Holland [antikvár]

mt'fv,;; l^'th,i'' '(I,-I'l. !I"Welcome to Bulbland. The photographs in this book take you to the flat lands behind the Dutch dunes, known far and wide as the bulb-growing area. Every springtime anew, something magical happens here; it is the fairytale of thousands of bulbs blooming in the fields, which draws admirers from all over the world.Tulips, hyacinths and narcissus; they blossom in thousands and colour the landschape in a wonderful way. The area where this spectacle of colour and fragrance is found, has some 100.000 inhabitants and lies hemmed in between the historical cities of Haarlem and Leiden. From the highest church towers, when the weather is clear, it is even possible to see the contours of the Dutch capital, Amsterdam.The region where bulbs feel so at home, may certainly boast of a glorious past. What today is a pleasing springtime paradise of bulbs in flower, once was a wilderness with rough woods and treacherous swamps. A favourite territory of poachers and bandsof thieves. The stage-coach made its way over the unpaved roads and the people were mainly farmers, who earned their living with their cattle. The bulb may never have taken up such a prominent place in Holland had it not been for the horti-culturalist, Carolus Clusius, who came here from Vienna, Austria in the 16th century. Clusius had to leave his home on the Blue Danube because of a religious dispute.This renowned horticultural expert sought safety in Leiden, the university city on the Dutch coast. In his baggage were the tulip bulbs which had been given to him by an aristocratic friend from Turkey, the land from which the tulip originates. It was in Leiden therefore that the four hundred year old history of the Dutch bulb-growing culture began. At first he rare tulip was an extremely luxurious item which only the very rich could afford. Halfway through the 17th century, it was quite normal for a single tulip to fetch a price of 5000 gulden. From that period, a trading transaction is