Blog Challenge Day 12: A picture of the town I live in

I live in Leiden. A city in the Netherlands, about 30 minutes away from Amsterdam. It’s got lots of history, as many Dutch towns do, and plenty of buildings date back to the 17th century. The most affluent century of the Netherlands. During this time, rich merchants would buy stately homes on the shores of the city canals, so called ‘herenhuizen’. Amsterdam was the center of commerce at the time, but Leiden certainly didn’t miss out on the wealth of the period. It was an important city for the textile industry and it was the first Dutch city with a university. It therefore has some of the same characteristics as Amsterdam, only on a much smaller scale. The houses are grand, but not as grand as Amsterdam and the city itself is extremely tiny compared to our nation’s capital: I can walk everywhere within the city center within 15 to 20 minutes. Here’s a map of the old city:

Naturally, the city has expanded far beyond the outer canals drawn on the map above, but is still a charming city. I live in the heart of the city center, which makes for some pretty shots from time to time. Below you can find all different kinds of pictures, that I, or friends of mine, took throughout the years I’ve been living in Leiden.

My street:

That’s what it looks like in the summer time. All other pictures I made are from the winter time. Here’s what it looks like for Christmas after dark:

And here’s what it looks like with frost:

^^I especially love the frosty look of the trees! That big building is City Hall.

Here’s a picture of City Hall, taking last year, after the biggest amount of snow we’ve had since the 80s. I took this picture from ‘de Burcht’, a fortress on a hill behind my house:

And last but not least. The next picture was also taken last year. This street is right behind mine. If you think away the cars, then this takes your right back in time! And yes, that canal is partly frozen!

So, what does your town look like?

All images were taken by me, except for the map, and the picture of my street in summer time. I found the latter online years ago, but I forgot the source. If this image is yours, I’m sorry in advance, but I did not intend to infringe your copyright. Leave a comment, if the picture is yours and you want me to remove it.