Voorburg 1

I work in The Hague on the border with the town of Voorburg. On 15 June 2017 after work I took the bus a few stops to the shopping center Koningin Julianaplein (Queen Juliana Square) where the post office is located in the Bruna book store. As stamp I used the 2009 Europa and International Year of Astronomy stamp showing the 'Lens van Huygens' (Huygens' lens). Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) was a Dutch physicist, mathematician, astronomer and inventor, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time and a major figure in the scientific revolution. He invented the pendulum clock, the magic lantern and improved the telescope with his lens. With it he discovered the first moon of Saturn, Titan. His drawing of Saturn is shown on the stamp.

Voorburg is a Dutch town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. Together with Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it makes up the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has a population of about 39,000 people. In 2002, the cities of Leidschendam and Voorburg were merged under the new municipality named "Leidschendam-Voorburg". Situated adjacent to the city of The Hague, it is often regarded as one of its suburbs.

Voorburg has its roots in the 2nd century, when a local civilian settlement gained city rights from the Romans, becoming known as Forum Hadriani. It was along the Fossa Corbulonis, a canal connecting the Rhine and the Meuse that had been dug in 47 AD by the Roman general Corbulo. This waterway is now known as the Rijn-Schie canal (more commonly referred to as the Vliet) and is still a dominant landmark of the present day borough.

Famous inhabitants of Voorburg include the 17th century author and poet Constantijn Huygens, who spent many years building his small country house Hofwijck with adjacent geometrically shaped gardens alongside the Vliet. His son, the famous astronomer and mathematician Christiaan Huygens, spent several years in his father's country house in Voorburg. The house, located next to the main railway station, now functions as a museum.

City/town:         Voorburg

Municipality:     Leidschendam-Voorburg

Area:                6,28 km² (Leidschendam-Voorburg 35,62 km²)

Population:       41.515 (2018) (Leidschendam-Voorburg 75.405, 1 January 2019)

Website:           lv.nl

Post office

Bruna Voorburg

Koningin Julianaplein 24

2273 BR  VOORBURG

facebook.com/BrunaVoorburg

Date sent: 15 June 2017

Date postmark: 15 June 2017

Date received: 16 June 2017

Number of days: 1

Envelope in collection: 171