Badhoevedorp

Badhoevedorp is a town in the Dutch province North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer and lies about 9 km south west of Amsterdam Centre. Badhoevedorp has a population of about 12,000. Badhoevedorp is separated by the ring canal of the former village Sloten, which now serves as a part of the municipality and Amsterdam city. When following the ring dike to the West one arrives at Lijnden and in the East at Nieuwe Meer.

Straight through Badhoevedorp runs the A9. There are now definitive plans to reconstruct the highway in the South, to relieve the village of Badhoevedorp. In the West of Badhoevedorp the A9 crosses the A4 at the Badhoevedorp junction. Along Badhoevedorp runs the N232, regionally better known as the Schipholweg. Bus lines of the Connexxion and the GVB do reach the village also.

The Badhoeve of Jacob Paulus

Badhoevedorp has been named after the model farm The Badhoeve of Jacob Paulus Amersfoordt, the mayor of Haarlemmermeer. This farm, built in 1854, attracted a lot of attention within a short period of time due to its revolutionary agricultural methods. Among other things queen Sophia has visited the farm.

Initially Badhoevedorp wasn’t more than a couple of houses situated along the ring dike, but as from 1930 the village was extended to a horticulture village of Amsterdam. Therefore new houses were built in the surroundings of Schiphol to create living space for the employees, who were originating from the city. This and the close proximity to Amsterdam makes the residents from Badhoevedorp feel themselves more linked with the city of Amsterdam than with Haarlemmermeer. In 1936 the name of the village was officially determined by the Haarlemmermeer municipality council and from then on called Badhoevedorp. Before that time it was known as Badhoevebuurt (Badhoeve area)

Churches and Industry

Badhoevedorp is owning two large industrial areas, where especially companies have established and no factories. Those areas are in the Jan van Gentstraat and the industry area at the Schipholweg. The shopping centre of Badhoevedorp is situated at the Sloterweg and the Lorentzplein. The village has three supermarkets and three banks. Furthermore Badhoevedorp has two drugstores, a pharmacy and a small library.

Definitely worth to see are the churches: the Roman Catholic HH, Engelbewaarderskerk and the Pelgrimskerk, belonging to the Protestant municipality Badhoevedorp/Lijnden. The Pelgrimskerk is the former Calvinistical Church.