Zoetermeers mystery solved: here the name Balijbos comes from

The Balijbos – also known as the Balij – is a forest on the edge of the city where many Zoetermeerders walk and cycle. What does the name of this forest actually mean?

The Balijbos is a relatively young forest. Part of it has been laid out for the Floriade, the large nature exhibition, in 1992. The forest consists of different parts: a swamp forest, nature forest and a play forest. There are also plenty of cycling and hiking trails. In total, the Balij is 360 hectares in size. On the edge of the forest is a city farm called De Balijhoeve.

Knighthood

But where does the name De Balij come from? To explain this, we have to dive into the history of Zoetermeer. The Balij is derived from the ‘Balije’. The ‘Balije’ is a subdivision of the knights of Sint Jan. This knighthood was active in our region in the 11th and 12th centuries.

The Order of Sint Jan was also called the Order of Johann, named after Johannes the Baptist. A ‘Balije’ united a number of commanders (groups of knights) and acted in the service of a certain church and/or noble family. Later the order split into several groups and different names were used. That way you can also come across the Maltese Order or the Order of Malta.

Speelbos de Balij

Now that you know the background of the name ‘Balij’, it is also a lot more logical that the play forest is entirely devoted to knights. There are wooden knights, there is a city wall and a moat. Zoetermeer kids can play a knight here on the place where real knights used to fought.

Sources: Staatsbosbeheer, Ensie

Also spotted a mystery?

Another mystery solved! Do you also have a question about Zoetermeer? Indebuurt is looking for it! Mail your mystery to [email protected].