Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second largest city in the
Netherlands, located in the province of
South Holland. The city is situated on the banks of the
Nieuwe Maas River. The name "Rotterdam" is derived from the small river Rotte, which joins the Nieuwe Maas at the location of the city.
Municipality
\nAs of January 1, 1999 the municipality had an area of 304 km² (209 km² land) with a total population of 600,000.
Apart from the center the municipality consists of the following towns, villages and townships: Charlois (including Heijplaat), Delfshaven, Feijenoord, Hillegersberg-Schiebroek, Hoek van Holland, Hoogvliet, IJsselmonde, Kralingen-Crooswijk, Noord, Overschie, Pernis, Prins Alexander, and the industrial and port areas Botlek, Eemhaven, Europoort, Maasvlakte, Spaanse Polder, Vondelingenplaat, Waalhaven.
Harbour
\nRotterdam has the largest port in the world, which functions as an important transit point for goods transported between the European continent and other parts of the world: by ship,\nriver barge, train and road. A faster, new cargo railway to Germany, the Betuweroute, has been under construction since 2000. The city is in constant struggle to maintain its prominent position as a world leader in container, petrol, and general cargo transhipment handlings. Large oil refineries are located west of the city along the Nieuwe Waterweg.
Its harbour territory has been enlarged by the construction of the Europoort complex along the mouth of the Nieuwe Waterweg, and the Maasvlakte in the North Sea near Hoek van Holland. The lay-out of a second Maasvlakte was the subject of political debate since the 1990s; \nits construction has now been agreed and will be partly government-financed, as announced in a June 25 2004 \npress release (PDF, in Dutch) \nfrom the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.
History and recent developments
\nRotterdam was given cityrights on June 7, 1340 by Willem IV.
On May 14, 1940 Rotterdam was bombarded by the German Luftwaffe, on the last of five days of war in the Netherlands. The heart of the city was almost completely destroyed, which Ossip Zadkine later expressed strikingly with his statue Stad zonder hart (City without a heart). The statue is located near the Leuvehaven, not far from the Erasmusbrug in the north of the city. From the fifties through the seventies of the 20th century the city was rebuilt. It remained quite windy and open until the city councils from the eighties on began developing an active architectural policy. Daring and new styles of apartments, office buildings and recreation facilities resulted in a more 'livable' city center with a new skyline. In the nineties a new business center on the south bank of the river, the Kop van Zuid has been built.
Historical population
1796: 53,200 inhabitants
\n1830: 72,300
\n1849: 90,100
\n1879: 148,100
\n1899: 318,500
\n1925: 547,900
Geography
\nRotterdam is divided into 'Rotterdam-North' and ' Rotterdam-South' by the river Nieuwe Maas (for connections see that article). A former railway bridge, movable upward to let ships pass, is preserved as a monument, now permanently in upward position ("De Hef", picture). Rotterdam South is on the island of IJsselmonde. Rotterdam has the second largest airport of the country, Rotterdam Airport (formerly known as Zestienhoven), which is located north of the city.
Education
\nRotterdam has one major university, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, named after one of its famous former inhabitants, Desiderius Erasmus.
Museums
\nWell known museums are the Boymans-van Beuningen (arts) Museum , the Historisch Museum, the Volkenkundig Museum (foreign peoples and cultures), the Maritiem Museum and the Brandweermuseum (Fire brigade museum). The Euromast (Eurotower) has long been a major tourist attraction.
Culture
\nRotterdam was the European Culture Capital of 2001. The city has its own orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, a large congress and concert building De Doelen, plus many theatres (among which the new Luxor theatre) and movie theatres. The spacious Ahoy-complex in the south of the city is being used for pop concerts, exhibitions, tennis tournaments and other such activities. \nThe hard techno music style Gabber originated from Rotterdam.\nThe architect J. J. P. Oud was a famous Rotterdammer in his days.
The city is home to the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts.
Sport
\nRotterdam is the home of three professional football teams: Feyenoord, Sparta (Schiedam-Spangen) and Excelsior. The large Feyenoord stadium with its popular name De Kuip (The Tub) in the southeast of the city has hosted many international soccer games. Rotterdam has its own annual international marathon, which offers one of the fastest courses in the world. It is the home of Gabber music, a type of techno music with fast beats and samples.
Shopping
\nWell-known streets in Rotterdam are the shopping center the Lijnbaan (the first one of the country with streets for pedestrians only, opened in 1953), the Coolsingel with the city hall, and the Weena, which runs from the Central Station to the Hofplein (square).
Commerce and Industry
\nRotterdam is home to the Dutch half of Unilever.\nYearly events
Public transport
Train
\n*good national connections and to Belgium and France;\n*at night: hourly train service to Delft, The Hague, Leiden, Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam and, with a detour, Utrecht.
Metro
\n*Erasmus Line: Rotterdam Central station - Albrandswaard (Rhoon, Poortugaal) - Hoogvliet - Spijkenisse\n*Caland Line: two lines from the northeast of Rotterdam and one from Capelle aan den IJssel join; the combined line terminated in the west of Rotterdam, but on November 4, 2002, an extension was opened: the line now connects to the main railway network at Schiedam railway station, has a stop in Pernis and joins the Erasmus Line in Hoogvliet; trains on the Caland Line, like those on the Erasmus Line, terminate in Spijkenisse.\n:The eastern parts of the Caland Line have some level crossings (with priority), and could therefore be called light rail instead of underground; however, they are integrated in the system; these parts have overhead wires, while the rest has a third rail, the vehicles can handle both.
Fast Ferry
\n*Rotterdam Willemskade - Krimpen aan den IJssel Stormpolder - Ridderkerk De Schans - Alblasserdam Kade - Dordrecht Merwekade.
Miscellaneous
\nDuring the summer of 2003 there was an artificial beach at the Boompjeskade along the Nieuwe Maas, between the Erasmus Bridge and the Willems Bridge. Swimming was not possible, digging pits was limited to the height of the layer of sand, ca. 50 cm. Alternatively people go the beach of Hoek van Holland.
External links
\n*http://www.sdu.nl/staatscourant/gem/gem408zh.htm\n* HREF="http://www.ret.rotterdam.nl/reisinfo5/kaart/index.html" class="external">RET map\n*Maps:\n**http://www.rotterdam.nl/gis/website/ (select one or more items on the left, then select Toon voorzieningen op de kaart)\n**Map of Hoogvliet and Pernis\n**maps of some more districts (select plattegrond):\n***Botlek [1] [1]\n***Maasvlakte [1]
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Alternate content
Rotterdam, with a little over 600.000 inhabitants, is the second largest city in The Netherlands, following Amsterdam. Rotterdam, Amsterdam, The Hague and a number of smaller cities in the west of the country are expanding towards each other to the extent that the entire area is sometimes denoted as a single metropole known as Randstad.
Rotterdam is the main port of Europe and, in terms of weight of goods loaded and discharged, it is the largest port in the world. As it is located next to the river The Maas, there is excellent access to the hinterland. The self-image of the city is that of a no-nonsense workers' city. In that sense, there is a healthy competition with Amsterdam, which is often viewed as the 'cultural' capital of the Netherlands.
With an immigrant population of 45%, and 55% of the inhabitants earning a low income, Rotterdam has its fair share of typical urban problems, such as dilapidated inner city areas. A growing unrest with the city administration's inability to deal with these problems resulted in the sudden popularity of Pim Fortuyn, a politically right populist. Fortuyn was shot and killed by an animal rights activist while campaigning for the Dutch parliamentary elections in 2002.
Rotterdam is currently going through somewhat of a renaissance, with some moderately succesful urban renewal projects featuring ambitious architecture ('Manhattan on The Maas'), an increasingly sparkling nightlife, and a host of summer festivals celebrating the city's multicultural population, such as the the Brasil-inspired 'Summer Carnival'.
(by:131.174.232.152)
