1.
Randstad Holding
–
Randstad Holding NV is a Dutch multinational human resource consulting firm headquartered in Diemen, Netherlands. Randstad is the worlds second-largest HR service provider after Adecco and it was founded in the Netherlands in 1960 by Frits Goldschmeding and operates in around 39 countries. In 2015, the company achieved a turnover of €19.2 billion, Randstad Holding NV is listed as RAND on the AEX of Euronext Amsterdam. Founder Frits Goldschmeding is still the biggest shareholder, Randstad’s head office is in Diemen, in the Netherlands. Randstad specializes in human services for temporary and permanent jobs, including contract staffing of professionals. In most of countries, Randstad works according to a unit structure. Randstad promotes these activities under two names, Randstad and Tempo Team. A separate division of Randstad focuses on recruiting supervisors, managers, professionals, interim specialists and these people are deployed in temporary positions in middle and senior management, such as engineers, ICT specialists, or marketing & communication specialists. In a number of countries, Randstad also has operating companies that select managers for permanent placements in middle, HR Solutions also involves a number of services such as selection processes, HR consultancy, outplacement and career support. Brands under which Randstad promotes its activities include Randstad, Randstad Care, Tempo Team, Expectra, in order to increase name recognition, Randstad has also become a sponsor of the British Formula 1 team Williams F1. Randstad was founded in 1960 by Frits Goldschmeding and Ger Daleboudt, the first flyers for the firm were typed in Goldschmedings attic room in the student house on Sloterkade in Amsterdam. The agency was called ‘Uitzendbureau Amstelveen’, in the first years, Uitzendbureau Amstelveen mainly provided personnel for the insurance industry, banks and the health-care sector. The firms first office was near the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, in 1963, the agency also opened branches in Leiden and Rotterdam and changed its name from Uitzendbureau Amstelveen’ to ‘Randstad Uitzendbureau. At that time, Goldschmeding and Daleboudt were still sure that the Randstad represented their total reach, a new logo was created by designer Ben Bos from Total Design. This is still the logo used by Randstad in 2011, from 1965, Randstad opened a branch in Brussels, in 1967 in London and in 1968 in Düsseldorf, Germany. After obtaining additional funding from AMRO Bank, in 1970 Randstad moved into a new office on A. J. Ernstraat in Amsterdam, where administration of time sheets was centralized, as the number of temporary staffing agencies grew, temporary staffing agencies acquired a poor image. Part of the criticism was political, trade unions and left-wing parties wished the government to have control over the labor market
2.
Megalopolis
–
A megalopolis is typically defined as a chain of roughly adjacent metropolitan areas. S. Extending from Boston, Massachusetts, through New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, the latter is sometimes called the BosWash megalopolis. Megalopolis is a Western deformation of the Greek word that derived from Greek, μέγας - great and Greek, πόλις - city and this term is closer in meaning to megacity. Because in Greek, πόλις is feminine, the term is megalopolis. A megalopolis, also known as a megaregion, is a network of cities. Gottmann defined its population as 25 million, doxiadis defined a small megalopolis a similar cluster with a population of about 10 million. America 2050, a program of the Regional Plan Association, lists 11 megaregions in the United States, literally, megalopolis in Greek means a city of exaggerated size where the prefix megalo- represents a quantity of exaggerated size. Megapolitan areas were explored in a July 2005 report by Robert E. Lang, a later 2007 article by Lang and Nelson uses 20 megapolitan areas grouped into 10 megaregions. The concept is based on the original Megalopolis model, modern interlinked ground transportation corridors, such as rail and highway, often aid in the development of megalopolises. Using these commuter passageways to travel throughout the megalopolis is informally called megaloping and this term was coined by Davide Gadren and Stefan Berteau. Cairo–Giza–Qalyubia–Helwan–6th of October City, Egypt The area around the Nile is also densely populated. Nile River Delta Governorates have a population of 41,045,135. The total area of these Governorates is 18,199 square miles making the population density 2,255.4 per square mile, the Nairobi Metropolitan Region consisting of the counties of in Kenya, which have a combined population of 8 million people. Pearl River Delta Megalopolis, if Shantou/Quanzhou added 70,000,000, within 150 km from its center Shenyang, it has Fushun, Anshan City, Benxi, Liaoyang, Yingkou, Panjin, and Tieling, with a total population of 23 million. And it can be extended to Dalian, Fuxin and Dandong. This area used to be the most industrialized region in China and it declined during 1980s-1990s, but in recent years, it has rapidly revived. Taiheiyō Belt – Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, Mie, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo, Wakayama, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, the total population is 24 million according to the 2011 estimate. Kathmandu valley, which consists of 5 municipalities namely Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kirtipur and Madhyapur Thimi, along with the cities of Banepa, Panauti
3.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Country
–
A country is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political geography. Sometimes the word countries is used to both to sovereign states and to other political entities, while other times it refers only to states. The word country comes from Old French contrée, itself derived from Vulgar Latin contrata and it most likely entered the English language after the Franco-Norman invasion during the 11th century. Areas much smaller than a state may be called by names such as the West Country in England, the Black Country, Constable Country. In many European countries the words are used for sub-divisions of the territory, as in the German Bundesländer. The modern Italian contrada is a word with its meaning varying locally, the term country is frequently used to refer to sovereign states. There is no agreement on the number of countries in the world. There are 206 sovereign states, of which 193 states are members of the United Nations, all are defined as states by declarative theory of statehood and constitutive theory of statehood. The latest proclaimed state is South Sudan in 2011, the Kingdom of Denmark, a sovereign state, comprises Metropolitan Denmark and two nominally separate countries—the Faroe Islands, and Greenland—which are almost fully internally self-governing. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, a state, comprises four separate countries, Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao. The degree of autonomy of non-sovereign countries varies widely, some are possessions of sovereign states, as several states have overseas territories, with citizenry at times identical and at times distinct from their own
5.
Netherlands
–
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
6.
Provinces of the Netherlands
–
The most populous province is South Holland, with over 3.5 million inhabitants in 2009. With approximately 381,000 inhabitants, Zeeland has the smallest population, in terms of area, Friesland is the largest province with a total area of 5,749 km2. If water is excluded, Gelderland is the largest province in terms of area at 4,972 km2, Utrecht is the smallest at 1,449 km2. In total about 13,000 people were employed by the administrations in 2009. The provinces of the Netherlands are joined in the Association of Provinces of the Netherlands and this organisation promotes the common interests of the provinces in the national government of the Netherlands in The Hague and within the EU in Brussels. The government of each province consists of three parts, The States-Provincial is the provincial parliament elected every four years. The number of members varies between 39 and 55, depending on the number of inhabitants of the province, being a member is a part-time job. The main task of the States-Provincial is to scrutinise the work of the provincial government, the Provincial Executive is a college elected from among the members of the States-Provincial and charged with most executive tasks. Each province has three and seven deputies, each having their own portfolio. The task of the Provincial Executive is the management of the province. The Kings Commissioner is a person appointed by the Crown who presides over the States-Provincial as well as over the Provincial Executive. The Commissioner is appointed for a term of six years, after which reappointment for another term is possible, the members of the States-Provincial are elected every four years in direct elections. To a large extent, the political parties are enlisted in these elections in the national elections. The chosen provincial legislators elect the members of the national Senate within three months after the provincial elections, the elections for the water boards take place on the same date as the provincial elections. The last three elections were held in 2007,2011 and in 2015. The provinces of the Netherlands have 7 core tasks, Sustainable spatial development, also, provinces have income from a part of the Vehicle Excise Duty. Several provinces have made a profit in the past from privatising utility companies originally owned or partly owned by the provinces. An example is Essent, which was owned by six provinces
7.
North Holland
–
North Holland is a province in the northwest of the Netherlands. It is situated on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, in 2015, it had a population of 2,762,163 and a total area of 2,670 km2. From the 9th to the 16th century, the area was a part of the County of Holland. During this period West Friesland was incorporated, in the 17th and 18th century, the area was part of the province of Holland. At that time, the distinction between the Noorderkwartier and the Zuiderkwartier became common, in 1840, the province of Holland was split into the two provinces of North Holland and South Holland. In 1855, the Haarlemmermeer was drained and turned into land, the capital and seat of the provincial government is Haarlem, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands capital city, is the provinces largest city. The Kings Commissioner of North Holland is Johan Remkes, there are 51 municipalities and three water boards in the province. For most of its history, the province of North Holland was an integral part of Holland. From the 9th century to the 16th century, Holland was a county ruled by the counts of Holland, during this period an area known as West Friesland was conquered and integrated into Holland. For centuries afterwards Holland would be officially called Holland and West Friesland, the people of West Friesland had a strong sense of identity as a region within Holland. From the 16th century to 1795, Holland was the wealthiest and most important province in the United Provinces in the Dutch Republic, as the richest and most powerful province, Holland dominated the union. During this period a distinction was made between the North Quarter and the South Quarter, areas that roughly correspond to the two modern provinces. The province of North Holland as it is today has its origins in the period of French rule from 1795 to 1813 and this was a time of bewildering changes to the Dutch system of provinces. In 1795 the old order was swept away and the Batavian Republic was established, in the Constitution enacted on 23 April 1798, the old borders were radically changed. The republic was reorganised into eight departments with roughly equal populations, Holland was split up into five departments named Texel, Amstel, Delf, Schelde en Maas, and Rijn. The first three of these lay within the borders of the old Holland, the two were made up of parts of different provinces. In 1801 the old borders were restored when the department of Holland was created and this reorganisation had been short-lived, but it gave birth to the concept of breaking up Holland and making it a less powerful province. This time the two departments were called Amstelland and Maasland and this also did not last long
8.
South Holland
–
South Holland is a province in the midwestern Netherlands. It has a population of just over 3.6 million, situated on the North Sea in the west of the Netherlands, South Holland covers an area of 3,403 km2, of which 585 km2 is water. It borders North Holland to the north, Utrecht and Gelderland to the east, the provincial capital is The Hague, while its largest city is Rotterdam. Archaeological discoveries in Hardinxveld-Giessendam indicate that the area of South Holland has been inhabited since at least ca.7,500 years before present, agriculture and permanent settlements probably originated around 2,000 years later, based on excavations near Vlaardingen. In the classical antiquity, South Holland was part of the Roman Province of Germania Inferior, the Romans built fortresses along the border, such as Praetorium Agrippinae near modern-day Valkenburg, Matilo near modern-day Leiden, and Albaniana near modern-day Alphen aan den Rijn. A city was founded near modern-day Voorburg, Forum Hadriani and it was built according to the grid plan, and facilitated a square, a court, a bathhouse and several temples. After the departure of the Romans, the area belonged to the Frisian Kingdom, in 690, the Anglo-Saxon monk Willibrord arrived near Katwijk and was granted permission to spread Roman Catholicism by the Frankish king Pepin II. He accordingly founded a church in Oegstgeest, after which the area was gradually Christianised. The area was appointed to East Francia in the Treaty of Verdun in 843, after which the king granted lands to Gerolf and this was the birth of the County of Holland. Gerolf was later succeeded by Dirk I, who continued to rule Holland under the Frankish king, in 1248, count William II ordered the construction of the Ridderzaal, which was later finished by his son and successor Floris V. The first city in South Holland to receive city rights was Dordrecht, the city retained a dominant position in the area until it was struck by a series of floods in the late 14th century. The same century saw a series of civil wars, the Hook and Cod wars. Both his daughter Jaqueline and his brother John, the supported by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. The conflict ended in 1490, with John victorious, overall, the area of South Holland remained largely agrarian throughout the late Middle Ages. This changed around 1500, when Holland became Europes most urbanised area, during the Eighty Years War, the area of South Holland was the scene of the Capture of Brielle, the Siege of Leiden and the assassination of William the Silent. The United Netherlands declared their independence in 1581, and Holland quickly emerged as the dominant province, with important trading cities such as Leiden, Delft, Gouda. In 1575, the Netherlands first university was founded in Leiden by William the Silent, the Hague, which had originated around the castle of the counts of Holland, became its new political centre. Both the States of Holland and the States General seated in the Binnenhof, the Dutch Golden Age blossomed in the 17th century
9.
Utrecht (province)
–
Utrecht is a province of the Netherlands. With an area of approximately 1,400 square kilometres, it is the smallest of the twelve provinces, apart from its eponymous capital, major cities in the province are Amersfoort, Houten, Nieuwegein, Veenendaal, IJsselstein and Zeist. In the International Organization for Standardization world region code system Utrecht makes up one region with code ISO 3166-2, the Bishopric of Utrecht was established in 695 when Saint Willibrord was consecrated bishop of the Frisians at Rome by Pope Sergius I. With the consent of the Frankish ruler, Pippin of Herstal, after Willibrords death the diocese suffered greatly from the incursions of the Vikings. Better times appeared during the reign of the Saxon emperors, who summoned the Bishops of Utrecht to attend the imperial councils. In 1024 the bishops were made Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1122, with the Concordat of Worms, the Emperors right of investiture was annulled, and the cathedral chapter received the right to elect the bishop. It was, however, soon obligated to share this right with the four other chapters in the city. The Counts of Holland and Guelders, between whose territories the lands of the Bishops of Utrecht lay, also sought to acquire influence over the filling of the episcopal see and this often led to disputes and consequently the Holy See frequently interfered in the election. After the middle of the 14th century the popes repeatedly appointed the bishop directly without regard to the five chapters, during the Hook and Cod Wars, Utrecht was fought over by forces of the Duke of Burgundy leading to the First Utrecht Civil War and Second Utrecht Civil War. The chapters transferred their right of electing the bishop to Charles V and his government, however, the Habsburg rule did not last long, as Utrecht joined in the Dutch Revolt against Charles successor Philip II in 1579, becoming a part of the Dutch Republic. In World War II, Utrecht was held by German forces until the capitulation of the Germans in the Netherlands on May 5,1945. It was occupied by Canadian Allied forces on May 7,1945, the towns of Oudewater, Woerden and Vianen were transferred from the province of South Holland to Utrecht in 1970,1989 and 2002 respectively. In February 2011, Utrecht, together with the provinces of North Holland and Flevoland and this has been positively received by the Dutch cabinet, for the desire to create one Randstad province has already been mentioned in the coalition agreement. The province of South Holland, part of the Randstad urban area, visioned to be part of the Randstad province, with or without South Holland, if created, the new province would be the largest in the Netherlands in both area and population. In the east of Utrecht lies the Utrecht Hill Ridge, a chain of left as lateral moraine by tongues of glacial ice after the Saline glaciation that preceded the last ice age. Because of the scarcity of nutrients in the sandy soil. The south of the province is a river landscape, the west consists mostly of meadows. In the north are big lakes formed by the digging of peat bogs formed after the last ice age
10.
Flevoland
–
Flevoland is the twelfth province of the Netherlands. It is located in the centre of the country, where the former Zuiderzee was, Flevoland was established on 1 January 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders were merged into one province. Almost all of the land belonging to the province was reclaimed in the 1950s and 60s. The province has about 407,905 inhabitants and consists of 6 municipalities, after a flood in 1916, it was decided that the Zuiderzee, an inland sea within the Netherlands, would be enclosed and reclaimed, the Zuiderzee Works started. Other sources indicate other times and reasons, but also agree that in 1932, the Afsluitdijk was completed, the Zuiderzee was subsequently called IJsselmeer. The first part of the new lake that was reclaimed was the Noordoostpolder in 1939 and this new land included the former islands of Urk and Schokland and it was included in the province of Overijssel. After this, other parts were reclaimed, the Southeastern part in 1957, thus Flevopolder became an artificial island joined to the mainland by bridges. The municipalities on the three parts voted to become a province, which happened in 1986. Flevoland was named after Lacus Flevo, a name recorded in Roman sources for an inland lake at the southern end of the later-formed Zuiderzee. Draining the Flevoland polders revealed many wrecks of aircraft that had crashed into the IJsselmeer during World War II, in February 2011, Flevoland, together with the provinces of Utrecht and North Holland, showed a desire to investigate the feasibility of a merger between the three provinces. This has been received by the Dutch cabinet, for the desire to create one Randstad province has already been mentioned in the coalition agreement. The province of South Holland, part of the Randstad urban area, visioned to be part of the Randstad province, with or without South Holland, if created, the new province would be the largest in the Netherlands in both area and population. They are two polders with a joint hydrological infrastructure, with a dike in the middle, the Knardijk. The two main drainage canals that traverse the dike can be closed by floodgates in such an event, the pumping stations are the Wortman at Lelystad-Haven, the Lovink near Harderwijk on the mainland and the Colijn along the northern dike beside the Ketelmeer. A new element in the design of Eastern Flevoland is the larger city Lelystad, named after Cornelis Lely, the man who had played a crucial role in designing and realising the Zuiderzee Works. Other more conventional settlements already existed by then, Dronten, the local town, was founded in 1962. These three were incorporated in the new municipality of Dronten on 1 January 1972, southern Flevoland has only one pumping station, the diesel powered De Blocq van Kuffeler. Because of the union of the two Flevolands it simply joins the other three in maintaining the water-level of both polders
11.
Amsterdam
–
Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
12.
Rotterdam
–
Rotterdam is a city in the Netherlands, located in South Holland, within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt river delta at the North Sea. Its history goes back to 1270 when a dam was constructed in the Rotte river by people settled around it for safety, in 1340 Rotterdam was granted city rights by the Count of Holland and slowly grew into a major logistic and economic centre. Nowadays it is home to Europes largest port and has a population of 633,471, ranking second in the Netherlands, just behind Amsterdam. The Greater Rijnmond area is home to approximately 1.4 million people, Rotterdam is part of the yet larger Randstad conurbation with a total population of 7,100,000. The city of Rotterdam is known for the Erasmus University, riverside setting, lively cultural life, the near-complete destruction of Rotterdams city centre during World War II has resulted in a varied architectural landscape including sky-scrapers, which are an uncommon sight in other Dutch cities. Rotterdam is home to some world-famous architecture from renowned architects like Rem Koolhaas, Piet Blom, Ben van Berkel and others. Recently Rotterdam was listed eighth in The Rough Guide Top 10 Cities to Visit, the port of Rotterdam is the largest cargo port in Europe and the 10th largest in the world. Rotterdams logistic success is based on its location on the North Sea. The rivers Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt give waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, the extensive distribution system including rail, roads, and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nickname Gateway to Europe, and, conversely, Gateway to the World in Europe. The settlement at the end of the fen stream Rotte dates from at least 900 CE. A dam on the Rotte or Rotterdam was built in the 1260s and was located at the present-day Hoogstraat, on 7 July 1340, Count Willem IV of Holland granted city rights to Rotterdam, which then had approximately 2,000 inhabitants. The port of Rotterdam grew slowly but steadily into a port of importance, becoming the seat of one of the six chambers of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the greatest spurt of growth, both in port activity and population, followed the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872. The city and harbor started to expand on the bank of the river. The Witte Huis or White House skyscraper, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the French Château-style, is evidence of Rotterdams rapid growth, when completed, it was the tallest office building in Europe, with a height of 45 m. During World War I the city was the worlds largest spy centre because of Dutch neutrality, many spies who were arrested and executed in Britain were led by German secret agents operating from Rotterdam. MI6 had its main European office on de Boompjes, from there the British coordinated espionage in Germany and occupied Belgium. In WWI an average of 25,000 Belgian refugees lived in the city, as well as hundreds of German deserters, during World War II, the German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. Adolf Hitler had hoped to conquer the country in just one day, the Dutch army was finally forced to capitulate on 15 May 1940, following Hitlers bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May and threatening to bomb other Dutch cities
13.
The Hague
–
The Hague is a city on the western coast of the Netherlands, and the capital city of the province of South Holland. With a population of 520,704 inhabitants and more than one million including the suburbs, it is the third-largest city of the Netherlands. The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 12th-largest in the European Union and the most populous in the country. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation. The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands, which constitutionally is Amsterdam. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands plans to live at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Hague is also home to the world headquarters of Royal Dutch Shell and numerous other major Dutch companies. The Hague originated around 1230, when Count Floris IV of Holland purchased land alongside a pond, in 1248, his son and successor William II, King of the Romans, decided to extend the residence to a palace, which would later be called the Binnenhof. He died in 1256 before this palace was completed but parts of it were finished by his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal and it is still used for political events, such as the annual speech from the throne by the Dutch monarch. From the 13th century onwards, the counts of Holland used The Hague as their administrative centre, the village that originated around the Binnenhof was first mentioned as Haga in a charter dating from 1242. In the 15th century, the smarter des Graven hage came into use, literally The Counts Wood, with connotations like The Counts Hedge, s-Gravenhage was officially used for the city from the 17th century onwards. Today, this name is used in some official documents like birth. The city itself uses Den Haag in all its communication and their seat was located in The Hague. At the beginning of the Eighty Years War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, in 1575, the States of Holland even considered demolishing the city but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William of Orange. From 1588, The Hague also became the seat of the government of the Dutch Republic, in order for the administration to maintain control over city matters, The Hague never received official city status, although it did have many of the privileges normally granted only to cities. In modern administrative law, city rights have no place anymore, only in 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was a puppet state of the First French Empire, was the settlement granted city rights by Louis Bonaparte. After the Napoleonic Wars, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to form a buffer against France, as a compromise, Brussels and Amsterdam alternated as capital every two years, with the government remaining in The Hague. After the separation of Belgium in 1830, Amsterdam remained the capital of the Netherlands, when the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. The growing city annexed the rural municipality of Loosduinen partly in 1903, the city sustained heavy damage during World War II
14.
Utrecht
–
Utrecht is the capital and most populous city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the corner of the Randstad conurbation and is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands with a population of 330,772 in 2014. Utrechts ancient city centre features many buildings and structures several dating as far back as the High Middle Ages and it has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century. It lost the status of prince-bishopric but remains the religious center in the country. Utrecht was the most important city in the Netherlands until the Dutch Golden Age, Utrecht is host to Utrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutions of higher education. Due to its position within the country, it is an important transport hub for both rail and road transport. It has the second highest number of events in the Netherlands. In 2012, Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world’s unsung places, a series of such fortresses was built after the Roman emperor Claudius decided the empire should not expand north. To consolidate the border the limes Germanicus defense line was constructed along the branch of the river Rhine. These fortresses were designed to house a cohort of about 500 Roman soldiers, near the fort settlements would grow housing artisans, traders and soldiers wives and children. In Roman times, the name of the Utrecht fortress was simply Traiectum, Traiectum became Dutch Trecht, with the U from Old Dutch uut added to distinguish U-trecht from Maas-tricht. In 11th-century official documents it was Latinized as Ultra Traiectum, around the year 200, the wooden walls of the fortification were replaced by sturdier tuff stone walls, remnants of which are still to be found below the buildings around Dom Square. From the middle of the 3rd century Germanic tribes regularly invaded the Roman territories, around 275 the Romans could no longer maintain the northern border and Utrecht was abandoned. Little is known about the next period 270–650, Utrecht is first spoken of again several centuries after the Romans left. Under the influence of the realms of the Franks, during Dagobert Is reign in the 7th century. In ongoing border conflicts with the Frisians this first church was destroyed, by the mid-7th century, English and Irish missionaries set out to convert the Frisians. The pope appointed their leader, Willibrordus, bishop of the Frisians, the tenure of Willibrordus is generally considered to be the beginning of the Bishopric of Utrecht. In 723, the Frankish leader Charles Martel bestowed the fortress in Utrecht, from then on Utrecht became one of the most influential seats of power for the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands
15.
Almere
–
Almere is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere compromises 6 official districts and boroughs and these are the districts Almere Stad, Almere Buiten and Almere Pampus, and the boroughs of Almere Haven, Almere Hout and Almere Poort. 4 of them also feature official district/borough offices, Almere is the newest city in the Netherlands, the land on which Almere sits, the Southern Flevoland Polder, was reclaimed from the IJsselmeer in 1959-68. The first house was finished in 1976, and Almere became a municipality in 1984 and it has the largest population of the municipalities in Flevoland with 196,290 citizens in 2014 and the 7th largest in the Netherlands. In October 2007, the city council of Almere made agreements with the government to expand the city to 350,000 inhabitants by 2030, the original plans for the IJsselmeerpolders saw the land being used for agriculture. However, after World War II housing was needed for the growing population of Amsterdam. The town in Oostelijk Flevoland became Lelystad, the town in Zuidelijk Flevoland was still called Zuidweststad on the first sketches, but in the 1970s it became called Almere, named after the lake Almere, the early medieval name of the Zuiderzee. The first house in Almere was finished in 1976, at that time the town was still controlled by the Openbaar Lichaam Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders, with a Landdrost. In 1984 Almere became an official municipality, originally, Almere was envisioned as a town with multiple centres. This idea was abandoned in favor of allowing neighbourhoods like Tussen de Vaarten to be built. There is also a difference between the way houses are built in the oldest and the newest parts of the city, the housing plan in Almere in the 1970s was basic functionality and a levelling of social status. However, starting in the 1990s more exclusive homes with striking designs were built, franc Weerwind has been the mayor of Almere since 9 September 2015. On 20 May 2010 the new council was inaugurated, the populist Party for Freedom had won the most seats in the local elections, which was both national and international news due to the controversial statements of its leader Geert Wilders. Even though the largest party they didnt take part in the local administration, the council elections took place on 21 September 1983. Prior to 1984 Almere had an Adviesraad, which was chosen every 2 years and this Adviesraad was made up of different political parties similar to a local council. On 11 March 1977 the first adviescommissie was elected and it consisted of 5 people that were chosen on personal title. Since 1998, the council of Almere has comprised a total of 39 members and it is the most western municipality of the province Flevoland. It borders with Lake Marken in the west and north, Lelystad in the northeast, Zeewolde in the east, Almere consists of three boroughs and three districts, three of which are under construction
16.
Haarlem
–
Haarlem is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland and is situated at the edge of the Randstad. Haarlem had a population of 155,758 in 2014 and it is a 15-minute train ride from Amsterdam, and many residents commute to the countrys capital for work. Haarlem was granted city status or stadsrechten in 1245, although the first city walls were not built until 1270, the modern city encompasses the former municipality of Schoten as well as parts that previously belonged to Bloemendaal and Heemstede. Apart from the city, the municipality of Haarlem also includes the part of the village of Spaarndam. Newer sections of Spaarndam lie within the municipality of Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude. The city is located on the river Spaarne, about 20 km west of Amsterdam and it has been the historical centre of the tulip bulb-growing district for centuries and bears the nickname Bloemenstad, for this reason. Haarlem has a history dating back to pre-medieval times, as it lies on a thin strip of land above sea level known as the strandwal. The people on this strip of land struggled against the waters of the North Sea from the west, and the waters of the IJ. Haarlem became wealthy with toll revenues that it collected from ships, however, as shipping became increasingly important economically, the city of Amsterdam became the main Dutch city of North Holland during the Dutch Golden Age. The town of Halfweg became a suburb, and Haarlem became a bedroom community. Nowadays many of them are on the Dutch Heritage register known as Rijksmonuments, the list of Rijksmonuments in Haarlem gives an overview of these per neighbourhood, with the majority in the old city centre. The oldest mentioning of Haarlem dates from the 10th century, the name probably comes from Haarlo-heim. This name is composed of three elements, haar, lo and heim, there is not much dispute about the meaning of lo and heim, in Old Dutch toponyms lo always refers to forest and heim to home or house. Haar, however, has several meanings, one of them corresponding with the location of Haarlem on a sand dune, the name Haarlem or Haarloheim would therefore mean home on a forested dune. There was a stream called De Beek, dug from the peat grounds west of the river Spaarne as a drainage canal, over the centuries the Beek was turned into an underground canal, as the city grew larger and the space was needed for construction. Over time it began to silt up and in the 19th century it was filled in, the location of the village was a good one, by the river Spaarne, and by a major road going south to north. By the 12th century it was a town, and Haarlem became the residence of the Counts of Holland
17.
Zaanstad
–
Zaanstad is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, situated northwest of Amsterdam. It is part of the conurbation and metropolitan area of Amsterdam, however, being surrounded by countryside and due to its relatively protracted shape that follows the river Zaan, a rural atmosphere is always nearby
18.
Haarlemmermeer
–
Haarlemmermeer is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water, and it is one of the largest towns in the Netherlands whose name is not used as the name of a municipality. This town, together with the growing towns of Nieuw-Vennep and Badhoevedorp. The Netherlands main international airport Schiphol is located in Haarlemmermeer, the original Haarlemmer Lake is said to have been mostly a peat bog, a relic of a northern arm of the Rhine which passed through the district in Roman times. The four lakes were formed one by successive floods, with the Haarlemmermeer name being applied to the combined lake. One of those villages was Vennep, after which the modern Nieuw-Vennep was named, in Dutch, the tendency for lakes to grow over time is called the waterwolf. The waterwolf could be a place during storms. It claimed a victim on 7 January 1629, when Frederick Henry of the Palatinate, son and heir of Frederick V. By 1647 the new Haarlemmermeer had an area of about 150 square kilometres, in 1643, Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater proposed to dike and drain the lake. Similar schemes, among which those of Nicolaus Samuel Cruquius in 1742, first, a canal was dug around the lake, fittingly called Ringvaart, to carry the water drainage and boat and ship traffic which had previously gone across the lake. This canal was 61 kilometres long, and 2.40 metres deep, the area enclosed by the canal was more than 180 square kilometres, and the average depth of the lake 4 metres. As the water had no drainage, it was calculated that probably 1000 million tons would have to be raised by mechanical means. All of the pumping was done by steam mills, an innovation contrasting with the practice of draining polders using windmills. Three Cornish beam engines were imported from Hayle, the Leeghwater, the Cruquius, pumping began in 1848, and the lake was dry by July 1,1852,800 million tons were actually discharged. At the first sale of the highest lands along the banks on 16 August 1853, about 28 per acre was paid, the soil is of various kinds, loam, clay, sand, and peat. Most of it is enough, though in the lower portions there are barren patches where the scanty vegetation is covered with an ochreous deposit. Mineral springs occur containing a high percentage of common salt. In 1854, the city of Leiden laid claim to the possession of the new territory, Haarlemmermeer became incorporated as a municipality in the province of North Holland by law on July 16,1855
19.
Zoetermeer
–
Zoetermeer is a city in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 37.05 km2 of which 2.50 km2 is water, a small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950. By 2013 this had grown to 123,328, making it the third largest population centre in the province of South Holland, after Rotterdam and it is part of the Haaglanden conurbation. The name Zoetermeer refers to the lake north of the town. Because the name translates as sweet lake local residents have dubbed Zoetermeer Sweet Lake City. In the tenth century Zoetermeer was a village, primarily home to farmers. In the 13th century a village centre was formed, which exists as the historic Dorpsstraat. Until the 17th century there was a lake, called the Zoetermeer, until 1935 the village centre was split into two villages, Zoetermeer and Zegwaard. The standard of living at the time was said to be higher in Zoetermeer than in Zegwaard, Seghwaert, an older way of spelling of Zegwaard, is now the name of a neighbourhood outside the old village centre. Zoetermeer began to grow slightly when the first train came around 1868. A few decades later the Numico factory started near the station, the real growth started in 1966, when there was an urgent need of houses from people around The Hague. From then they started to build new quarters around the old centre, so Zoetermeer began to grow. Although Zoetermeer nowadays has the image of a city, there are still remains of the past. Like the old centre with its small houses and the church with late medieval 15th-century clock tower. Lake Dobbe divides the old town from the new city centre, with the village centre on one side of the lake. Every neighbourhood has at least one shopping mall and a tram stop, the area also features the historic De Hoop windmill, which unlike many other windmills in the area used for drainage, has always been used as a corn mill. The postcode for Zoetermeer-Dorp is 2712, Driemanspolder was the first area to be developed as part of modern Zoetermeer, and contains mostly large multi-apartment buildings characteristic of the era. It is next to the A12 motorway, which forms the border of the wijk
20.
Leiden
–
Leiden is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland. Leiden is located on the Oude Rijn, at a distance of some 20 kilometres from The Hague to its south, the recreational area of the Kaag Lakes lies just to the northeast of Leiden. A university city since 1575, Leiden houses Leiden University, the oldest university of the Netherlands, Leiden is a city with a rich cultural heritage, not only in science, but also in the arts. One of the worlds most famous painters, Rembrandt, was born, other famous Leiden painters include Lucas van Leyden, Jan van Goyen and Jan van Steen. The city has one of Europes most prominent scientific centres for more than four centuries. Modern scientific medical research and teaching started in the early 18th century in Leiden with Boerhaave, many important scientific discoveries have been made here, giving rise to Leiden’s motto, ‘City of Discoveries’. It is twinned with Oxford, the location of the United Kingdoms oldest university, Leiden University and Leiden University of Applied Sciences together have around 35,000 students. Leiden is a university city, university buildings are scattered throughout the city. Leiden was formed on a hill at the confluence of the rivers Oude. In the oldest reference to this, from circa 860, the settlement was called Leithon, the name is said to be from Germanic *leitha- canal. Leiden has in the past erroneously been associated with the Roman outpost Lugdunum Batavorum and this particular castellum was thought to be located at the Burcht of Leiden, and the citys name was thought to be derived of the Latin name Lugdunum. However the castellum was in closer to the town of Katwijk. The landlord of Leiden, situated in a stronghold on the hill, was subject to the Bishop of Utrecht. This county got its name in 1101 from a domain near the stronghold, Leiden was sacked in 1047 by Emperor Henry III. Early 13th century, Ada, Countess of Holland took refuge here when she was fighting in a war against her uncle, William I. He besieged the stronghold and captured Ada, Leiden received city rights in 1266. In 1389, its population had grown to about 4,000 persons, burgrave Filips of Wassenaar and the other local noblemen of the Hook faction assumed that the duke would besiege Leiden first and send small units out to conquer the surrounding citadels. But John of Bavaria chose to attack the citadels first and he rolled the cannons with his army but one which was too heavy went by ship
21.
Dordrecht
–
Dordrecht, colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,782 in 2014. The municipality covers the entire Dordrecht Island, also often called Het Eiland van Dordt, bordered by the rivers Oude Maas, Beneden Merwede, Nieuwe Merwede, Hollands Diep, and Dordtsche Kil. Dordrecht is the largest and most important city in the Drechtsteden and is part of the Randstad. Dordrecht is the oldest city in the Holland area and has a rich history, the name Dordrecht comes from Thuredriht, Thuredrecht. The name seems to mean thoroughfare, a ship-canal or -river through which ships were pulled by rope from one river to another, as here from the Dubbel to the Merwede, or vice versa. Earlier etymologists had assumed that the drecht suffix came from Latin trajectum, a ford, the Drecht is now supposed to have been derived from draeg, which means to pull, tow or drag. Dordrecht is informally called Dordt by its inhabitants, in earlier centuries, Dordrecht was a major trade port, well known to British merchants, and was called Dort in English. The city was formed along the Thure river, in the midst of peat swamps and this river was a branch of the river Dubbel, which is part of the massive Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta complex, near the current Bagijnhof. Around 1120 reference to Dordrecht was made by a remark that count Dirk IV of Holland was murdered in 1049 near Thuredrech, Dordrecht was granted city rights by William I, Count of Holland, in 1220, making it the oldest city in the present province of South Holland. In fact, Geertruidenberg was the first city in the county of Holland to receive city rights. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Dordrecht developed into an important market city because of its strategic location and it traded primarily in wine, wood and cereals. Dordrecht was made more important when it was given staple right in 1299. In 1253 a Latin school was founded in Dordrecht and it still exists today as the Johan de Witt Gymnasium and is the oldest gymnasium in the Netherlands. From 1600 to 1615 Gerhard Johann Vossius was rector at this school, on 18–19 November 1421, the Saint Elisabeths flood flooded large parts of southern Holland, causing Dordrecht to become an island. It was commonly said that over 10,000 people died in the flood, the gathering is regarded as the first important step towards the free and independent Dutch Republic. Other important gatherings such as the Union of Brussels and the Union of Utrecht paved the way for independence of the Dutch Republic. The Union of Dordrecht was held in an Augustinian monastery, nowadays simply called het Hof
22.
Alphen aan den Rijn
–
Alphen aan den Rijn is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, between Leiden and Utrecht. The town is situated on the banks of the river Oude Rijn, the municipality had a population of 107,117 in 2014, and covers an area of 132.49 km2 of which 5.91 km2 is water. The municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn also includes the communities of Aarlanderveen, Zwammerdam, the town is located in what is called the Green Heart of the Netherlands, which is a somewhat less densely populated centre area of the Randstad. The name Alphen is probably derived from the name of the Roman fort Albaniana and its remains still lie underneath the city centre today. The area around Alphen aan den Rijn has been inhabited for 2000 years, in the Roman era, the Oude Rijn was the main branch of the Rhine River and formed the north border of the Roman Empire. Since the rule of Emperor Claudius, divisions of the Roman army were stationed here, consequently, several Roman fortifications were located along the Oude Rijn, including castellum Albanianae in the centre of Alphen. The Romans had also built the first bridge over the Oude Rijn, Alphen was therefore an important commercial site in the area until Germanic raids ended that in 240 AD. After recurring problems with flooding, especially in Utrecht and Leiden, the Oude Rijn has not flooded since. During the Middle Ages, Alphen was a fiefdom called Alphen en Rietveld, in the 17th century, Alphen became prominent again as a hub for commerce. The Oude Rijn was used for traffic, there are still portions along the river where the towpath is present. The current municipality was formed in 1918 through the amalgamation of the municipalities of Alphen, Aarlanderveen. In 1964, the municipality of Zwammerdam was added as well, in 2014 the municipalities of Boskoop and Rijnwoude were amalgamated as well, doubling the land area and increasing the population to over 100,000. During the Second World War, the majority of Jews from Alphen were deported and subsequently murdered, after the war, the Jewish congregation was disbanded and merged with the one in Leiden. Since 1950, the city began to grow rapidly, a large new neighbourhood was built on the north side. And since the 1990s, a new development was built at the citys south side. Now Alphen aan den Rijn is mostly a commuter city, in recent years, a large part of the town centre has undergone a full urban renewal. Many older buildings built in the 1950s and earlier have been demolished to make place for modern architecture, as of 2006, all of these projects have been finished. On 9 April 2011, an opened fire at a shopping centre in Alphen aan den Rijn, killing six people
23.
Westland (municipality), Netherlands
–
Westland is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It covers an area of 90.58 km2 of which 11.05 km2 is covered by water and had a population of 103,716 in 2014. Towns and other settlements, De Lier, s-Gravenzande, Monster, Naaldwijk, Wateringen, Heenweg, Honselersdijk, Kwintsheul, Maasdijk, Poeldijk, Westland was created on 1 January 2004 by a merger of the municipalities De Lier, s-Gravenzande, Monster, Naaldwijk and Wateringen. These are also the names of five of the settlements, the others are Heenweg, Honselersdijk, Kwintsheul, Maasdijk, Poeldijk, and Ter Heijde. Westland itself is not the name of a settlement or town, the City hall is located in the middle of Westland, in Naaldwijk, the second largest settlement in Westland. The town of Honselersdijk also possesses the largest Flower Auction, FloraHolland and this is a very important sector of the Westland economy. Flowers produced in Westland are sold all over the world, coastal towns are Ter Heijde, Monster itself and s-Gravenzande. These towns are popular with Germans and people from the Eastern Netherlands and it is not unknown for every holiday campsite to be fully booked with tourists. This is because of their proximity to the more popular Scheveningen Westland is part of the Haaglanden conurbation. Westland is most known for its horticulture in greenhouses, growing flowers and vegetables
24.
Delft
–
Delft is a city and a municipality in the Netherlands. It is located in the province of South Holland, to the north of Rotterdam, the city of Delft came into being aside a canal, the Delf, which comes from the word delven, meaning delving or digging, and led to the name Delft. It presumably started around the 11th century as a landlord court, from a rural village in the early Middle Ages, Delft developed to a city, that in the 13th century received its charter. The towns association with the House of Orange started when William of Orange, nicknamed William the Silent, at the time he was the leader of growing national Dutch resistance against Spanish occupation, known as the Eighty Years War. By then Delft was one of the cities of Holland. An attack by Spanish forces in October of that year was repelled, after the Act of Abjuration was proclaimed in 1581, Delft became the de facto capital of the newly independent Netherlands, as the seat of the Prince of Orange. When William was shot dead in 1584, by Balthazar Gerards in the hall of the Prinsenhof, therefore, he was buried in the Delft Nieuwe Kerk, starting a tradition for the House of Orange that has continued to the present day. The Delft Explosion, also known in history as the Delft Thunderclap, occurred on 12 October 1654 when a gunpowder store exploded, over a hundred people were killed and thousands were wounded. About 30 tonnes of gunpowder were stored in barrels in a magazine in a former Clarissen convent in the Doelenkwartier district, cornelis Soetens, the keeper of the magazine, opened the store to check a sample of the powder and a huge explosion followed. Luckily, many citizens were away, visiting a market in Schiedam or a fair in The Hague, Delft artist Egbert van der Poel painted several pictures of Delft showing the devastation. Historical buildings and other sights of interest include, Oude Kerk, buried here, Piet Hein, Johannes Vermeer, Anthony van Leeuwenhoek. Nieuwe Kerk, constructed between 1381 and 1496 and it contains the Dutch royal familys burial vault, which between funerals is sealed with a 5,000 kg cover stone. A statue of Hugo Grotius made by Franciscus Leonardus Stracké in 1886 and this is the only remaining gate of the old city walls. The Gemeenlandshuis Delfland, or Huyterhuis, built in 1505, which has housed the Delfland regional water authority since 1645, the Vermeer Centre in the rebuilt Guild house of St. Luke. Windmill De Roos, a mill built c.1760. Restored to working order in 2013, another windmill that formerly stood in Delft, Het Fortuyn, was dismantled in 1917 and re-erected at the Netherlands Open Air Museum, Arnhem, Gelderland in 1920. Delft is well known for the Delft pottery ceramic products which were styled on the imported Chinese porcelain of the 17th century, the city had an early start in this area since it was a home port of the Dutch East India Company. It can still be seen at the pottery factories De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles, the painter Johannes Vermeer was born in Delft
25.
Alkmaar
–
Alkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its cheese market. For tourists, it is a cultural destination. The earliest mention of the name Alkmaar is in a 10th-century document, as the village grew into a town, it was granted city rights in 1254. The oldest part of Alkmaar lies on an ancient sand bank that afforded protection from inundation during medieval times. Even so, it is only a couple of metres above the surrounding region, in 1573 the city underwent a siege by Spanish forces under the leadership of Don Fadrique, son of the Duke of Alva. Some of his dispatches fell into the hands of Don Fadrique, and, with the beginning to rise. It was a point in the Eighty Years War and gave rise to the expression Bij Alkmaar begint de victorie. The event is celebrated every year in Alkmaar on 8 October. In 1799, during the French revolutionary wars, an Anglo-Russian expeditionary force captured the city but was defeated in the Battle of Castricum. The French victory was commemorated on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as Alkmaer, the North Holland Canal, opened in 1824, was dug through Alkmaar. In 1865 and 1867 the railways between Alkmaar and Den Helder and between Alkmaar and Haarlem were built respectively, in the second half of the 20th century, Alkmaar expanded quickly with development of new neighbourhoods. On 1 October 1972, the town of Oudorp and the portions of Koedijk. The municipality of Alkmaar consists of the cities, towns, villages and/or districts, Alkmaar, Koedijk, Overdie, Oudorp. These once separate villages are now all linked together by the suburban sprawl of buildings that arose between the late 1970s and early 1990s, during this time, the population of Alkmaar almost doubled. On 1 January 2015 the municipalities of Graft-De Rijp and Schermer were merged into Alkmaar, there are direct trains to Den Helder, Hoorn, Zaandam, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Ede, Arnhem, Nijmegen, s-Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven, Maastricht and Haarlem. For exact details see Alkmaar railway station, Alkmaar has two railway stations, Alkmaar Alkmaar Noord The waterway Noordhollandsch Kanaal, which opened in 1824, runs through Alkmaar. Alkmaar has many buildings that are still intact, most notably the tall tower of the Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk
26.
Purmerend
–
Purmerend is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster, the city became the trade center of the region but the population grew relatively slowly. Only after 1960 did the population start to grow from around 10,000 to around 80,000 by the 2010s, from the 1960s onwards, Purmerend has seen major expansion and continues to do so. This expansion has turned Purmerend into a town, many inhabitants of Purmerend, work. Purmerend is part of the Randstad, one of the largest conurbations in Europe, Purmerend was founded by a rich banker from Amsterdam, Willem Eggert. HRH Count William VI of Holland gave him permission to build his own fortified castle, the castles construction was completed in 1413 and it remained standing until it was demolished in 1741 after it had fallen into decline. In 1434 Purmerend was given city rights and on 21 April 1484 the city was given “marktrechten” by Count Jan van Egmond and this meant merchants from outside of Purmerend could now offer their merchandise for sale on the market. Before 1484 only food products for its own population were allowed to be sold, by 1500 Purmerend had grown considerably, as can be seen on maps dating from that period. They show that the town had a shape and was crossed by two roads, one leading north-south, the other east-west. The draining of the Beemster Lake in 1612 and the Purmer Lake in 1622 resulted in a loss in fishing grounds to Purmerend. However, the new and fertile soil favoured agriculture and livestock breeding, making Purmerend prosperous again, Purmerend now became the centre of an agricultural region, the produce of which was sold on the markets of Purmerend. During World War II Purmerend was occupied by German forces on 14 May 1940, after five years of occupation, the city was liberated by Canadian and other allied forces on Wednesday 9 May 1945. Purmerend was named Kermisstad van Nederland, after the funfair, Purmerend is most famous for its cattle market, the so-called koemarkt, where cattle are sold and traded, mostly cows and sheep. 52. 50823°N4. 94985°E /52.50823,4.94985 After the outbreak of cattle diseases between 1995 and 2001 the cattle market was not allowed any more. It was reinstated on a scale on January 2002. After 400 years Purmerenders saw the last cattle auction at the location in downtown Purmerend in 2008. The auction was moved to the Baanstee Oost industrial area, in the side of Purmerend. This was decided for reasons, freeing up downtown traffic congestion, allowing for more parking area downtown, more room for auction grounds
27.
Schiedam
–
Schiedam is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area, the city is located west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south it is connected with the village of Pernis by the Beneluxtunnel and this was the towns main industry during the early Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th century, a dark period to which it owed its former nickname Zwart Nazareth or Black Nazareth. Furthermore, the city is known for Saint Lidwina, one of the most famous Dutch saints, in 1247, Lady Adelaide of Holland married John I, Count of Hainaut. As dowry she received him the eastern part of the dam together with the adjacent polder. The dam attracted many trade activities because goods for and from the hinterland had to be transhipped, a small town developed swiftly around the dam and its activities. In the year 1275 Schiedam received city rights from Lady Adelaide, this in her capacity as sister of William II and she ordered the building of a castle near the Schie, which is known till today as the Castle Mathenesse. Remnants of a donjon, which were part of the castle, are still visible today in the centre of Schiedam. As a young settlement Schiedam soon got competition from surrounding towns and cities, in 1340, Rotterdam and Delft also were allowed to establish a connection between the Schie and the Meuse. From the 15th century on the city flourished as a place of pilgrimage on the devotion around Saint Lidwina, the city gained subsequently significance by fishing for herring. In 1428 a great city fire swept through Schiedam, thereby destroying large parts of the wooden city. The 18th century was Schiedams Golden Age, when the gin industry flourished, the standstill drink imports from France made the emergence of the Schiedamse distillery possible. From dozens of distilleries Schiedam jenever was exported throughout the world, the gin industry gave the city its nickname Black Nazareth. This industry is now largely gone, in one of the former factories at the Lange Haven the National Jenever Museum is established. On 10 August 1856 the first major accident in the Netherlands happened near the Schiedam railway station. On 4 May 1976 the Schiedam train disaster took place near the station which caused 24 deaths. At the end of the 19th and throughout the 20th century, in 1941, the ancient municipalities Kethel en Spaland were merged with Schiedam which made large expansions of the city possible with residential areas in the north. At the end of the 20th century the shipbuilding industry largely disappeared, the city of Schiedam is located in the Dutch province of South Holland
28.
Hoorn
–
Hoorn is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on the Markermeer,35 kilometres north of Amsterdam, Hoorn had a population of 71,888 in 2014. The area of the municipality is 53.25 km2 of which 33.00 km2 consists of water, the municipality consists of the following villages and/or districts, Blokker, Hoorn, Zwaag, and parts of Bangert and De Hulk. Cape Horn, the most southerly point of the Americas, was named after the town by Willem Schouten, the Hoorn Islands of the Oceanian nation of Wallis and Futuna are also named after this city. The origin of the name Hoorn, even in old spelling Hoern or Hoirne, is surrounded in myths, Hoorns name, according to Old Frisian legends, is derived from the stepson of King Redbad, called Hornus. A third version says that the name was derived from the shape of one of its first ports. The author of the Origo Civitatis Hornensis assumes that name Hoorn was derived from Damphoorn, Damphoorn is the medieval name for a weed that could be made into whistles, which grew in abundance in the area outside the dykes of Hoorn. Chronicler Velius rejects this statement because there are no old historical entries that Hoorn was called Damphoorn and he wrote, The name was from the start Hoorn, not derived from the weed Damphoorn, as the current sentiment holds. Velius also rejects the assertion that the origin is Dampter Horn, a neighbourhood of the village Dampten. The name is most probably derived from Hornicwed, a name that is popping up in early mediaeval documents, the medieval meaning of hornic is corner, with wed or wedor being the medieval word for water. Many places and neighbourhoods in the Netherlands are called, even today, Heurne, Huurne, Hornicwed would therefore refer to the location of a corner on the coastline, the location of Hoorn at the Zuiderzee. We see hornic in the meaning of corner also reflected in another municipality in the mediaeval County of Holland, Uithoorn, meaning uithoek and this area was abandoned and flooded after 1391, following the abandonment of the old dyke. A new dyke was built inland, resulting in a bay which is now the Hoornse Hop. Hoorn was already in existence then, founded in 716, Hoorn rapidly grew to become a major harbour town. During Hollands Golden Age, Hoorn was an important home base for the Dutch East India Company, the Hoorn fleet plied the seven seas and returned laden with precious commodities. Exotic spices such as pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and mace were sold at vast profits, with their skill in trade and seafaring, sons of Hoorn established the towns name far and wide. Jan Pieterszoon Coen is famous for his violent raids in Dutch Indies and he has a big statue on the Rode Steen square in the center of Hoorn. In 1618 Willem Bontekoe undertook his first and only voyage for the VOC, Bontekoe van Hoorn, begrijpende veel wonderlijcke en gevaerlijcke saecken hem daer in wedervaren
29.
Vlaardingen
–
Vlaardingen is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of 26.69 km2, of which 23.64 km2 is land, the city is divided into a northern and a southern part by the A20 motorway. On the east the city is separated from Schiedam by the A4 motorway, other places nearby are Maassluis to the west, Schipluiden and Delft to the north, Schiedam and Rotterdam to the east and Spijkenisse in the south-west, on the other side of the Nieuwe Maas. The A20 connects Rotterdam to Hoek van Holland, the Beneluxtunnel connects the A20 to the A15. The centre of the town is on the west side of the old harbour, the area around Vlaardingen was already settled by about 2900 to 2600 BC. In 1990, a skeleton dated at about 1300 BC was dug up in the periphery of Vlaardingen, some human nuclear DNA was identified, in 726 or 727 the area is again mentioned as In Pagio Marsum, where a little church was established, around which Vlaardingen formed. The church is mentioned on a list of churches Willibrord, the Apostle to the Frisians, in 1018 Vlaardingen was a stronghold of Dirk III, who levied an illegal toll on ships on the Meuse river. An army sent by German Emperor Henry II in order to stop this practice was defeated by Dirk III in the Battle of Vlaardingen, in 1047, his successor Dirk IV repelled another such attack. The flood disaster of December 21,1163, ended the growth of Vlaardingen, the Counts of Holland moved away and its development stagnated. It is known that in 1273 Vlaardingen was granted city rights by Floris V, older city rights are possible, but not provable. In 1574, during the Eighty Years War of Dutch independence, Vlaardingen later became a shipbuilding area and a significant harbour for the herring fishing industry. The fishing boats ceased to use Vlaardingen in the years after World War II, because of the industrialization in and close to Vlaardingen, the city suffered from heavy air pollution and sometimes sick making smog during the 1970s. One day, a school had to be closed because of the smog. Many environmental groups arose in and around Vlaardingen and the it was seen as one of the most dirty cities of the country, there are still some ship repair business in Eastern Vlaardingen beside the Nieuwe Maas River. The Vulcaanhaven was for years the largest privately owned artificial harbour in the world. The last major herring factory, Warmelo & Van Der Drift, left Vlaardingen in the middle of 2012 to relocate to Katwijk aan Zee, there are still some ferry terminals. Historical buildings in the include the Grote Kerk, the Waag next to the church and the old town hall, all on the Markt, the former marketplace, the Visbank at the harbour
30.
Gouda, South Holland
–
Gouda is a municipality and city in the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. The city is famous for its Gouda cheese, stroopwafels, many grachten, smoking pipes, goudas array of historic churches and other buildings makes it a very popular day trip destination. The area, originally marshland, developed over the course of two centuries, by 1225, a canal was linked to the Gouwe and its estuary was transformed into a harbour. City rights were granted in 1272, around the year 1100, the area where Gouda now is located was swampy and covered with a peat forest, crossed by small creeks such as the Gouwe. Along the shores of this stream near the current market and city hall, in 1139, the name Gouda is first mentioned in a statement from the Bishop of Utrecht. In the 13th century, the Gouwe was connected to the Oude Rijn by means of a canal, Castle Gouda was built to protect this harbour. This shipping route was used for trade between Flanders and France with Holland and the Baltic Sea, in 1272, Floris V, Count of Holland, granted city rights to Gouda, which by then had become an important location. City-canals or grachten were dug and served as transport ways through the town, great fires in 1361 and 1438 destroyed the city. In 1572, the city was occupied by Les Gueux who also committed arson and destruction, in 1577 the demolition of Castle Gouda began. In 1551 was founded the oldest still functioning inn De Zalm, located on Markt 34, near the historic Waag building. In 1574,1625,1636, and 1673, Gouda suffered from plague epidemics, of which the last one was the most severe,2995 persons died. In the last quarter of the 16th century, Gouda had serious economic problems and it recovered in the first half of the 17th century and even prospered between 1665 and 1672. But its economy collapsed again when war broke out in 1672, after 1700, Gouda enjoyed a period of progress and prosperity until 1730. Then another recession followed, resulting in a period of decline that lasted well into the 19th century. Gouda was one of the poorest cities in the country during that period, starting in 1830, demolition of the city walls began. The last city gate was torn down in 1854, only from the second half of the 19th century onward did Gouda start to profit from an improved economic condition. New companies, such as Stearine Kaarsenfabriek and Machinale Garenspinnerij, acted as the impetus to its economy, in 1855, the railway Gouda-Utrecht began to operate. In the beginning of the 20th century, large-scale development began, first the new neighbourhoods Korte Akkeren, Kort Haarlem and Kadebuurt were built, followed by Oosterwei, Bloemendaal, and Goverwelle after World War II
31.
Demonym
–
A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
32.
Port of Rotterdam
–
The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004 it was the worlds busiest port, now overtaken first by Singapore, in 2011, Rotterdam was the worlds eleventh-largest container port in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units handled. In 2012 Rotterdam was the worlds sixth-largest port in terms of cargo tonnage. Covering 105 square kilometres, the port of Rotterdam now stretches over a distance of 40 kilometres, Rotterdam consists of five distinct port areas and three distribution parks that facilitate the needs of a hinterland with 40,000,000 consumers. In the first half of the 19th century the activities moved from the centre westward towards the North Sea. To improve the connection to the North Sea, the Nieuwe Waterweg, the Nieuwe Waterweg was designed to be partly dug, then to further deepen the canal bed by the natural flow of the water. Ultimately however, the last part had to be dug by manual labour as well, nevertheless, Rotterdam from then on had a direct connection between the sea and harbour areas with sufficient depth. The Nieuwe Waterweg has since been deepened several times, the Nieuwe Waterweg was ready in 1872 and all sorts of industrial activity formed on the banks of this canal. Over the years the port was further developed seaward by building new docks, rotterdams harbour territory has been enlarged by the construction of the Europoort complex along the mouth of the Nieuwe Waterweg. In the 1970s the port was extended into the sea at the side of the mouth of the Nieuwe Waterweg by completion of the Maasvlakte which was built in the North Sea near Hoek van Holland. In the past five years the industrialised skyline has been changed by the addition of numbers of wind turbines taking advantage of the exposed coastal conditions. On 10 October 2006, however, approval was acquired to start construction in 2008, most important for the port of Rotterdam is the petrochemical industry and general cargo transshipment handlings. The harbour functions as an important transit point for transport of bulk, from Rotterdam goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. Since 2000 the Betuweroute, a fast cargo railway from Rotterdam to Germany, has been under construction, the Dutch part of this railway opened in 2007. Large oil refineries are located west of the city, the river Maas and Rhine also provide excellent access to the hinterland. The EECV-quay of the port has a draft of 24 metres, the ships draft of 23 meters leaves only 1 metre of under keel clearance, therefore it can only dock in a restricted tidal window. Such ships must travel in the Eurogeul, much of the container loading and stacking in the port is handled by autonomous robotic cranes and computer controlled chariots. The ECT pioneered the development of terminal automation, at the Delta terminal, the chariots—or automated guided vehicles —are unmanned and each carries one container
33.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
–
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the main international airport of the Netherlands, located 9 kilometres southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, province of North Holland. It is the third busiest airport in Europe in terms of passengers, the airport is built as a single-terminal concept, one large terminal split into three large departure halls. Schiphol is the hub for KLM and its regional affiliate KLM Cityhopper as well as for Corendon Dutch Airlines, Martinair, Transavia, the airport also serves as a European hub for Delta Air Lines and Jet Airways and as a base for EasyJet and Vueling. Schiphol opened on 16 September 1916 as a military airbase, the end of the First World War also saw the beginning of civilian use of Schiphol Airport and the airport eventually lost its military role completely. By 1940, Schiphol had four runways at 45-degree angles. The airport was captured by the German military that same year, the airport was destroyed through bombing but at the end of the war the airfield was restored quickly. In 1949, it was decided that Schiphol was to become the airport of the Netherlands. The airports official English name, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, reflects the original Dutch word order, Schiphol Airport is an important European airport, ranking as Europes third busiest and the worlds fourteenth busiest by total passenger traffic in 2015. It also ranks as the fifth busiest by international passenger traffic. 58.285 million passengers passed through the airport in 2015. In 2010,65. 9% of passengers using the airport flew to and from Europe,11. 7% to and from North America and 8. 8% to and from Asia, in 2010,106 carriers provided a total of 301 destinations on a regular basis. Passenger destinations were offered by 91 airlines, direct destinations grew by 9 to a total of 274. Regular destinations serviced exclusively by full freighters grew by eight to a total of twenty-seven, the airport is built as one large terminal, split into three large departure halls, which connect again once airside. The most recent of these was completed in 1994 and expanded in 2007 with a new section, called Terminal 4, plans for further terminal expansion exist, including the construction of a separate new terminal between the Zwanenburgbaan and Polderbaan runways that would end the one-terminal concept. Because of intense traffic and high landing fees, some low-cost carriers decided to move their flights to airports, such as Rotterdam The Hague Airport. Many low-cost carriers, such as EasyJet, however, continue to operate from Schiphol, there have been talks about using the Lelystad Airport for low-cost carriers. Schiphol is equipped with eighteen double jetway gates in preparation for airlines introducing the Airbus A380, Emirates was the first airline to fly the A380 to Schiphol in August 2012, deploying the aircraft on its double daily Dubai–Amsterdam service. During the summer, China Southern Airlines also uses the A380 on its Beijing–Amsterdam route, Schiphols name is derived from a former fortification named Fort Schiphol, which was part of the Stelling van Amsterdam defence works
34.
Metropolitan area
–
As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. The Greater São Paulo is a term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration with zones not necessarily urban in character and these outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles metro area in the United States, in practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Population figures given for one area can vary by millions. A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, in defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities form a nucleus that other areas have a high degree of integration with. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines statistical divisions as areas under the influence of one or more major towns or a major city. However, this definition has become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. In Brazil, metropolitan areas are called metropolitan regions, each State defines its own legislation for the creation, definition and organization of a metropolitan region. The creation of a region is not intended for any statistical purpose, although the Brazilian Institute of Geography. Their main purpose is to allow for a management of public policies of common interest to all cities involved. They dont have political, electoral or jurisdictional power whatsoever, so living in a metropolitan region do not elect representatives for them. Statistics Canada defines a metropolitan area as an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the area must have a population of at least 100,000. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a degree of integration with the core. As of the Canada 2011 Census, there were 33 CMAs in Canada, including six with a population over one million—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. In Denmark the only area is Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Capital Region of Denmark along with the neighboring regions Region Zealand. Greater Copenhagen has an population of 1.25 million people
35.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
36.
Milan metropolitan area
–
The Milan metropolitan area, known as Grande Milano, is the metropolitan area of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Italy. The spatial spread of the Milan metropolitan area has accelerated over recent decades. A single, large and increasingly widespread conurbation with the city of Milan at its hub defines the area, however. The Milan metropolitan area contains a population of 8,123,020 in 2013 ISTAT, the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density. The metropolitan area is statistical and does not imply any kind of administrative unity or function. Another definition is synonymous with the province of Milan, with 3,869,037 inhabitants distributed over an area of 1,982 km2, according to Eurostat Urban Audit program, the larger urban zone of Milan has a population of 3,076,643. Finally, an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development territorial review of 2006 takes a more inclusive definition based on socioeconomic patterns, the overall population under this definition is about 7,400,000, dispersed over an area of about 12,000 km2. The most important of these by population are Monza, Busto Arsizio, Sesto San Giovanni, Legnano, the total land area of the greater urban area is 2944.53 km² with a population of 5.246.000 the largest in Italy by population. 27% of this population resides in the city of Milan, the density of the Milan urban area is 1,651 per km², one of the highest in Europe. This table shows the main Italian urban areas by population, the Milan urban area is the largest Transport in Milan Larger Urban Zones in the European Union Largest European metropolitan areas
37.
San Francisco Bay Area
–
The San Francisco Bay Area is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses the cities and metropolitan areas of San Jose, San Francisco. The Bay Areas nine counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. The combined statistical area of the region is the second-largest in California, the fifth-largest in the United States, the Bay Area has the second-most Fortune 500 Companies in the United States, and is known for its natural beauty, liberal politics, entrepreneurship, and diversity. The eastern side of the bay, consisting of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, is known locally as the East Bay, the inner East Bay is more densely populated, with generally older buildings, and a more ethnically diverse population. The word Lamorinda was coined by combining the names of the cities it includes, Lafayette, Moraga, walnut Creek is situated east of Lamorinda and north of the San Ramon Valley and, together with Concord, Martinez, and Pleasant Hill comprises Central Contra Costa County. The cities of Antioch, Pittsburg, Brentwood, Oakley and the areas surrounding them comprise East Contra Costa County. The Tri-Valley consists of the Amador, the Livermore, and the San Ramon Valleys, dublin and Pleasanton comprise the Amador Valley, Livermore lies in the Livermore Valley, and the San Ramon Valley consists of Alamo, Danville, Diablo and its namesake, San Ramon. The outer East Bay is connected to the inner East Bay by BART, Interstate 580 to the south, and State Routes State Route 4 to the north, the outer East Bays infrastructure was mostly built up after World War II. This area remains largely white demographically, although the Hispanic and Filipino populations have grown significantly over the past 2–3 decades, the region north of the Golden Gate Bridge is known locally as the North Bay. This area encompasses Marin County, Sonoma County, Napa County, the city of Fairfield, being part of Solano County, is often considered the easternmost city of the North Bay. With few exceptions, this region is affluent, Marin County is ranked as the wealthiest in the state. The North Bay is relatively rural compared to the remainder of the Bay Area, with areas of undeveloped open space, farmland. Santa Rosa in Sonoma County is the North Bays largest city, with a population of 167,815 and a Metropolitan Statistical Area population of 466,891, making it the fifth-largest city in the Bay Area. The North Bay is the section of the Bay Area that is not currently served by a commuter rail service. The area from San Francisco to the Silicon Valley, geographically part of the San Francisco Peninsula, is known locally as The Peninsula, many of these families are of foreign background and have significantly contributed to the diversity of the area. Whereas the term peninsula technically refers to the entire geographical San Franciscan Peninsula, in local terms, San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides, the north, east, and west. The city squeezes roughly 870,000 people in under 47 square miles, on any given day, there can be as many as 1 million people in the city because of the commuting population and tourism
38.
Amersfoort
–
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre, Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the Netherlands main east-west and north-south rail lines. It celebrated its 750th birthday as a city in 2009, hunter gatherers set up camps in the Amersfoort region in the Mesolithic period. Archaeologists have found traces of these camps, such as the remains of hearths, the city grew around what is now known as the central square, the Hof, where the Bishops of Utrecht established a court in order to control the Gelderse Vallei area. It was granted city rights in 1259 by the bishop of Utrecht, a first defensive wall, made out of brick, was finished around 1300. Soon after, the need for enlargement of the city became apparent and around 1380 the construction of a new wall was begun, the famous Koppelpoort, a combined land and water gate, is part of this second wall. The first wall was demolished and houses were built in its place, todays Muurhuizen Street is at the exact location of the first wall, the fronts of the houses are built on top of the first city walls foundations. The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwentoren tower is one of the tallest medieval church towers in the Netherlands at 98 metres, the construction of the tower and the church was started in 1444. It is now the point of the RD coordinate system, the coordinate grid used by the Dutch topographical service. The inner city of Amersfoort has been preserved well since the Middle Ages, in the Middle Ages, Amersfoort was an important centre for the textile industry, and there were a large number of breweries. In the 18th century the city flourished because of the cultivation of tobacco, after the 1920s growth stalled again, until in 1970 the national government designated Amersfoort, then numbering some 70,000 inhabitants, as a growth city. In 2009 the population was 140,000 plus, with an expected 150,000 by 2012, after four days of battle, the population was allowed to return. There was a functioning Jewish community in the town, at the beginning of the war numbering about 700 people, half of them were deported and killed, mainly in Auschwitz and Sobibor. In 1943, the synagogue, dating from 1727, was damaged on the orders of the then Nazi-controlled city government. It was restored and opened again after the war, and has served since by a succession of rabbis. There was a camp near the city of Amersfoort during the war. The camp, officially called Polizeiliches Durchgangslager Amersfoort, better known as Kamp Amersfoort, was located in the neighbouring municipality of Leusden. After the war the leader of the camp, Joseph Kotälla and he died in captivity in 1979
39.
Amstelveen
–
Amstelveen is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is a part of the metropolitan area of Amsterdam. The name Amstelveen comes from Amstel, a river, and veen, meaning fen, peat. KLM has its headquarters in Amstelveen, in addition Amstelveen has the international headquarters of one of the Big Four auditors, KPMG. During the French occupation between 1810 and 1814, it was the capital of a canton in the French department Zuyderzée and it is technically a large dorp, because it was never walled. The Thijssepark, was the first heempark in the Netherlands and is one of sixteen heemparks or heemgroen in Amstelveen, designed by landscape architect C. P. Broerse, following the ideas of the great Dutch naturalist and conservationist Jac. P. Thijsse, it was developed between 1940 and 1972 and covers an area of 5 hectares, and is situated just south of the Amsterdamse Bos. Amstelveen was chosen as an unlikely host of a match in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, south Africa played Kenya in the match. Former Dutch prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende started his career as member of the council for Amstelveen. As a result of the vicinity of Schiphol, and its links to Amsterdam, Amstelveen has grown, in the early 20th century Amstelveen was a small rural village. The turf industry had collapsed, so the revenues of it were gone, the village was somewhat isolated, because no major rail and waterway were connected. The main source of income was farming with some arable. In 1852 the Haarlemmermeer polder was reclaimed and the Fort at the Schiphol was created as a defense for the capital Amsterdam, forts were in those days more often named after rivers. Fort at the Schiphol was a ditch between Aalsmeer and Amstelveen, and named after a piece of land from Amstelveen. Fort Schiphol, became an airport in 1916. Four years later Schiphol became a civilian airport, Schiphol Fort was demolished in 1934. The demolition was necessary for the construction of the road from Amstelveen to Schiphol. The development of Schiphol attracted many people, many of whom settled in Amstelveen, the headquarters of KLM was established there
40.
Barendrecht
–
Barendrecht is a town and lordship in the Netherlands, located as a suburb of Rotterdam in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 47,442 in 2014, the writer Jan Geurt Gaarlandt has been Lord of Barendrecht since 1995. The municipality of Barendrecht also includes the communities, Barendrecht-Carnisselande. The name Barendrecht is derived from the Germanic word birni, translated as mud or muddy, the current municipality of Barendrecht is located in the area of three former fiefdoms, East-Barendrecht, West-Barendrecht, and Carnisse. The oldest reference to East-Barendrecht is from 1264 and these fiefdoms were in Riederwaard, an area reclaimed from water since the 12th century but had to deal with frequent dike breaches throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. Further stages in land reclamation, constituting the part of modern Barendrecht, were the Binnenland polder. During the French Period, the three fiefdoms were merged into one municipality Barendrecht, after the French Period, it was split into East and West-Barendrecht, but in 1836 it was again united as one municipality. Topographic map of Barendrecht, Sept.2014 The population of Barendrecht increased ten-fold in the last 80 years from just under 5,000 in 1930 to close to 50,000 in 2010. During this time the number of homes increased as well, there was an increase in the number of homes in the last 50 years from 2,200 in 1961 to 18,400 in 2011. The overall population increased, whereas the number of persons per household decreased and this is consistent with the general trend in the Netherlands over this period. In 2012, Barendrecht had a population of 47,055, the marital status of the municipality was distributed such that 46% of it population was married, 45% never married, 6% divorced and 4% widowed. Twenty percent of the population of Barendrecht was from foreign origin, the foreign origin of the municipality was 7% Western, 4% Suriname, 3% Turkey, 2% Morocco, 1% Dutch Caribbean and 4% from other countries. Barendrecht had 18,615 households in 2012, this corresponds to an average of 2.5 persons per household, of these households, 24% were made up of individuals, 30% were couples with no children under 18 living with them and 45% contained children under 18. Barendrecht is home to two clubs, BVV Barendrecht, which plays at the third level of the Dutch football pyramid. BVV Barendrecht won the KNVB Amateur Cup in the 2008–09 season, in addition to these clubs there are also numerous other sport clubs, including organized badminton, basketball, handball, hockey, korfball, tennis, track and field, volleyball and water polo. Athletes from Barendrecht have also had success, mostly notably quadruple Olympic swimming champion Inge de Bruijn. She won four medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals in the freestyle and butterfly events at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. During her career she won a total of 36 medals in competitions,18 of these medals were gold
41.
Capelle aan den IJssel
–
Capelle aan den IJssel is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 66,261 in 2014 and it is situated on the eastern edge of Rotterdam, on the Hollandse IJssel river. Capelle aan den IJssels most famous resident is former Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, the town has what is probably the countrys smallest museum, the Dief en Duif huis. Now a historical museum, it served as the prison for the castle of Capelle and is all that now remains of the 16th-century castle, on opposing sides of the A16 motorway are two business parks called Rivium and Brainpark respectively. Companies based in the larger Rivium include Rockwell Automation, Pfizer Nederland, Sodexho Nederland, Royal Dutch Shell, Van Oord, connections with the main railway system on line C are at Blaak station and at Schiedam Centrum station. After changing to line A or B also at Alexander station, to and from the direction The Hague the fastest connection is usually with a change at Schiedam Centrum, for other directions it varies. Capelle aan den IJssel has its own station, Capelle Schollevaar. This station is located outside of the city centre in the Schollevaar neighborhood, local trains from Rotterdam to Gouda and Amsterdam stop at this station. Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Capelle aan den IJssel, June 2015
42.
Hilversum
–
Hilversum is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called Het Gooi, it is the largest town in that area and it is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilversum is part of the Randstad, one of the largest conurbations in Europe, Hilversum is 31 km south-east of Amsterdam and 19 km north of Utrecht. The town is often called media city since it is the centre for radio. Radio Netherlands, heard worldwide via shortwave radio since the 1920s, is based here. As a result, many old AM radio sets in Europe had a Hilversum dial position marked on their tuning scales, the Dutch voting in the Eurovision Song Contest usually takes place from Hilversum. Hilversum is also known for its architecturally important Town Hall, designed by Willem Marinus Dudok and built in 1931. Hilversum has one library, two swimming pools, a number of sporting halls and several shopping centers In the region, the city centre is called het dorp. Earthenware found in Hilversum gives its name to the Hilversum culture, artifacts from this prehistoric civilization bear similarities to the Wessex Culture of southern Britain and may indicate that the first Hilversum residents emigrated from that area. The first brick settlements formed around 900, but it was not until 1305 that the first official mention of Hilversum is found, at that point it was a part of Naarden, the oldest town in the Gooi area. Farming, raising sheep and some wool manufacturing were the means of life for the Gooi in the Middle Ages, in 1424, on 21 March at 6,30 am, Hilversum received its first official independent status. This made possible further growth in the village because permission from Naarden was no longer needed for new industrial development. The town grew further in the 17th century when the Dutch economy as a whole entered its age of prosperity, in 1725 and 1766 large fires destroyed most of the town, leveling parts of the old townhouse and the church next to it. The town overcame these setbacks and the industry continued to develop. In the 19th century a substantial textile and tapestry industry emerged, aided by a link to Amsterdam in 1874. Despite this growth, Hilversum was never granted city rights so it is referred to by many locals as het dorp. For the 1928 Summer Olympics in neighboring Amsterdam, it hosted all of the non-jumping equestrian, the city was the headquarters of the German ground forces in the Netherlands. By then the industry had started its decline, only one factory, Veneta, managed to continue into the 1960s
43.
Hook of Holland
–
The Hook of Holland is a town in the southwestern corner of Holland, at the mouth of the New Waterway shipping canal into the North Sea. The town is administered by the municipality of Rotterdam as a district of that city and its district covers an area of 16.7 km2, of which 13.92 km2 is land. On 1 January 1999 it had an population of 9,400. Towns near the Hook include Monster, s-Gravenzande, Naaldwijk and Delft to the northeast, on the other side of the river is the Europort and the Maasvlakte. On the north side of the New Waterway, to the west of the town, is a part of which is accessible to pedestrians. The Berghaven is a harbour on the New Waterway where the Rotterdam. This small harbour is only for the use of the service, government vessels. During World War II this was one of the most important places for the Germans to hold because of the harbour, the Schiedam–Hoek van Holland railway is a 24-kilometre branch line from Schiedam Centrum station via Vlaardingen and Maassluis. The final two stations on the line are located within the town, Hoek van Holland Haven, the penultimate station, is close to the town centre, adjacent to the ferry terminal and the small harbour, the Berghaven. Hoek van Holland Strand, the terminus, is closest to the beach, the railway line opened for service in 1893 and was electrified in 1935. Services on the line to Rotterdam Centraal station are being operated by NS every half hour during the day until April 2017 and it is expected to reopen in September 2017 as an extension of the Rotterdam Metro. Hoek van Holland is also the location of a ferry terminal. Currently, two routes are being operated, one, a day and night freight and passenger service, to Harwich, Essex and the other, a local ferry operated by RET links the Hook with the Maasvlakte part of the Port of Rotterdam. The A20 motorway begins approximately 10 kilometres east of Hoek van Holland near Westerlee, heading east towards Rotterdam and it connects to the A4 heading north towards the Hague and Amsterdam 17 kilometres east of the town. Hook of Holland VVV site Harwich - Hoek ferry service
44.
Hoofddorp
–
Hoofddorp is the main town of the Haarlemmermeer municipality in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. In 2009, the population was just over 73,000, the town was founded in 1853, immediately after the Haarlemmermeer had been drained. After the draining of the Haarlemmermeer, two villages, Kruisdorp and Venneperdorp, were founded in the centre of the polder, in 1868 they were renamed to Hoofddorp and Nieuw-Vennep respectively. Hoofddorp became more prosperous than Nieuw-Vennep, and it became the most important place of the district. In the late nineteenth century Hoofddorp was included in the Defense line of Amsterdam, a fort was built next to the main canal, two batteries were located in what are now the outskirts of Hoofddorp, and several casemates were built to the east of Hoofddorp. A large dike known as the Geniedijk connected the fort at Hoofddorp to the batteries and the casemates, and ultimately to the fort at Vijfhuizen in the west, in 1856, the first windmill in the Haarlemmermeer was built in the centre of Hoofddorp by Dirk David van Dijk. Due to increased building around the mill it eventually fell into disuse, in 1977 the mill was moved to another location near fort Hoofddorp. It has operated regularly from that time and is now open to the public, the town is served by Hoofddorp railway station. From here there are 2 trains an hour to Den Haag Centraal railway station,4 trains an hour to Amsterdam Zuid railway station and 2 trains an hour to Amsterdam Centraal, journey times to Amsterdam Centraal are 25 –30 minutes. On 3 August 1912, Hoofddorp was connected by rail to Leiden, Aalsmeer and these railway lines, operated by the Hollandsche Electrische Spoorwegmaatschappij, were closed on 31 December 1935. In 1981, Hoofddorp was connected by rail for the second time, the Southern High-Speed Line, that opened in 2007, will use existing conventional track from Amsterdam Central Station to Hoofddorp, where it will branch off onto a dedicated track. The trains will not stop at Hoofddorp, on 30 November 1992 the Hoofddorp train disaster took place near Hoofddorp, causing 5 deaths and 33 wounded. Hoofddorp is connected by bus lines to many cities and towns in the immediate surroundings. Most bus lines are operated by Connexxion, in 2002, Hoofddorp was connected to Haarlem, Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam Zuidoost by the high quality bus line Zuidtangent. In 2009 came the Second line from Amsterdam Zuid railway station to Nieuw Vennep Getsewoud, the Zuidtangent will be expanded by adding a line to Uithoorn and Amsterdam IJburg. The bus station at Spaarne Hospital in Hoofddorp is the worlds biggest structure built entirely from synthetic materials, at this moment it has been painted in a sort of orange/gold color. The Netherlands Aviation Safety Board, during its existence, had its office in Hoofddorp. The Dutch Transport Safety Board, the agency, was established on 1 July 1999
45.
Houten
–
Houten is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The municipality consists of the towns, t Goy Houten Schalkwijk Tull en t Waal The main town in the municipality is Houten. On 1 January 2012, the town had 48,314 inhabitants, the built-up area was 5.08 km2 in area, and contained 18,451 residences. The slightly larger district of Houten had a population of about 39,100 in 2004. Remains of a Roman villa have been found in the old centre of Houten, there used to be a Roman villa on that spot. This building was discovered in the fifties, in the Dark Ages Houten took shape as a rural centre. The area of the municipality of Houten was divided in the so-called gerechten, the names of these districts are still in use, Schonauwen, Wulven, Waijen, Heemstede. A lot of elements in present-day Houten are reminders of its history, prominent in the old centre Het Oude Dorp are the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church. The first accounts of this date from the ninth century. Another prominent building is the restaurant/cafe De Engel, already mentioned in the 16th century as a tavern, former access roads to the old centre are still recognisable by their names, such as the Odijkseweg and Loerikseweg. Houten had many orchards, but few have survived, modern Houten started to take shape in the last decades of the 20th century. It was first designated by the office of Wissing-Derks as a Groeikern – a centre of growth – to meet the needs of the city of Utrecht. From the beginning urban planner-designer Robert Derks was involved with the development of the New Town Houten, in 1979 the construction of 10,000 dwellings started and the population grew from 4,000 to more than 30,000 late in the nineties. Until 2015, some 7,000 new houses are being built in Houten-Zuid, following the urban design principles as the existing Northern part of Houten. The body of water to the east is large in comparison with water bodies in the old parts of Houten, another difference is that in some places cars share the road with bicycle paths. The southern part was designed by Robert Derks and his office for urban design Stedebouw BV. Houten has two stations, Houten and Houten Castellum. These stations are served by commuter trains to Utrecht and Geldermalsen
46.
Katwijk
–
Katwijk is a coastal municipality and town in the province of South Holland, which is situated in the mid-western part of the Netherlands. The Oude Rijn river flows through the town and into the North Sea, Katwijk is located on the North Sea, northwest of Leiden and 16 km north of The Hague. It shares its borders with the municipalities of Noordwijk, Teylingen, Oegstgeest, Leiden, in January 2016, Katwijk had a population of 64.169 and covers an area of 31.13 km2, of which 6.59 km2 is water. Katwijk is by far the largest town in the Duin- en Bollenstreek, the town consists of a number of districts, including namesakes Katwijk aan den Rijn and Katwijk aan Zee. On 1 January 2005 the various districts had the following populations, Katwijk aan den Rijn Katwijk aan Zee Katwijk-Noord Rijnsburg Valkenburg Lying on the coast, Katwijk aan den Rijn lies just slightly inland. Rijnsburg is situated east of Katwijk aan den Rijn whereas Valkenburg finds itself to the south, Katwijk-Noord is situated north of Katwijk aan Zee. Although consisting of separate towns that still today maintain separate identities. The creation of the municipality of Katwijk is a recognition of that fact, the town hall of the current municipality of Katwijk is located in Katwijk aan den Rijn, near the boundary of Katwijk aan Zee. All these districts lie along the Oude Rijn, the name Katwijk probably has its origins in the name of a Germanic tribe called the Chatten. The Dutch word wijk means area, so the name meant something like the Chatti area. In Romans times, Katwijk was a place of strategic importance and it was located at the Roman Empires northern border, at the mouth of the Rhine river, which in Roman times was larger in this area than it is today. There was a deal of traffic along the Rhine. Katwijk was also a point for the voyage to Britain. Built during the reign of Emperor Claudius, the name was Lugdunum Batavorum. The towns name was associated with the name of the city of Leiden. In 1231, the first reference to Catwijck appeared in records, the history of the modern municipality of Katwijk is essentially the history of its constituent parts, which for each village extends back to Roman times. However, Katwijk aan Zee, Katwijk aan den Rijn and Valkenburg were part of the same heerlijkheid called Beide de Katwijken en t Zand and they have been administratively joined for centuries despite their differing characters. Katwijk aan Zee was a town and Katwijk aan den Rijn had an agricultural character
47.
Leidschendam
–
Leidschendam is a town and former municipality in the province of South Holland of the Netherlands. Along with Voorburg and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg, the towns name has been in use for centuries and refers to the lock in the Vliet, near the historic city of Leiden. The settlement on the Northern side of the lock was known as Veur and this recent date belies the long history of human habitation in this area, which predates the Roman occupation two thousand years ago. Important driver for the development of the area was the Vliet canal, ferrying people and goods through Holland in the Middle Ages, and even in Roman times. As elsewhere in Holland, windmills were constructed to power industry, such as a wheat grinding mill in 1594. Veur became an independent municipality in the time of the short-lived Batavian Republic, the Southern side of the Vliet was settled at a later date due to presence of extensive swamps. These were drained around 1200 by the Dutch counts, enabling the settlements of Stompwijk, subsequently the peat industry flourished, and about twenty windmills were constructed for water management. In 1811, Stompwijk and Veur were combined to form Leidschendam, a growing number of government and industrial activities and the associated housing demand transformed Veur from a rural into a suburban community. This led to a reorganization and the formation of Leidschendam. Both Leidschendam and Voorburg are now part of the agglomeration of the city of The Hague and are regarded as its suburbs. Stompwijk is still a village, located a few miles Northeast of Leidschendam. All three were combined into the municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg in 2002 as an answer to a series of small annexations from surrounding municipalities made by The Hague, hans van der Sluijs has been mayor of Leidschendam-Voorburg since 2007. In 2002, the unemployment rate was 13. 1%, a large, semi-covered, shopping area, Leidsenhage, exists near the border with Voorburg. Leidsenhage contains a number of retailers, including large chains such as Albert Heijn, Vroom & Dreesmann. Drawing large numbers of people, the area is a point of road. Leidschendam also hosts the headquarters of Fugro, a company providing geotechnical. Leidschendam hosted the office of the countrys secret service, the AIVD. The building now hosts the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try those suspected of assassinating former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg)
.jpg)