Mystery resolved: This is why a few house numbers are missing in the Dorpsstraat

Do you ever walk through the Dorpsstraat in Zoetermeer? Then you might have noticed something crazy. Among all the cozy shops is suddenly a hole in the numbering between Van Dal Menmode on 135 and Family Supporters at 145. Where are house numbers 137, 139, 141 and 143?

No, it is not a case of ‘never published house numbers’, these houses were ever there. For the story behind the missing houses we dive into the Zoetermeer archives.

Gymen and table tennis

Let’s start with number 137. No house but a gym. In this building just behind number 135, the boys and girls from the surrounding schools received gym class. Well -known associations such as Pro Patria and Taverzo also found their home base here. In the meantime, the building has just disappeared – it was demolished in the 70s – but for many Zoetermeerders it still evokes memories of gymnastics, rope climbing and table tennis competitions.

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Uninhabitable

Behind number 137 there used to be a charming list of three houses: these were the numbers 139, 141 and 143. Built in 1913, right on the edge of the Buurtvaart. The Blijleven, De Wilde and Mets families lived in these workers’ houses. In the mid -1960s, the houses were declared uninhabitable and demolished.

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New mystery

Brand new houses have been built over the years where the workers’ houses were in the course of the years. You would think: new houses, so just follow the house numbers again. But no. All houses were number 133. Simply. 133a, 133b and 133c. A new mystery?

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