Zwanenburg is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, and lies about 11 km west of Amsterdam. The infrastructure linking its neighbouring town of Halfweg to Haarlem and Amsterdam was already quite good, so Zwanenburg became a true commuter town. Halfweg was also the site of a large sugar factory, first opened in 1863, that served as an employer for Zwanenburg residents for more than a century. For this reason, the history of Zwanenburg cannot be seen separately from the history of Halfweg.
