A report on Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Netherlands

The Oude Kerk was consecrated in 1306 AD.

Map of Rotterdam by Willem and Joan Blaeu (1652)

The name of the historic County of Holland is currently used as a pars pro toto for the Netherlands.

Amsterdam citizens celebrating the Peace of Münster, 30 January 1648. Painting by Bartholomeus van der Helst

Courtyard of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange by Emanuel de Witte, 1653. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange was the first stock exchange to introduce continuous trade in the early 17th century.

Oak figurine found in Willemstad (4500 BC)

View of Vijzelstraat looking towards the Muntplein, 1891

Rotterdam centre after the 1940 bombing of Rotterdam. The ruined St. Lawrence' Church has been restored

Photochrom of Amsterdam's Dam Square at the beginning of the 20th century

Tower blocks in the Kop van Zuid neighbourhood

Topographic map image of Rotterdam (city), as of September 2014

People celebrating the liberation of the Netherlands at the end of World War II on 8 May 1945

Satellite image of Rotterdam and its port

Franks, Frisians and Saxons (710s AD) with Traiecturm and Dorestad in the middle

The 17th-century Canals of Amsterdam were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2010, contributing to Amsterdam's fame as the "Venice of the North". Along with De Wallen, the canals are the focal-point for tourists in the city.

The 24 municipalities of the Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area

Satellite picture of Amsterdam and North Sea Canal

Gebouw Delftse Poort, one of the tallest office buildings in the Netherlands

Rorik of Dorestad, Viking ruler of Friesland (romantic 1912 depiction)

Unmanned vehicles handle containers at Europe Container Terminals (ECT), the largest container terminal operator in Europe.

A Medieval Tombe of the Brabantian knight Arnold van der Sluijs

Large-scale map of the city centre of Amsterdam, including sightseeing markers,.

Map of the Habsburg dominions. From 1556 the dynasty's lands in the Low Countries were retained by the Spanish Habsburgs.

Nieuwendammerdijk en Buiksloterdijk, Amsterdam-Noord, winter 2010

Bronze statue of Erasmus created by Hendrick de Keyser in 1622

The Westerkerk in the Centrum borough, one of Amsterdam's best-known churches

Rotterdam waterfront, with spotlights shining into the air to commemorate the Rotterdam Blitz

Dutch East India Company factory in Hugli-Chuchura, Mughal Bengal by Hendrik van Schuylenburgh, 1665

City decor for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

Winter landscape with skaters near the city of Kampen by Hendrick Avercamp (1620s)

A 1538 painting by Cornelis Anthonisz showing a bird's-eye view of Amsterdam. The famous Grachtengordel had not yet been established.

Map of the Dutch colonial empire. Light green: territories administered by or originating from territories administered by the Dutch East India Company; dark green: the Dutch West India Company. In yellow are the territories occupied later, during the 19th century.

The Wilhelmina pier at the Kop van Zuid in the distance. A part of Rotterdam with many skyscrapers and high-rises. On the left the Erasmus Bridge can be seen.

The submission of Diponegoro to General De Kock at the end of the Java War in 1830. Painting by Nicolaas Pieneman

The Cube Houses, popularly known as the Blaak-forest in 2014

Rotterdam after German air raids in 1940

The Egelantiersgracht lies west of the Grachtengordel, in the Jordaan neighbourhood.

The Markthal at night as seen from the Binnenrotte, Rotterdam center.

Former Prime Ministers Wim Kok, Dries van Agt, Piet de Jong, Ruud Lubbers and Jan Peter Balkenende with Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in 2011

The Scheepvaarthuis, by architects Johan van der Mey, Michel de Klerk, Piet Kramer is characteristic of the architecture of the Amsterdam School.

The Begijnhof is one of the oldest hofjes in Amsterdam.

The former headquarters of the Holland America Line next to modern residential architecture in 2010

The Christmas flood of 1717 was the result of a northwesterly storm that resulted in the death of thousands.

The Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam and Conservatorium van Amsterdam, two examples of 21st-century architecture in the centre of the city

Map illustrating areas of the Netherlands below sea level

The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world

Robin van Persie began his career with SBV Excelsior and broke through in Feyenoord.

The Zuidas, the city's main business district

The Delta Works are located in the provinces of South Holland and Zeeland.

Boats give tours of the city, such as this one in front of the EYE Film Institute Netherlands.

Runners during the marathon in Rotterdam

Common seals on Terschelling, a Wadden Sea island

Arthur Ashe at the 1975 ABN World Tennis Tournament

De Wallen, Amsterdam's Red-light district, offers activities such as legal prostitution and a number of coffee shops that sell cannabis. It is one of the main tourist attractions.

The Binnenhof, where the lower and upper houses of the States General meet

An Amsterdammer waits for a traffic light to change at the Muntplein in the heart of Amsterdam.

De Wallen, Amsterdam's red-light district, offers activities such as legal prostitution and a number of coffeeshops that sell marijuana, symbolising the Dutch political culture and tradition of tolerance.

The Rijksmuseum houses Rembrandt's The Night Watch.

Rotterdam's new Central Station reopened in March 2014, designed to handle up to 320,000 passengers daily.

The Netherlands has a culture of respectful and friendly debate. From left to right, members of the House of Representatives Sander de Rouwe (CDA), Ineke van Gent (GL), Han ten Broeke (VVD), Kees Verhoeven (D66) and Farshad Bashir (SP), 2010

The Van Gogh Museum houses the world's largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and letters.

Provinces and territories of the Netherlands

The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is an international museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art and design.

The Peace Palace (Vredespaleis), in The Hague

A Citadis tram outside the former Rotterdam Centraal, 2008

General Onno Eichelsheim is the current Chief of Defence.

Coldplay performing at the Amsterdam Arena, 2016

Zr. Ms. Holland, a Royal Netherlands Navy offshore patrol vessel

The Concertgebouw or Royal Concert Hall houses performances of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and other musical events.

Historical GDP per capita development (Our World in Data)

Stadsschouwburg, Amsterdam's best-known theatre

A proportional representation of Netherlands exports, 2019

One of the decorated boats participating in the 2013 Canal Parade of the Amsterdam Gay Pride

The Netherlands is part of a monetary union, the Eurozone (dark blue), and the EU single market.

Natural gas concessions in the Netherlands. Today the Netherlands accounts for more than 25% of all natural gas reserves in the EU.

Femke Halsema has been the Mayor of Amsterdam since 2018.

The Groningen gas field whose discovery in 1959 transformed the Dutch economy, generating €159 billion in revenue since the mid-1970s.

Population of the Netherlands from 1900 to 2000

Population pyramid of the Netherlands in 2017

King Willem-Alexander, Princess Beatrix, and Queen Máxima greeting Amsterdammers from the Royal Palace of Amsterdam during Willem-Alexanders inauguration in 2013

In Rotterdam almost half the population has an immigrant background.

Population density in the Netherlands by municipality. The largest urban area, the Randstad is clearly visible along the west coast.

The Amsterdam Metro is a mixed subway and above ground rapid transit system consisting of five lines.

Knowledge of foreign languages in the Netherlands, in per cent of the population over the age of 15, in 2006

Amsterdam Centraal station, the city's main train station

An international primary school in The Hague

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol ranks as Europe's third-busiest airport for passenger traffic.

View on the Utrecht Science Park of Utrecht University. The building in the centre is the library.

Police bicyclist crossing a bridge over the Prinsengracht

Portrait of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), known as "the father of microbiology"

The Agnietenkapel Gate at the University of Amsterdam, founded in 1632 as the Athenaeum Illustre

A regional train operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS)

Bike passage at Rotterdam Centraal station

Dutch people in orange celebrating King's Day in Amsterdam, 2017

Johan Cruyff Arena, the largest Dutch concert venue

Dutch star football players Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie during a game with the Netherlands against Denmark at Euro 2012

New Amsterdam as it appeared in 1664. Under British rule it became known as New York.

Eustachius De Lannoy of the Dutch East India Company surrenders to Maharaja Marthanda Varma of the Indian Kingdom of Travancore after the Battle of Colachel. (Depiction at Padmanabhapuram Palace)

A Dutch doctor vaccinating Indonesian patients

Amsterdam (, , , lit. The Dam on the River Amstel) is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands; with a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area.

- Amsterdam

Rotterdam (, , , lit. The Dam on the River Rotte) is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands.

- Rotterdam

The four largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

- Netherlands

In contrast to those other metropolises, Amsterdam was also surrounded by large towns such as Leiden (about 67,000), Rotterdam (45,000), Haarlem (38,000) and Utrecht (30,000).

- Amsterdam

There is a healthy competition with Amsterdam, which is often viewed as the cultural capital of the Netherlands.

- Rotterdam

8 related topics with Alpha

The Hague

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Street in The Hague by Sybrand van Beest, c. 1650, Royal Castle in Warsaw

The Old City Hall of The Hague around 1900

The Ministry of Justice and Security building, opened in 2012

Detailed topographic map of The Hague, 2014

The Hofvijver and the buildings housing the States General of the Netherlands

View of the Hoftoren (left) and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (the triangular gable right)

The Peace Palace houses the International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of Arbitration amongst other institutions.

Meeting in the Hall of Knights during the Congress of Europe (9 May 1948)

The Hague's central financial district, Beatrixkwartier, with the modern tram viaduct called the Netkous ("Fishnet stocking")

Modern RegioCitadis tram on route 2, Loosduinen, April 2012

Internal view of The Hague Central station

The Ridderzaal inside the Binnenhof, the political centre of the Netherlands

Monument commemorating the founding of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at Plein 1813

The Hague (Den Haag or 's‑Gravenhage ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea.

With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Utrecht

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The Dom Tower seen from Downtown Utrecht. The remaining section of the Cathedral of Saint Martin is not connected to the tower since the collapse of the nave in 1674 due to a storm.

Lambert de Hondt (II): The Surrender of Utrecht on 30 June 1672 to the French king Louis XIV, 1672, Centraal Museum Utrecht

People celebrating the liberation of Utrecht at the end of World War II on 7 May 1945

Oudegracht (the 'old canal') in central Utrecht

View of the Oudegracht from the Dom Tower

Aerial view of Utrecht from the Dom Tower

View on the Science Park campus of Utrecht University. The building in the centre is the library.

Miffy statue at the Nijntjepleintje in Utrecht

Prins Clausbrug across the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal

team pauses with their coach by the Muntbrug, a rotating bridge built in 1887.

Utrecht is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht.

It was the most important city in the Netherlands until the Dutch Golden Age, when it was surpassed by Amsterdam as the country's cultural centre and most populous city.

Like Rotterdam, Amsterdam, The Hague and other large Dutch cities, Utrecht faces some socio-economic problems.

Rhine

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One of the major European rivers.

Map of the Rhine (for interactive map click here: )

The confluence of the Anterior Rhine to the lower left and the Posterior Rhine in the back, forming the Alpine Rhine to the left next to Reichenau

The Rhine between Sargans (Switzerland, left) and Balzers (Liechtenstein, right) with the Gonzen (1829 m, left), the Girrenspitz (2099 m) in the back, and the Maziferchopf (855 m) to the right

Aerial image of the mouth of the Rhine into Lake Constance

Satellite image. In the center and on the right (i.e. to the east) the larger part of Lake Constance, called the Obersee, is visible, and it includes, in the lower right, the Delta of the Alpine Rhine. The northwesterly "finger" (on the top left) is Lake Überlingen, containing the island of Mainau. Below Lake Überlingen (also in the west) is the smaller Untersee, containing Reichenau Island. The Obersee and Untersee are connected by the four kilometers long Seerhein. On the left the High Rhine can be seen.

Distance markers along the Rhine indicate distances from this bridge in Constance

The 555 km marker, downstream from the Lorelei

The Rhine Fall at Schaffhausen (Switzerland)

View of the Mainz Basin downstreams of Mainz, from Eltville and Erbach to Bingen

View of the Middle Rhine Valley and Burg Katz, in the background Lorelei

The central and northern parts of the Rhine-Meuse delta

Changing the Meuse estuary in 1904: light blue old course, dark blue today's course

Map showing how the waters of the Rhine and Meuse rivers split into various branches of their combined delta

Schematic cross section of the Upper Rhine Graben

Castellum Nigrum Pullum, Zwammerdam, The Netherlands, artist impression Stevie Xinas

French forces under Louis XIV cross the Rhine into the Netherlands in 1672

Allied soldiers of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment crossing the Rhine into Germany after the end of WWI, December 1918

Soldiers of the US 89th Infantry Division cross the Rhine in assault boats under German fire as part of Operation Plunder on 24 March 1945

The Rhine at Mannheim, in the Rhine-Neckar industrial area

Finally in Germany the Rhine turns into a predominantly westerly direction and flows into the Netherlands where it eventually empties into the North Sea.

Among the largest and most important cities on the Rhine are Cologne, Rotterdam, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Strasbourg, Nijmegen, and Basel.

Duisburg is the home of Europe's largest inland port and functions as a hub to the sea ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Amsterdam.

Municipalities of the Netherlands

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As of 24 March 2022, there are 344 municipalities (gemeenten) and three special municipalities (bijzondere gemeenten) in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam has the highest population with 893,783 residents, whereas The Hague is the most densely populated with a density of 6650 /km2.

Only Amsterdam, where the districts are called stadsdelen, as well as Rotterdam, where the districts are called deelgemeenten, consist of such formal subdivisions.

Randstad

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Bubble map showing the population sizes of larger towns and cities in the Randstad circa 2012

A RandstadRail LRV between Zoetermeer and The Hague

The Randstad ("Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many towns in between, that all grew and merged into each other, containing almost half the country's population.

North Sea

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Ocean currents mainly entering via the north entrance exiting along Norwegian coast

• Localization of the tide-gauges listed • Tide times after Bergen (negative = before) • The three amphidromic centers • Coasts: marshes = green mudflats = greenish blue lagoons = bright blue dunes = yellow sea dikes= purple moraines near the coast= light brown rock-based coasts = greyish brown

The Afsluitdijk (Closure-dike) is a major dam in the Netherlands

Pacific oysters, blue mussels and cockles in the Wadden Sea in the Netherlands

European seagull on the coast of North Sea

A female bottlenose dolphin with her young in Moray Firth, Scotland

Painting of the Four Days' Battle of 1666 by Willem van de Velde the Younger

German cruiser SMS Blücher sinks in the Battle of Dogger Bank on 25 January 1915.

The exclusive economic zones in the North Sea

Oil platform Statfjord A with the flotel Polymarine

Unpolished amber stones, in varying hues

The beach in Scheveningen, Netherlands in c. 1900

Map showing hypothetical extent of Doggerland (c. 8,000 BC), which provided a land bridge between Great Britain and continental Europe

The North Sea between {{ma|34}} and {{ma|28}}, as Central Europe became dry land

thumb|A 1482 recreation of a map from Ptolemy's Geography showing the "Oceanus Germanicus"

thumb|Edmond Halley's solar eclipse 1715 map showing The German Sea

The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

Major ports are located along its coasts: Rotterdam, the busiest port in Europe and the fourth busiest port in the world by tonnage, Antwerp (was 16th) and Hamburg (was 27th), Bremen/Bremerhaven and Felixstowe, both in the top 30 busiest container seaports, as well as the Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge, Europe's leading ro-ro port.

The North Sea Canal connects Amsterdam with the North Sea.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

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A Ford being used to power a winch for towing gliders at Schiphol in 1933

The air traffic control tower at Schiphol in 1960

Airplanes and service vehicles on the apron in 1965

The main entry of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Check-in hall interior at the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

KLM Cargo Boeing 747-400ERF on the Taxiway Bridge crossing the Highway A4 E19.

All the airport's 6 runways viewed from an aeroplane taking off at dawn.

The Convair Building, which houses KLM Cityhopper and KLM offices, and the original Schiphol control tower

The construction of the tunnel and railway station in 1992

The crash site of El Al Flight 1862 in 1992

The crash site of Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 on 25 February 2009

Queues to the security control in June 2022

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, known informally as Schiphol Airport (Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands.

It is located 9 km southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province of North Holland.

The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the national Dutch train operator, has a major passenger railway station directly underneath the passenger terminal complex that offers transportation 24 hours a day into the four major cities Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam.