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Visit Leiden
Aerial view of the Pieterskerk in Leiden, church of the Pilgrims

Historic Leiden: Rembrandt, students and Pilgrims

Leiden has been written about since around 860 AD, but three chapters shaped the city you walk through today: the siege of 1574, the founding of the university in 1575, and the arrival of English religious refugees who would later board the Mayflower.

Rembrandt's Leiden

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on the Weddesteeg in 1606, the son of a miller, and worked here until he was 25. The Young Rembrandt Studio, the Latin School he attended on the Lokhorststraat and the corner where his father's mill stood are all within a few hundred metres of each other.

The Pilgrim Fathers

Between 1609 and 1620 a congregation of English Separatists led by John Robinson lived around the Pieterskerk. Their leader is buried there; the Pilgrim Archives on the Boisotkade and the American Pilgrim Museum in one of the city's oldest houses let visitors trace family lines back to Leyden.

Siege, relief and 3 October

  • 1574: Leiden holds out against the Spanish and is relieved on 3 October.
  • 1575: William of Orange rewards the city with the country's first university.
  • Every 3 October the whole city still eats herring and white bread at a giant street festival.
  • The Burcht, the Pieterskerk and the Lakenhal museum tell the story in situ.