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Upland is a game in which you can buy real estate properties across the U.S. on real locations, but then online. I decided to join Upland and begin my real estate journey in Chicago- The Windy City. But there is one thing Upland is lacking at the moment... History! Chicago is nice, I have visited it in real life multiple times as well, but one cannot help but feel like without history a city just misses that little bit of extra. However, I have just the solution for that! Of course, everyone needs a solid dose of history so we must head over to Europe and especially the beautiful historic Dutch city of Leiden!
Leiden
The city of Leiden was first mentioned in the history books in the 8th century, but archeological research has found that it used to be a Roman fortress before that. Handily located on the river Rhine Leiden in the Middle Ages becomes a center of trade (mostly textiles) and becomes home to the first Dutch university. During the Dutch Golden Age (16th century) beautiful buildings arise that you can now still see. How awesome would it be to have some of these lovely historic buildings available for purchase in Upland? So I have made a tour through my beautiful city of possible Upland properties.
The University of Leiden: Academy Building
The building stems from 1516 and was the first University of the Netherlands. As the Renaissance flowed to the north of Europe the Netherlands also wanted to have an institute for learning and Leiden was chosen for it's location and intellectual activity at the time. Now the building serves as the heart of the university but students are likely to enter it only once during their studies. When you finish your studies and after defending you receive your Masters degree you are allowed into the 'sweatroom' a tiny room where the walls are filled with signatures of those that have finished and write their names on the wall. Here is me putting my name on several years ago:
Windmill 'De Put'
No Dutch Upland would be complete without the opportunity to purchase a working windmill! Windmill De Put is located in the center of Leiden and overlooks the main waterway entry into the city. The current one is a replica of the 17th century mill that burned down (wood is tricky material). It is fully functional and you will find it operating on most days in Leiden. Imagine being the owner of this one, you would have the best view in town!
De Marepoort: gateway to the Upland City
Nothing says welcome (or stay out) as much as an old city gate. In my opinion, every city should have one, so why not Upland? De Marepoort stems from 1602 and replaced the one from the 14th century as the city started to grow and expand. As Leiden is surrounded by water (what Dutch city isn't really?) a GATE means you can truly control who comes into the city.
Why Leiden should be in Upland
I mean I could keep going with the list of lovely buildings: a medieval borough, two wonderful churches, a modern biology museum that was ranked the best European museum etc. But I rest my case. Upland, for the love of history, include Leiden as one of your cities! In fact, I hope Upland includes many cities that I have seen in this contest because it would make Upland even better, full of variety, exploring different cities, cultures and histories!
