Leydan

(anc. Lugdunum Batavorum ). An important city of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the Old Rhine, 6 miles from its outlet in the North Sea. It was once a strong fortre , and the siege which it sustained from the Spaniards in 1573-74 made it famous. For seven weeks there was no bread within its walls, but the burghers still resisted, though the hunger became almost unbearable. At last the Prince of Orange came to their rescue. The dykes were opened, and the waters, which drowned a great number of the besiegers, carried a fleet of 200 boats loaded with provisions to the city. As a reward for the valor the city evinced during this siege, the Prince of Orange founded a university here.