Provinces of the Netherlands - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities, having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance. The government of each province consists of three major parts: the Provinciale Staten which is the provincial parliament elected every four years. Elected from its members are the Gedeputeerde Staten

Gedeputeerde Staten

The gedeputeerde staten are the executive councillors of a Dutch province. Together with the Queen's Commissioner they form the College van Commissaris van de Koningin en Gedeputeerde Staten, which is the executive council of the province. States Deputed are elected by the States Provincial, the...

, a college charged with most executive tasks, presided by the Commissaris van de Koningin appointed by the Crown.

Division

The modern-day Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

is divided into twelve province

Province

A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...

s (provincies in Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

Regions and their capitals

The twelve provinces are listed below with their capital city:

Province	Dutch name	Capital	Queen's Commissioner	Area (km²)	Population	Density (per km²)
Drenthe Drenthe Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...	Drenthe	Assen Assen Assen is a municipality and a city in the north eastern Netherlands, capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen's main claim to fame is the TT Circuit Assen the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Saturday in June the Dutch TT is run...	Jacques Tichelaar Jacques Tichelaar Jacques Tichelaar is a Dutch politician and former trade union leader and educator. He is a member of the Labour Party . Since May 1, 2009 he has been the Queen's Commissioner of the Province of Drenthe...	2,652	482,300	182
Flevoland Flevoland Flevoland is a province of the Netherlands. Located in the centre of the country, at the location of the former Zuiderzee, the province was established on January 1, 1986; the twelfth province of the country, with Lelystad as its capital...	Flevoland	Lelystad Lelystad Lelystad is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands, and it is the capital of the province of Flevoland. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdijk, making the reclamation possible...	Leen Verbeek Leen Verbeek Leendert Verbeek is a Dutch politician and former civil servant and social worker. He is a member of the Labour Party . He has served as mayor of Purmerend from April 2003 till November 2008...	1,426	356,400	250
Friesland Friesland Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...	Friesland / Fryslân (West Frisian West Frisian language West Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian and North Frisian,... )	Leeuwarden	John Jorritsma John Jorritsma John Jorritsma, born 1956 in Bolsward, Friesland, The Netherlands, is the Queen's Commissioner in the province of Friesland, The Netherlands.-References:...	3,361	642,500	191
Gelderland Gelderland Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...	Gelderland	Arnhem Arnhem Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...	Clemens Cornielje Clemens Cornielje Clemens Gerard Antoon Cornielje is a Dutch politician and former political consultant and educator. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . From 1994 to 2005 he was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives...	4,995	1,967,600	394
Groningen Groningen (province) Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...	Groningen	Groningen	Max van den Berg	2,344	575,900	246
Limburg Limburg (Netherlands) Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...	Limburg	Maastricht Maastricht Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...	Léon Frissen Leon Frissen Leonardus Johannes Petrus Maria Frissen is the present Queen's Commissioner or Queen's Governor of the province of Limburg, Netherlands.... (styled governor in Limburg)	2,167	1,143,000	527
North Brabant North Brabant North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...	Noord-Brabant	's-Hertogenbosch	Wim van de Donk Wim van de Donk Wilhelmus Bernhard Henricus Josephus van de Donk is a Dutch politician and former academic and civil servant. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal...	4,938	2,406,900	487
North Holland North Holland North Holland \|West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...	Noord-Holland	Haarlem Haarlem Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...	Johan Remkes Johan Remkes Johannes Wijnandus "Johan" Remkes is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . He is the Queen's Commissioner of North Holland since July 1, 2010....	2,660	2,583,900	971
Overijssel Overijssel Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...	Overijssel	Zwolle Zwolle Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...	Ank Bijleveld	3,337	1,105,800	331
South Holland South Holland South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...	Zuid-Holland	The Hague The Hague The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...	Jan Franssen Jan Franssen Jan Franssen is a Dutch politician.Franssen is a member of the VVD. He began his political career as an advisor to Hans Wiegel, having previously worked as a history teacher. His was also a city councillor of Nederhorst den Berg, leader of the provinciale staten of Noord-Holland and President of...	2,860	3,453,000	1,207
Utrecht Utrecht (province) Utrecht is the smallest province of the Netherlands in terms of area, and is located in the centre of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer in the north, Gelderland in the east, the river Rhine in the south, South Holland in the west, and North Holland in the northwest...	Utrecht	Utrecht Utrecht (city) Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...	Roel Robbertsen Roel Robbertsen Roelof Cornelis Robbertsen is a Dutch politician and pig farmer. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Appeal...	1,356	1,159,200	855
Zeeland Zeeland Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...	Zeeland	Middelburg Middelburg Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...	Karla Peijs Karla Peijs Karla Maria Henriëtte Peijs is a Dutch politician of the CDA. She was minister of Transport and Waterworks in the second and third Balkenende cabinet. In August 2006 she announced she would not be accepting a position in a new cabinet. On 1 March 2007 she was appointed Queen's Commissioner for the...	1,792	378,300	211

Also, though not officially, abbreviated as Den Bosch.
Dutch: Den Haag, officially also: 's-Gravenhage.

Public bodies of the Netherlands

The three public bodies

Public body (Netherlands)

In the Netherlands, the term public body is the general denomination for administrative divisions within the Dutch state, such as the central government, a province, a municipality or a water board...

of the Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, became part of the Netherlands proper on October 10, 2010, but are not part of any province.

Public Body	Dutch name	Capital	Area (km²)	Population	Density (per km²)
Bonaire	Bonaire / Boneiru (Papiamento)	Kralendijk Kralendijk Kralendijk is the capital city and main port of the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean Netherlands. The language spoken in the town is Papiamentu, but Dutch and English are widely used. In Dutch, Kralendijk means "coral reef" or "coral dike". The Papiamentu name for the town is Playa or "beach"...	294	15,414	52
Sint Eustatius	Sint Eustatius	Oranjestad Oranjestad, Sint Eustatius Oranjestad is a small town of nearly 1,000 inhabitants, and is the capital of Sint Eustatius island in the Caribbean Netherlands.Oranjestad is a historic harbour town...	21	3,300	157
Saba	Saba	The Bottom The Bottom The Bottom is the capital and largest town of the island of Saba, the Caribbean Netherlands, and is the first stop on the way from Saba's Port in Fort Bay towards the rest of the island...	13	2,000	154

Historical background

Nearly all Dutch provinces can trace their origin to a medieval state, such as a county

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

or a duchy

Duchy

A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...

, as can the provinces of regions in Belgium. Their status changed when they came under a single ruler who centralised their administration, somewhat relegating the separate states to provinces, 17 in total. From these unified Netherlands, seven northern provinces would form the Republic of the Seven United Provinces in the 17th century, namely Holland, Zeeland, Gelderland, Utrecht, Friesland, Overijssel and Groningen. The Republic's lands also included Drenthe (one of the 17, but without the autonomous status of the others), and parts of Brabant

Duchy of Brabant

The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...

, Limburg and Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

, which were considered to be "conquered lands" and were governed directly by the Staten-Generaal, the parliament, hence their name Generality Lands

Generality Lands

The Generality Lands, Lands of the Generality or Common Lands were about one fifth of the territories of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, that were directly governed by the States-General...

. They were called Staats-Brabant, Staats-Limburg and Staats-Vlaanderen, meaning "state-owned". Each of these "Netherlands" had a high degree of autonomy, co-operating with each other mainly on defense and on the international level in general, but keeping to their own affairs elsewhere.

On January 1, 1796, during the Batavian Republic

Batavian Republic

The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....

, Drenthe and Staats-Brabant became the eighth and ninth provinces of the Netherlands; the latter known as Bataafs Brabant, Batavian Brabant, changing its name to Noord Brabant, North Brabant, in 1815 when it became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands

United Kingdom of the Netherlands

United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name used to refer to Kingdom of the Netherlands during the period after it was first created from part of the First French Empire and before the new kingdom of Belgium split out in 1830...

, which also contained (then) South Brabant, a province in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. This new unified state featured the provinces in their modern form, as non-autonomous subdivisions of the national state, and again numbering 17 provinces, though not all the same as the 16th century ones. In 1839, with the independence of Belgium, the original single province of Limburg was divided amongst the two countries, each now having a province called Limburg. A year later, Holland, the largest and most populous of the Dutch provinces, was also split into two provinces for a total of 11. The 12th member was to be Flevoland

Flevoland

Flevoland is a province of the Netherlands. Located in the centre of the country, at the location of the former Zuiderzee, the province was established on January 1, 1986; the twelfth province of the country, with Lelystad as its capital...

, a province consisting almost entirely of reclaimed land, established on January 1, 1986.

The Departments of the French Period

During the Batavian Republic, the Netherlands was from 1798 to 1801 completely reorganised into eight new departments, most named after rivers, inspired by the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

revolutionary example, in an attempt to do away with the old semi-autonomous status of the provinces. They are listed below, with their capitals and the territory of the former provinces that they mostly incorporated:

**Batavian Departments**
English name	Dutch name	Capital	Contained the territory of
Department of the Ems	Departement van de Eems	Leeuwarden	Northern Friesland, Groningen
Department of the Old IJssel IJssel River IJssel , sometimes called Gelderse IJssel to avoid confusion with its Hollandse IJssel namesake in the west of the Netherlands, is a branch of the Rhine in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel...	Departement van de Oude IJssel	Zwolle Zwolle Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...	Southern Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel, Northern Gelderland
Department of the Rhine	Departement van de Rijn	Arnhem Arnhem Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...	Central Gelderland, eastern Utrecht
Department of the Amstel	Departement van de Amstel	Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...	The area around Amsterdam
Department of Texel	Departement van Texel	Alkmaar Alkmaar Alkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Noord Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination.-History:...	Northern Holland minus Amsterdam, northwestern Utrecht
Department of the Delft	Departement van de Delft	Delft Delft Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....	Southern Holland up to the Meuse, southwestern Utrecht
Department of the Dommel	Departement van de Dommel	's-Hertogenbosch	The eastern part of Batavian Brabant, southern Gelderland
Department of the Scheldt Scheldt The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands... and Meuse Meuse River The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...	Departement van de Schelde en Maas	Middelburg Middelburg Middelburg is a municipality and a city in the south-western Netherlands and the capital of the province of Zeeland. It is situated in the Midden-Zeeland region. It has a population of about 48,000.- History of Middelburg :...	Zeeland, Holland south of the Meuse and the western part of Batavian Brabant

After only three years, following a coup d'etat

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

, the borders of the former provinces were restored, though not their autonomous status. They were now also called "departments" and Drenthe was added to Overijssel. In 1806 the Kingdom of Holland

Kingdom of Holland

The Kingdom of Holland 1806–1810 was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country...

replaced the republic to further French interests. It was during this administration that Holland was first split in two, with the department of Amstelland to the north and that of Maasland to the south. East Frisia

East Frisia

East Frisia or Eastern Friesland is a coastal region in the northwest of the German federal state of Lower Saxony....

, then as now in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, was added to the kingdom as a department in 1807 and Drenthe split off again making a total of 11 departments.

When the Netherlands finally did become fully part of France in 1810, the departments of the kingdom and their borders were largely maintained, with some joined together. They were however nearly all renamed, again mainly after rivers, though the names differed from their Batavian counterparts. Following are their names and the modern day province they corresponded for the most part to:

**French Departments in the Netherlands**
English name	French name	Dutch name	Modern province(s)
Department of the Zuiderzee	Département du Zuyderzée Zuyderzée Zuyderzée is the name of a département of the First French Empire in the present Netherlands. It is named after the Zuider Zee sea inlet. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponds more or less with the present Dutch provinces North Holland...	Departement van de Zuiderzee	North Holland & Utrecht
Department of the Mouths of the Meuse	Département des Bouches-de-la-Meuse Bouches-de-la-Meuse Bouches-de-la-Meuse is the name of a département of the First French Empire in the present Netherlands. It is named after the mouth of the river Meuse. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponds more or less with the present Dutch province...	Departement van de Monden van de Maas	South Holland
Department of the Mouths of the Scheldt	Département des Bouches-de-l'Escaut Bouches-de-l'Escaut Bouches-de-l'Escaut is the name of a département of the First French Empire in the present Netherlands. It is named after the mouth of the river Scheldt . It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponds with the present Dutch province Zeeland,...	Departement van de Monden van de Schelde	Zeeland
Department of the Two Nethes	Département des Deux-Nèthes Deux-Nèthes Deux-Nèthes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Belgium and the Netherlands. It is named after two branches of the river Nete. The southern part of its territory corresponds more or less with the present Belgian province Antwerp....	Departement van de Twee Nethen	Western North Brabant & Antwerp Antwerp (province) Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
Department of the Mouths of the Rhine	Département des Bouches-du-Rhin Bouches-du-Rhin Bouches-du-Rhin is the name of a département of the First French Empire in the present Netherlands. It is named after the mouth of the river Rhine. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponds with the eastern half of the present Dutch...	Departement van de Monden van de Rijn	Eastern North Brabant & southern Gelderland
Department of the Upper IJssel	Département de l'Yssel-Supérieur Yssel-Supérieur Yssel-Supérieur was the name of a département of the First French Empire in the present Netherlands. It was named after the river IJssel. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponded with part of the present Dutch province Gelderland. Its...	Departement van de Boven IJssel	Northern Gelderland
Department of the Mouths of the IJssel	Département des Bouches-de-l'Yssel Bouches-de-l'Yssel Bouches-de-l'Yssel is the name of a département of the First French Empire in the present Netherlands. It is named after the mouth of the river IJssel. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponds with the present Dutch province Overijssel....	Departement van de Monden van de IJssel	Overijssel
Department of Frisia	Département de la Frise	Departement Friesland	Friesland
Department of the Western Ems	Département de l'Ems-Occidental Ems-Occidental Ems-Occidental is the name of a département of the First French Empire in the present Netherlands and Germany. It is named after the river Ems. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory corresponds more or less with the present Dutch provinces...	Departement van de Wester Eems	Groningen & Drenthe
Department of the Eastern Ems	Département de l'Ems-Oriental Ems-Oriental Ems-Oriental is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Germany. It is named after the river Ems. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory is part of the present German region East Frisia . Its capital was Aurich...	Departement van de Ooster Eems	(East-Frisia)

With the defeat and withdrawal of the French in 1813, the old provinces and their names were re-established, Holland was reunited and East-Frisia went its separate way. The 17 provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands

United Kingdom of the Netherlands

were for a significant part based on the former French departments and their borders, in particular in what would later become Belgium.

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