Leiden

ancient city

Gaenovium takes place in the ancient city of Leiden. Leiden is famous for the oldest university of the Netherlands, museums of international renown, and the annual 3 October Festival.

Leiden's most famous citizen are the painters Rembrandt van Rijn and Jan Steen. Some of their works are in on display in Museum De Lakenhal.

Leiden is also the holy city of American genealogy; many American genealogists hope to trace their ancestry back to the Leiden Pilgrims who came to the New World on the Mayflower. The descendants of these Pilgrims include no fewer than nine American presidents.

October Festival

The annual 3 October Festival celebrates Leiden's Relief on 1574 October 3, the lifting of the months-long Second Siege of Leiden by Spanish troops during which thousands of inhabitants starved to death.
Key events of that day are the basis of the festival. The Water Beggars that had flooded the countryside arrived with herring and white bread, at a deserted Spanish camp a small kettle of hotch-potch was found, and survivors congregated in the Pieterskerk to give thanks.
The Pilgrims experienced the annual thanksgiving during their decade-long stay in Leiden, and it inspired their 1621 harvest celebrations at the Plymouth Plantation.

Many 3 October activities are organised by the 3 October Vereening Leiden (3 October Society Leiden), founded in 1886. The original thanksgiving continues to be held every October 3, in the Pieterskerk, and is open to anyone.

Wi-Fi in Leiden

In the early years of Wi-Fi, Leiden got press for Wireless Leiden, a free Wi-Fi network throughout Leiden. The Wireless Leiden network, started in 2001, still exists, but is too sparse to handle today's load. It works, but it's difficult to get a connection, and the connections you do get tend to be slow.
However, practically all hotels and cafés in Leiden offer free Wi-Fi to their patrons.

Leiden Archive

Leiden is home to the Regional Archive Leiden, which serves the municipality of Leiden and neighbouring towns. Since 2013, the archive is part of Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken(EL, Heritage Leiden and surroundings), a larger organisation that resulted from several organisations merging together.
The archive manages collections for Leiden en surrounding towns, and is actively digitising its collections. The modern website offers access to indexed and digitised collections, but only a personal visits provides access to all public collections.
The Pilgrim Archives, a permanent exposition about the pilgrim fathers that used to be hosted in the archive building, has moved to the Pieterskerk.