis.nl". www.hethernhutterhuis.nl. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
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