Every design for Leerdam

Leerdam takes its name from a dam in the Lede, a branch of the river Linge that once ran towards Meerkerk, and the Linge still forms the southern edge of town. Later the town passed to the House of Orange, which is why one corner of the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town carries the name Leerdam.

Its real signature, though, is glass. Since the 18th century the glassworks has shaped daily life here; Royal Leerdam is known well beyond the Netherlands, and between the Nationaal Glasmuseum and the Glasblazerij you can watch the craft carried on by hand. Around them stand the Grote Kerk, the restored walls on the Zuidwal and the Hofje van Aerden, an almshouse that is now a museum. Even the famous cheese bears the town's name, although it is made down the road in Schoonrewoerd.

Come back along the Linge, past the water meadows, and Leerdam takes you in again as if you had never been away.