De Lier owes its name to a river that lost its meaning — the Lee, or in Latin sources from 985 the Liora. The water once flowed through the Westland as a branch of the Maas; today it is no more than a narrow canal. The village itself is first mentioned in 1201, and the way it grew tells the whole story: as a long ribbon of houses along the Lee, stretching more than two kilometres.
In the twelfth century people began diking the Lee. That made the surrounding peatland suitable for agriculture, and De Lier grew with it: first as a dyke village, gradually as a ribbon village of farms, inns and smithies along the Lee. The photo above, taken in 1904, still shows that structure perfectly: the water in the middle, the church in the background, houses on both sides. Much has changed since then, but the built ribbon along the Lee is still there.
Until 2004 De Lier was an independent municipality. In the major Westland reorganisation it joined Naaldwijk, 's-Gravenzande, Monster and Wateringen in the current Westland municipality. Meanwhile De Lier has become mainly a residential and horticultural village, with greenhouses on the edge and new neighbourhoods around the old ribbon. That ribbon itself — Hoofdstraat, Kerklaan — remained the heart.
Living in De Lier means having the Lee at your door and the Westland around you. Little carrying distance to the car, lots of rhythm in the work week. We run set pickup days through De Lier — Hoofdstraat, Kerklaan, Boeier, De Vang, Liermolen. Your bag goes along in the morning, and in the evening it hangs back on your door clean and ironed. Same driver, same time. A routine that fits a village built up centuries ago along a single dyke.
How Wastas works in De Lier
On the set pickup day our driver is at your door. Clean laundry comes back by appointment — folded or on hangers, however you like it.
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