Leiden, Oegstgeest

The tow canals and Leiden's enormously rich cloth industry are inextricably linked. Towing barges were the public transport of the 17th century. In this period, Dutch cities had built a reliable network of tow canals, with barges pulled by horses on towpaths along the canals. Travelling between cities was thus fast and comfortable, especially for merchants. As an important textile city, Leiden benefited from this as it made it easier to trade with port cities such as Amsterdam and Middelburg.

The first connection between Amsterdam and Haarlem came in 1632. Then, in 1637, a southern tow canal followed between Leiden and Delft, from where you could easily sail to port city Rotterdam. A year later, the connection to The Hague was completed. That already gave such a boost to the sale of cloth, that Leiden merchants wanted a connection to the Haarlem and Amsterdam canal route as soon as possible.

At the time, Leiden was the largest producer of cloth in Europe. This led to huge population growth. The demographic peak was around 1660, when the city had as many as 63,000 inhabitants. More than half of these were employed in the textile industry. At the same time, Leiden developed a new kind of cloth: made of high-quality Spanish merino wool and very finely finished, giving it a beautiful sheen. It was called the ‘New Leiden Cloth'. It became very popular among the European elite, and soon the new sheets became one of the most important export products of the Netherlands.

In 1657, the long-awaited train barge connection from Leiden to Haarlem and Amsterdam finally arrived, bringing even more economic growth. Thanks to the hall of inspection, where sheets were checked for quality, Leiden was able to maintain its reputation for a long time. Thanks to the tow canals, Leiden was able to strengthen its international trading position, even when the Golden Age was coming to an end.

This Tow canal route of about 19 kilometres takes you (by bike) through beautiful areas around Leiden and Oegstgeest. Along the way, several Pit stops have been added to the route so you can see and experience the historic waterways in many ways.