Zoeterwoude-Dorp

Zoeterwoude Dorp is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zoeterwoude, and lies about 3.5 km south of Leiden. It has its origins in the 13th century, and even though the whole town went up in flames in the late 16th century, it was rebuilt within a hundred years and significantly expanded over the course of the 20th century.

Although signs of human settlement in the Zoeterwoude region were dated to as early as the 8th century in the vicinity of present day Weipoort, a village on the current location of Zoeterwoude Dorp was not constructed until about 1276 when the mire in the area was cultivated. A Catholic church from the earlier village dedicated to the English missionary Saint Lebuinus was rebuilt in what was then called "Zwieterwoude". In the 15th century, the northern part of town became known as "Noordbuurt" The town was rebuilt by 1650. while in 1866 a cow bush (a burial place for cows that died of anthrax – a disease to which the town was no stranger) was removed. In 1870 the town hall was moved from a rental building at the Hoge Rijndijk to a new building at its present location at the Noordbuurtseweg. In the 20th century, the town was expanded significantly. After World War II, three new neighbourhoods named Westwout, Vogelweide and Bloemenweide were built on the west side of the town, giving the town its current function as the heart of the Zoeterwoude municipality, and a residential center. Attempts to discover more information about the origins of the town were thwarted in October 1981, when an archaeological survey in the centre of the town failed to unveil anything of note.

In 2015, the town of Zoeterwoude Dorp had 4205 inhabitants, In 2001, the built up area of the town was calculated to be 0.87 km² and containing 1576 residences.

During the last general election, in 2012 voters in the three polling stations within Zoeterwoude Dorp gave the VVD the highest share of the vote. With 31.7% in Huize Emmaus, 34.4% in the town hall and 31.4% in the Muziekcentrum , the VVD in Zoeterwoude Dorp outperformed its national average of 26.6%. The PvdA came in second – underperforming its national average by 2.6–4.4% across the three polling stations – while CDA came in third overperforming their national average by 2.8–6%.

In the late 19th century, Zoeterwoude Dorp had only one primary school. It was a municipal school located in the Dorpsstraat .,

In 2014, an investigation was opened to see if the three primary schools could merge into a 'broad school' in 2018, A plan was put forward and approved, allowing for a new building to be constructed at the Bennebroekweg in the centre of the town. When the merger is completed, Zoeterwoude Dorp will have only one primary school left. which directly connects Zoeterwoude Dorp to The Hague and Amsterdam, as well as its municipal neighbour Zoeterwoude Rijndijk. Prior to 2015, the 400 was numbered 365 and made an hourly ride through to the town itself. When Ariva was planning to scrap the route in 2013 (which was inherited from Connexxion which served Zoeterwoude Dorp previously with their now defunct route 32), inhabitants protested and Arriva eventually caved. Bus route 176 is the one now making stops at various locations within the town itself.