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 and Tempo Team. A separate division of Randstad focuses on recruiting supervisors, 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 has operating companies that select managers for permanent placements in middle, HR Solutions involves a number of services such as selection processes, HR consultancy 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 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 and the health-care sector. The firms first office was near the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, in 1963, the agency opened branches in Leiden and Rotterdam and changed its name from Uitzendbureau Amstelveen’ to ‘Randstad Uitzendbureau.
At that time 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
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 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, 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
Nieuwegein
Nieuwegein is a municipality and city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is bordered on the north by the city of Utrecht and it is separated from Vianen to the south by the river Lek and borders on IJsselstein in the southwest and Houten in the east. Nieuwegein was founded on 1 July 1971 as a city, following the merger of the former municipalities of Jutphaas. The new town was built for the population of the city of Utrecht. Nieuwegein is surrounded by three motorways, the A2 to the west, the A12 to the north and the A27 to the east, Nieuwegein is connected to Utrecht and IJsselstein by the Sneltram line. There is a ferry across the river Lek to Vianen. Three canals flow through Nieuwegein, the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, the Lek River, there are a few sports clubs in Nieuwegein, such as, SV Geinoord, VSV Vreeswijk and JSV Nieuwegein. Several national sports federations are housed in Nieuwegein, including the NeVoBo, KNZB, Dutch Topographic map of Nieuwegein and neighboring IJsselstein, as of March 2014.
Puławy, Poland Rundu, Namibia Media related to Nieuwegein at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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 includes the communities of Aarlanderveen, 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, several Roman fortifications were located along the Oude Rijn, including castellum Albanianae in the centre of Alphen.
The Romans had 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
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, 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 did not last long
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 and Scheldt give waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, the extensive distribution system including rail and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nickname Gateway to Europe, 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 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
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 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
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 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, clay 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
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 in the arts. One of the worlds most famous painters, 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, 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
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 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
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 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, 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
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, 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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
.jpg){kind=small}
North Holland
South Holland
Utrecht
Flevoland
.jpg)
.jpg)
