Growth in The Hague versus decline in Leiden. A comparison of spatial development in two Dutch cities between 1700 and 1870

Abstract

After the economic prosperity of the Golden Age, the Netherlands entered a period of stagnation and decline, which lasted roughly from 1700 to 1850. During this period the city of Leiden saw its population shrink dramatically from some 53,000 inhabitants to around 36,000. The Hague, by contrast, experienced strong growth, from 30,000 to 52,000 inhabitants. This article compares spatial developments in these two northern Dutch cities based on development maps generated by a detailed analysis of historical city street maps. Such visual documentation of urban spatial changes in this period is still an infrequently used method. A comparison of the unique growth with the strong decline during three successive time periods, serves to highlight the spatial effects of both phenomena.

1700–1750/60 In 1700, the size of both cities within their outer defensive canals was much the same, but Leiden, thanks to a flourishing textile industry in the seventeenth century, was much more densely populated and had around twice as many inhabitants and houses as The Hague. In the administrative capital of The Hague, where the large number of wealthy citizens prompted an influx of servants, densification is most apparent within the canal ring. In Leiden, the stagnation of both the economy and the population meant that spatial change was minimal. In 1750 The Hague had around 35,000 inhabitants, almost as many as Leiden had in 1760, when its population stood at around 37,000.

1750/60–1830 Once again there is very little new construction to be seen in Leiden; instead there are many new open areas caused by demolition and the gunpowder ship disaster of 1807. In The Hague there is some new construction but much less than during the previous period. In both cities the largest new structure is an army barracks. The court capital filled in more canals and excavated a section of the Scheveningen Canal. In Leiden the ramparts lost their defensive function whereupon they were partially transformed into a park. By the end of this period, The Hague had 56,105 inhabitants, some 16,000 more than Leiden, but it still had a more open character.

1830–1870 The Hague underwent considerable densification inside the canal ring as well as extensions north and south of the city. The number of new tenements built on inner yards in The Hague can give a distorted impression, as can the number of demolished buildings in Leiden, because the 1870 maps were much more detailed. In Leiden the advent of new factories prompted new construction on the former city walls. The Hague, too, became a major industrial player, while continuing to profit from its function as the centre of government. In 1870, The Hague had almost twoand-a-half times as many inhabitants as Leiden (92,000 versus 39,000), but within the canal girdle Leiden was still more densely built up. Between 1700 and 1870, The Hague developed into one of the Netherlands’ biggest cities, which it still is. Leiden plummeted from second place to the middle bracket, where it continues to sit today.