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About Netherlands

    The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland (help·info), IPA: [ˈne:dərlɑnt]) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east.

     The Netherlands is often called Holland. This is formally incorrect as North and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country's twelve provinces (for more on this and other naming issues see Netherlands (terminology)).

     The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying and densely populated country. It is popularly known for its windmills, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), delftware and gouda pottery, dikes, tulips, bicycles, and social tolerance. A Parliamentary democracy, the country is also known for its somewhat liberal policies toward drugs, prostitution, gay rights, abortion, and euthanasia.

    The Netherlands has an international outlook; among other affiliations the country is a member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, and has signed the Kyoto protocol. Along with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands is also one of three member nations of the Benelux economic union. The country is host to four international courts: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the International Criminal Court. All of these courts, as well as the EU's criminal intelligence agency (Europol) are situated in The Hague, which has led to the city being referred to as "the world's legal capital."

About Leusden

     Leusden is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located about 3 kilometres southeast of Amersfoort.

     The western part of the municipality is partially covered by forest, partially by heathlands. The other parts are used for livestock farming.

The municipality of Leusden contains four villages:

• Leusden, formerly first named "Hamersveld" and later "Leusden-Centrum";
• Leusden-Zuid, formerly "Leusbroek"
• Achterveld
• Stoutenburg

     There are also a number of hamlets in the municipality: Asschat, Den Treek, De Ruif, Jannendorp, Musschendorp, Oud-Leusden (formerly named "Leusden", and Snorrenhoef.

     The place that is now called Leusden was first mentioned as Villa Lisiduna in a charter in 777. The location of that settlement, which is considered to have been a rather extensive farm complex with defenses, is unknown to us. It is possible that the old village of Oud-Leusden once was the location of Villa Lisiduna but excavations in the 1980s have not shown any evidence. However, the church tower of Oud-Leusden is one of the oldest towers in the Netherlands, dating back to the 11th century A.D.

     In the 1970s, the agricultural towns of Leusbroek and Hamersveld grew into to a larger, mainly residential town. What once was Hamersveld is now called Leusden-Centrum and Leusbroek was to become Leusden-Zuid. However, Leusden is the common name these days. In the original plans, Leusden would grow into a town of around 46,000 inhabitants, but after the initial expansion phases there was growing resistance from the population. So some of the later phases of the expansion have been abandoned.