safe side however, all Catholic objects were removed from the church; including the most important relic, Sint Jeroen’s skull. Tradition has it that his head lies buried somewhere in the church, but nobody knows exactly where. Towards the end of 1800 a new Roman Catholic church was erected in honour of Sint Jeroen. To this day the church’s altar houses the skeletal remains of Sint Jeroen.
Fishermen The first inhabitants of Noordwijk were most likely fishermen. The first “vierboet” was built in 1444, on the site of the current Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin. A “vierboet” is a fire site on a hill for helping the fishermen find their way back to the beach at night. Back in 1474 Noordwijk had an extensive fleet of 38 large & small ships, which left from the beach as there was no harbour. They caught herring, cod, haddock, whiting and plaice.
Bulb exhibitions Bulb cultivation emerged as the successor to herb cultivation. From 1880 the number of bulb growers and bulb fields grew to 250 and 252 hectares respectively, by the end of the 19th century. Tulips, daffodils and gladioli were grown, amongst other flowers. The majority of bulb fields lie behind the dunes as the sandy soil there is extremely suitable for cultivation. Noordwijk earned a national and international reputation for its impressive bulb exhibitions. In 1932 a Flora park was set up within the Offem country estate. Furthermore, Noordwijk entries could be admired at foreign bulb exhibitions and subsequently also in the flower exhibitions. Today the Noordwijk bulb area covers 311 hectares of land.
Floral seaside resort of Europe Noordwijk didn’t become a seaside resort until 1866. This was the time when seaside trips were only for the rich elite, and beach outings were very much a chic affair. Sea water was believed to have a cleansing effect. Not long after
