Zwammerdam, The Netherlands

Zwammerdam has a small and compact old core with winding streets and historic buildings. Zwammerdam is, in contrast to ribbon development, one of the few villages in the Rhine region that are built around a square.

In the year 1960, Zwammerdam celebrated its 1000th anniversary. To enter the village, entrance gates were placed in a number of places in the shape of the municipal coat of arms: a castle with a swan on top. In 960 the municipality was referred to as Svattingaburch, which means fortified border town (svat or zwade is border and burch means fortified place). Later, the name was corrupted to Swadeburch. When, in the 12th century, Count Floris III of Holland erected a dam in the Rhine to regulate the water management of his area on the east side, the name Swadenburgerdam arose, which later became Zwammerdam. Since 1971, the statue of Barbarossa has stood on a high pedestal at the end of the Brugstraat, a reminder of the turbulent period that arose after the (illegal) damming. Barbarossa was the nickname of Emperor Frederick I of Germany and feudal lord of the Count of Holland. He mediated in the conflict between Count Floris and the diocese of Utrecht about the situation that had arisen as a result of the damming.

During the invasion of the French troops in 1672, Zwammerdam was almost razed to the ground by arson. The reconstruction has been energetically started from the only building in the Brug(ge)straat that was spared. Around 1920 Bodegraven made an unsuccessful attempt to claim the territory of Zwammerdam. In this period the "national anthem" was written, which was brought out of the closet again in the sixties of the past century when the government questioned the independence of Zwammerdam. Despite a lot of effort by the inhabitants, the municipality was added to Alphen aan den Rijn in 1964.

Zwammerdam gained worldwide fame in the 1970s when, during excavation work for the construction of the Hooge Burch, 6 Roman ships were uncovered on the site where the castellum Nigrum Pollum once stood. The largest ship was 34 m. long and 4.40 m. wide. A national fundraising campaign was needed to obtain the funds for excavation and conservation. In recent years, the name given to the castellum has been under discussion. Although Zwammerdam has been dissolved as an independent municipality, the Historical Working Group Zwammerdam keeps the past alive and watches over the heritage.

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