Benthuizen

Benthuizen is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn and lies about 1 km east of Zoetermeer.
In 2019, the town of Benthuizen had 3555 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.51 km², and contained 1110 residences.
The statistical area "Benthuizen", which also can include the peripheral parts of the village, as well as the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 3450.
Benthuizen has a long history that goes back to the beginning of the 12th century, it was then that the village was described for the first time. Until 1991 Benthuizen was an independent municipality in that year the municipality became part of the larger municipality "Rijneveld". In 1993 the name was changed to Rijnwoude, and in 2014 it became part of Alphen aan den Rijn.
The HSL-Zuid being constructed passes Benthuizen on the eastern side. Also the new Bentwoud (forest) is planted to the east of Benthuizen.
Benthuizen has several buildings that are officially designated monuments. One of these is the historic windmill known as molen de Haas.