A ‘peculiar disposition’…

For almost a century, the part of the Transvaal neighborhood in Leiden between the Morspoort and the Lopsenstraat (Fig. 1) has been referred to as the 'Hakbijlenbuurt' (‘Axe neighborhood’). When you ask residents about the origin of this name, you often get similar answers: 'it's just always been that way.' The first official mention of the name can be found in an article of the former daily Dutch newspaper De Avondpost . In the newspaper of December 14th in 1937 (Fig.2), the name is attributed to the neighborhood because of the "peculiar disposition" of its residents.

What does this "peculiar disposition" mean? To date, there is no full agreement on that. Different residents have always heard different things from their grandparents, parents or neighbors and in turn tell something different to whoever wants to hear it. The residents passionately talk about the nickname of their neighborhood, and from their stories it becomes clear that there may be much more behind the name than just a peculiar neighborhood.

This air of mystery drew me toward the neighborhood and made me start researching - researching the stories, the neighborhood, and the people. On the basis of conversations with local residents and other people from Leiden, I started to learn about the stories regarding the name. Are you also curious about the stories of the 'Hakbijlenbuurt'? Then come with me to a small corner of the neighborhood, where we can find the stories: hidden, but always present....