https://leidensecretstories.com/ Short, honest stories about Leiden — the people history forgot to make famous, and practical answers for walking the city. en Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://leidensecretstories.com/jan-steens-leiden/ https://leidensecretstories.com/jan-steens-leiden/ Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Dutch still says 'een huishouden van Jan Steen' for a messy home. The painter was born in Leiden around 1626, ran taverns, painted families like his own. https://leidensecretstories.com/leidens-ontzet/ https://leidensecretstories.com/leidens-ontzet/ Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The siege of 1574 ended on 3 October with herring, white bread and hutspot in an abandoned Spanish camp. What the record says, what the legend says. https://leidensecretstories.com/van-der-waals-nobel/ https://leidensecretstories.com/van-der-waals-nobel/ Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Born in Leiden in 1837, a carpenter's eldest of ten, Van der Waals was barred from university by the classical-language rule. Physics Nobel, 1910. Stop 29. https://leidensecretstories.com/amsterdam-to-leiden-day-trip/ https://leidensecretstories.com/amsterdam-to-leiden-day-trip/ Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 A direct train, an old centre you can walk in an afternoon, no booking needed. Leiden as a day trip from Amsterdam: the trains, the route, the one-museum rule. https://leidensecretstories.com/leiden-tulip-garden/ https://leidensecretstories.com/leiden-tulip-garden/ Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The first tulips in Dutch soil flowered behind Leiden's university in the 1590s, planted by the era's most famous botanist. The man, the thefts, the mania.