1.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
2.
Limburg (Netherlands)
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Limburg is the southernmost of the 12 provinces of the Netherlands. It is in the part of the country, stretched out from the north, where it touches the province of Gelderland, to the south. Its northern part has the North Brabant province to its west and its long eastern boundary is the international border with the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Much of the west border runs along the River Maas, bordering the Flemish province of Limburg, on the south end, it has borders with the Flemish exclave of Voeren and its surrounding part of Liège, Wallonia. The Vaalserberg is on the extreme point, marking the tripoint of Netherlands, Germany. Limburgs major cities are the provincial capital Maastricht, as well as Heerlen, more than half of the population, approximately 620,000 people, live in the south of Limburg, which corresponds to roughly 1/3rd of the provinces area proper. In South Limburg, most people live in the agglomerations of Maastricht, Parkstad. Limburg has a distinctive character. A less appreciated consequence of this international gateway location is rising international crime, often drug-related, Limburgs name derives from the fortified town of the same name, situated on the river Vesdre near the High Fens, now in the nearby Belgian province of Liège. Its name is derived from the Germanic elements *lindo, lime tree, Limburg town was the seat of the medieval Duchy of Limburg. None of present-day Limburg was part of duchy, which had its northern border along what is the modern southern border of South Limburg. The Duchy of Limburg also came under Brabantine control in 1288 after the Battle of Worringen, and the holdings of Brabant evolved into the Burgundian Netherlands. By 1473, the lands of Overmaas and the Duchy of Limburg formed one unified delegation to the States General of this polity, hence both the terms Overmaas and Limburg came to be used loosely to refer to this one political province of the so-called Seventeen Provinces. The connection to Limburg was recalled in the 19th century when the new United Kingdom of the Netherlands desired a new name for the province after the defeat of Napoleon, the French empire had reformed the region, along with Belgian Limburg. For centuries, the location of the current province made it a much-coveted region among Europes major powers. Romans, Habsburg Spaniards, Prussians, Habsburg Austrians and French have all ruled parts of Limburg, for long periods of history the region was not united under the same rule. The first inhabitants of whom traces have been found were Neanderthals who camped in South Limburg, in Neolithic times flint was mined in underground mines, including one at Rijckholt that is open to visitors. After this genocide the area was repopulated with a set of peoples that later under Roman rules
3.
Labour Party (Netherlands)
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The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1946 as a merger of the Social Democratic Workers Party, the Free-thinking Democratic League, Prime Ministers from the Labour Party have been Willem Drees, Joop den Uyl, and Wim Kok. Since 2012, the PvdA is the partner in the Second Rutte cabinet with the Peoples Party for Freedom. Since 2016, Lodewijk Asscher has been Leader of the Labour Party, the party won 9 seats in the House of Representatives in the 2017 general election. The Labour Party is a member of the European Party of European Socialists, in the European Parliament, where the Labour Party has 3 seats, it is part of the parliamentary group Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. They were joined by individuals from Catholic resistance group Christofoor and the Protestant parties Christian Historical Union, the founders of the PvdA wanted to create a broad party, breaking with the historic tradition of Pillarisation. This desire to come to a new system was called the Doorbraak. The party combined socialists with liberal democrats and progressive Christians, however, the party was unable to break Pillarisation. Instead the new party renewed the ties that SDAP had with other socialist organisations. In 1948 some conservative members, led by former VDB leader Pieter Oud, together with the Freedom Party, they formed the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, a conservative-liberal party. Between 1946 and 1958, the PvdA formed coalition governments with the Catholic Peoples Party, the KVP and the PvdA together had a large majority in parliament. Since 1948, these cabinets were led by PvdA Prime Minister Willem Drees, under his leadership the Netherlands recovered from the war, began to build its welfare state and Indonesia became independent. After the cabinet crisis of 1958, the PvdA was replaced by the VVD, the PvdA was in opposition until 1965. The electoral support of PvdA voters began to decline, in 1965 a conflict in the KVP-ARP-CHU-VVD cabinet made continuation of the government impossible. The three confessional, Christian-influenced parties turned towards the PvdA, together they formed the Cals cabinet. This cabinet was also lived and conflict ridden. The conflicts culminated in the fall of the Cals cabinet over economic policy, meanwhile, a younger generation was attempting to gain control of the PvdA. A group of young PvdA members, calling themselves the New Left, prominent New Left members were Jan Nagel, André van der Louw and Bram Peper
4.
Meuse
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The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea. It has a length of 925 km. Its lower Belgian portion, part of the sillon industriel, was the first fully industrialized area in continental Europe. The Meuse and its crossings were a key objective of the last major German WWII counter-offensive on the Western Front, the Meuse River is represented in the documentary The River People released in 2012 by Xavier Istasse. The name Meuse is derived from the French name of the river, the Dutch name Maas descends from Middle Dutch Mase, which comes from the presumed but unattested Old Dutch form *Masa, from Proto-Germanic *Masō. Only modern Dutch preserves this Germanic form, however, despite the similarity, the Germanic name is not derived from the Latin name, judging from the change from earlier o into a, which is characteristic of the Germanic languages. Therefore, both the Latin and Germanic names were derived from a Proto-Celtic source, which would have been *Mosā. The Meuse rises in Pouilly-en-Bassigny, commune of Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse on the Langres plateau in France from where it flows northwards past Sedan, at Namur it is joined by the River Sambre. Beyond Namur the Meuse winds eastwards, skirting the Ardennes, the river then forms part of the Belgian-Dutch border, except that at Maastricht the border lies further to the west. The river has been divided near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas on the right, the Bergse Maas continues under the name of Amer, which is part of De Biesbosch. Near Lage Zwaluwe, the Nieuwe Merwede joins the Amer, forming the Hollands Diep, between Maastricht and Maasbracht, an unnavigable section of the Meuse is bypassed by the 36 km Juliana Canal. South of Namur, further upstream, the river can carry more modest vessels. From Givet, the river is canalized over a distance of 272 kilometres, the canalized Meuse used to be called the Canal de lEst — Branche Nord but was recently rebaptized into Canal de la Meuse. The waterway can be used by the smallest barges that are still in use commercially, just upstream of the town of Commercy, the Canal de la Meuse connects with the Marne–Rhine Canal by means of a short diversion canal. The Cretaceous sea reptile Mosasaur is named after the river Meuse, the first fossils of it were discovered outside Maastricht 1780. An international agreement was signed in 2002 in Ghent, Belgium about the management of the river amongst France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, also participating in the agreement were the Belgian regional governments of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. Most of the area is in Wallonia, followed by France. An International Commission on the Meuse has the responsibility of the implementation of the treaty, the map of the basin area of Meuse was joined to the text of the treaty
5.
Roermond
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Roermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. The city of Roermond is an important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231, Roermond town centre has been designated as a conservation area. Through the centuries the town has filled the role of centre, principal town in the duchy of Guelders. The skyline of the town is dominated by the towers of its two churches, St. Christopher Cathedral and Roermond Minster or Munsterkerk in Dutch. In addition to important churches, the centre has many listed buildings. Around 1180–1543, Roermond belonged to the duchy of Guelders, in 1213 Roermond was destroyed by Otto IV of Brunswick, the Holy Roman Emperor and German King. By 1232 the city had been rebuilt, and was given its own seal, own reign, own mint, the first mention of the monastery of the Franciscan Friars Minor, the Minderbroederklooster, was in 1309. In 1361, the Chapter of the Holy Spirit moved from St. Odiliënberg to Roermond, around 1350, Roermond became the capital of the Overkwartier van Gelre. In 1388, during the Hundred Years War, a siege by the French occurred, a battle for the outer fortifications Buiten Op, destruction of these fortifications and the old parish church followed. In 1441, Roermond became a member of the Hanseatic League, between 1543–1702 the area was part of the Spanish Netherlands. On 23 April 1568 the Battle of Rheindalen occurred near Roermond, in 1572, Roermond was occupied by the Dutch William the Silent, but recaptured by the Spanish duke Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo Under Spanish rule Roermond became a bastion of the Counter-Reformation. On behalf of the Inquisition people were encouraged to report suspects of witchcraft, in 1613,64 presumed witches were burnt on the Galgeberg hill near the Kapel in het Zand in Roermond, the biggest witch trial in the Netherlands ever. In 1632 the Dutch Stadhouder Frederik Hendrik conquered Venlo, Roermond, attempts in the next years to annex Antwerp and Brussels failed, however. The northern Dutch were disappointed by the lack of local support, the Counter-Reformation had firmly reattached the local population to Roman Catholicism, and they now distrusted the Calvinist Northerners even more than they loathed the Spanish occupiers. Between 1632 and 1637, Roermond was under the control of the Dutch Republic, between 1716 and 1794, it was part of the Austrian Netherlands within the Habsburg Monarchy. On 11 December 1792, during the French Revolutionary Wars, the French under General De Miranda conquered Roermond, the city was again occupied by the French on 5 April 1794 and officially became part of the French département Meuse-Inférieure from 1795 to 1814. In 1814, during the War of the Sixth Coalition Roermond was liberated by the Russians, after the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 Roermond became part of the new Kingdom of the Netherlands
6.
Belgium
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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. It is a small, densely populated country which covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres and has a population of about 11 million people. Additionally, there is a group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area. Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, the region was called Belgica in Latin, after the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From the end of the Middle Ages until the 17th century, today, Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. It is divided into three regions and three communities, that exist next to each other and its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia, Belgiums linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of governance, made up of six different governments. Upon its independence, declared in 1830, Belgium participated in the Industrial Revolution and, during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies in Africa. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching reforms, resulting in a transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement during the period from 1970 to 1993. Belgium is also a member of the Eurozone, NATO, OECD and WTO. Its capital, Brussels, hosts several of the EUs official seats as well as the headquarters of major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium is also a part of the Schengen Area, Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy and is categorized as very high in the Human Development Index. A gradual immigration by Germanic Frankish tribes during the 5th century brought the area under the rule of the Merovingian kings, a gradual shift of power during the 8th century led the kingdom of the Franks to evolve into the Carolingian Empire. Many of these fiefdoms were united in the Burgundian Netherlands of the 14th and 15th centuries, the Eighty Years War divided the Low Countries into the northern United Provinces and the Southern Netherlands. The latter were ruled successively by the Spanish and the Austrian Habsburgs and this was the theatre of most Franco-Spanish and Franco-Austrian wars during the 17th and 18th centuries. The reunification of the Low Countries as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1815, although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 and for women in 1949. The main political parties of the 19th century were the Catholic Party, French was originally the single official language adopted by the nobility and the bourgeoisie
7.
Limburg (Belgium)
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Limburg is a province in Belgium. It is the easternmost of the five Dutch-speaking provinces that form the Region of Flanders. Limburg is located west of the river Meuse, upon which it borders the similarly named Dutch province Limburg and it also borders on the Wallonian province of Liège to the south, with which it also has historical ties. To the north and west are the old territories of the Duchy of Brabant, the Flemish provinces of Flemish Brabant and Antwerp to the west, the province of Limburg takes up an area of 2,414 km² which comprises three arrondissements containing 44 municipalities. The municipality of Voeren is geographically detached from Limburg and the rest of Flanders, with the Netherlands to the north and this municipality was established by the municipal reform of 1977 and on 1 January 2008 with its six villages had a total population of 4,207. Its total area is 50.63 km², Belgian Limburg was not called Limburg until the 19th century, when this province, like the rest of Belgium, was part of the Netherlands for some decades, after the fall of Napoleon. Like the name Belgium itself, the name Limburg was chosen from the regions history, in fact the historical name for the territory of Belgian Limburg was Loon. The medieval Duchy of Limburg, although it was nearby, did not contain any part of the county of Loon, a later wave from central Europe, the Michelsburg culture arrived about 3500 BC and shared a similar fate. Pottery technology had however apparently been taken up by local tribes of the Swifterbant culture, the area became permanently agricultural only with the Urnfield culture, followed by the possibly related Halstatt and La Tène material cultures, which are generally associated with Celts. Under these cultures the population increased in the region, and it is also during this period that Indo European languages are thought to have arrived. Caesar gave the first surviving description of the area and described its people as the Germani cisrhenani. Amongst these Germani, Belgian Limburg contained at least part of the country of the Eburones who fought against Julius Caesar under their leaders Ambiorix, under the Romans, the area was home to the Tungri. Notably, the Tungri participated on the Roman side in the Revolt of the Batavi against Roman rule, in the north of Limburg during Roman times lived the Toxandri. The site of the fort which the Romans encamped in was called Aduatuca and this was possibly a general word for a fort, associated not only with the Eburones, but also the Aduatuci, and the Tungri. The Roman city established in Belgian Limburg was referred to as Aduatuca Tungrorum meaning Aduatuca of the Tungri, today this has become Tongeren, in the southeast of Belgian Limburg, and it was the capital of a Roman administrative region called the Civitas Tungrorum. In late Roman and early times, the northern or Kempen part of Belgian Limburg became virtually empty because of Germanic plundering. This area, still known then by its Roman name as Toxandria, was settled by incoming Salian Franks from the north. The southern or Haspengouw part of Belgian Limburg remained more heavily Romanised, by the 9th century, the Frankish Carolingian dynasty, based in and around Belgian Limburg, had turned Gaul in to Francia and ruled an empire that included much of Western Europe
8.
Maaseik
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Maaseik is a town and municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg. Both in size as in population, it is the 8th largest municipality in Limburg, the town is the seat of the administrative arrondissement of Maaseik. Internationally, Maaseik is known as the birthplace of the famous Flemish painters Jan. The town of Maaseik is located on the bank of the river Meuse. For this reason the river is called Grensmaas here, two smaller rivers, the Bosbeek and the Zanderbeek, flow into the Meuse near Maaseik. Because of its location in the Meuse valley, Maaseik has mostly fertile soils, the northwestern part of the municipality is situated on the plain of Bocholt and has less fertile soils. The Meuse valley at Maaseik is about 4 kilometers wide, Maaseik has mostly been safeguarded of floods by its slightly elevated position on a fluvial terrace. The riverbed has moved eastwards considerably over the centuries and has left several anabranches, meanders, an old anabranche of the Meuse can be seen in Heppeneert, a hamlet south of Maaseik. Deposition of sediments occurred on the edges of the meanders. For many decades gravel has been extracted from the area, resulting in a multitude of disused gravel pits, the Maaseik municipality includes the town of Maaseik and the sub-municipalities of Neeroeteren and Opoeteren. Smaller villages and hamlets include Aldeneik, Heppeneert, Wurfeld, t Ven, Gremelslo, Berg, Schootsheide, Voorshoven, Waterloos, De Riet, as its name would suggest, Aldeneik is older than Maaseik. Although most toponyms with the affix -eik refer to a landscape with oaks, it is possible that it is derived from the German word Ecke. Old corner or bend may in that case be linked to the fact that historically, an oaktree, however, is present in the towns coat of arms, which includes three crosses and a fish. According to tradition, Aldeneik Abbey was established by Adelard, a local Frankish lord, around 700 AD and his two daughters, Herlindis and Relindis, both became abbesses of the monastery and eventually became saints. The abbey at Aldeneik soon became the center of a village community. The abbey probably suffered destruction by the Vikings in the 9th century, around 950, emperor Otto I gave the restored monastery to the bishop of Liège, who turned it into a religious chapter for canons. The reason for this reform may have been that there were several religious institutions for noble women in the area, Susteren Abbey, Thorn Abbey. Aldeneik Abbey was abandoned at the beginning of the 80-Year War but the chapter continued in Nieuw-Eycke, the town of Maaseik was probably founded around 1000, perhaps by the canons of nearby Aldeneik
9.
Eijsden-Margraten
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Eijsden-Margraten is a municipality situated in the very south of the Netherlands. There it is located in the part of the province of Limburg. This municipality was formed in 2011 from the municipalities of Eijsden and Margraten. As a result, the nowadays Eijsden-Margraten municipality consists of 28 villages and townships, as of 2011, it has a population of about 25,000. Eijsden-Margraten is one of the most southerly municipalities in the Netherlands, the Meuse river, coming from France and Belgium, at Eijsden enters its third and final flowing country, the Netherlands. From here on its name in Dutch is Maas, running northward to Eijsden-Margratens west it locally forms the westerly frontier of the last mentioned country with Belgium. A smaller stream, the Voer, coming from Belgium, drains into the Meuse river in this municipality, of them Eijsden, Gronsveld, Mariadorp, Mesch, Oost-Maarland and Rijckholt are former parts of the Eijsden municipality, whereas the others are former parts of the Margraten municipality. Apart from Mesch all former Eijsden villages are situated in the valley of the Meuse river, whereas Mesch, main aspects of economical activity in the for a long time agricultural villages of this municipality are, Fruit growing. Prehistoric flint mines at Rijckholt The Mergellandroute, a tourist route through South Limburg, jean Bessems, biljards, worldchampion artistic in 1985 and 1988. Media related to Eijsden-Margraten at Wikimedia Commons Official website Most informative Wp-article on this subject
10.
Gennep
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Gennep is a municipality and a city in upper southeastern Netherlands. It lies in the part of the province of Limburg. Furthermore, it lies on the bank of the Meuse river. The municipality of Gennep has 17,277 inhabitants, the Niers river flows into the Meuse in Gennep. Aaldonk, Dam, De Looi, Diekendaal, Gennep, Heijen, Hekkens, Milsbeek, Ottersum, Smele, Ven-Zelderheide, Gennep probably received city rights in 1371. However, it unclear whether these city rights have really been assigned to Gennep. Gennep lies about 18 kilometres southeast of Nijmegen, in 2001, Gennep had 8306 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 2.11 square kilometres, Gennep is twinned with, Media related to Gennep at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Media related to Maasgouw at Wikimedia Commons
Maasgouw
