Rotterdam ; city and municipality in the
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
province of
South HollandSouth 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.-History:...
, situated in the west of the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
. The municipality is the
second largest in the country, with a population of 584,046 as of January 2007. It forms the southern part of the
RandstadImage:Randstad_with_scale.png|400px|thumb|right|Schematic map of the Randstadcircle 528 380 26 Schipholrect 426 356 498 436 Haarlemmermeerrect 399 166 479 245 Velsencircle 250 716 32 Delftcircle 220 642 60 The Hague...
, the sixth-largest
metropolitan areaA metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence, or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central cities and their zone of influence...
in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, with a population of 6.7 million.
The
port of RotterdamThe Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands. From 1962 until 1986 it was the world's busiest port, now overtaken by Asian ports like Singapore and Shanghai...
is the largest in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. From 1962 to 2004, it was the
world's busiest portThe world's busiest port is contested by several ports around the world, as there is as yet no standardised means of evaluating port performance and traffic. For the past decade, the distinction has been claimed by both the Port of Rotterdam and the Port of Singapore...
. It was then superseded by
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
. Rotterdam is on the banks of the river
Nieuwe MaasThe Nieuwe Maas is a river branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in the Netherlands. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. It ends west of the city where it meets the Oude Maas , near Vlaardingen, to form Het Scheur...
('New Meuse'), one of the channels in the delta formed by the
RhineThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
and
MeuseThe Meuse , is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
rivers. The name
Rotterdam derives from a
damA dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions...
in the
Rotte river.
Municipality
On 1 January 2007 (source:
Statistics NetherlandsStatistics Netherlands, founded in 1899, is a Dutch governmental institution that gathers statistical information about the Netherlands. In Dutch it is known as the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, often abbreviated to CBS. It is a department of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is...
), the
municipalityA municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. A municipality is typically governed by a mayor and a city council or municipal council.The notion of municipality...
covered an area of 319 km
2 (206.44 km
2 of which is land) with a population of 584,046. It is part of a larger metropolitan area with a total population (including
DordrechtDordrecht is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,390 in 2008...
and surrounding cities) of approximately 1.6 million. In 1965, the municipal population of Rotterdam reached its peak of 731,000, but by 1984 it had decreased to 555,000 as a result of
suburbanizationSuburbanization is a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. It is one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl...
.
Rotterdam consists of 11 submunicipalities:
CharloisCharlois is a neighbourhood of the Dutch city of Rotterdam. It is located on the south bank of the Meuse River.Charlois used to be a separate village; the municipality Charlois existed until 1895, when it became part of Rotterdam.-References:...
(including Heijplaat),
DelfshavenDelfshaven is a borough of Rotterdam on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas, in South Holland, the Netherlands. It was a separate municipality until 1886.The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the city of Delft...
,
FeijenoordFeijenoord is a district in Rotterdam and is located south of the Nieuwe Maas. As of 1 January 2004 there were 72,320 citizens. The area is 6.44 km² . It is the home of the city's main football club, Feyenoord....
, Hillegersberg-Schiebroek, Hoek van Holland,
HoogvlietHoogvliet is a town and separate borough within Rotterdam in the Netherlands. As per 1 January 2004, it had 36,619 inhabitants.Hoogvliet is a former village in South Holland. The village was first mentioned on 26 May 1326 in the archive of the heren van Putten & Strijen inv. nr. 144. The village...
,
IJsselmondeIJsselmonde is a township located in the southeastern corner of the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. As of 2006 it has 58,782 inhabitants....
,
Kralingen-CrooswijkKralingen-Crooswijk is a township of the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It is located at the immediate east of the city's centre. As in 2005 it has about 52,379 inhabitants and has a territory of about 1,286 ha...
, Noord,
OverschieOverschie is a former village in the Dutch province of South Holland, and now a neighbourhood of Rotterdam.The village of Overschie was located on the intersection of four rivers called "Schie": the Delftsche Schie, Schiedamsche Schie, Delfshavensche Schie, and Rotterdamsche Schie. It was a...
, and
Prins AlexanderPrins Alexander is a borough in the northeast part of Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands.Prins Alexander knows 7 neighbourhoods:*Het lage Land*Kralingse Veer*Nesselande*Ommoord*Oosterflank*Prinsenland*Zevenkamp-Public transportation:...
(the most populous submunicipality with around 85,000 inhabitants). Two other areas, Centrum ('Center') and
Pernisthumb|200px|right|Pernis in 1865.Pernis is a village and district of the municipality of Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands. The district has a population of 4,560 on a total area size of 1.60 km². Pernis is not a full submunicipality of Rotterdam, but the former independent municipality...
, do not have official submunicipality status.
Rotterdam is in the Zuidvleugel ('South Wing') of the
RandstadImage:Randstad_with_scale.png|400px|thumb|right|Schematic map of the Randstadcircle 528 380 26 Schipholrect 426 356 498 436 Haarlemmermeerrect 399 166 479 245 Velsencircle 250 716 32 Delftcircle 220 642 60 The Hague...
('Rim City') conurbation, with 6.7 million inhabitants, the sixth largest metropolitan area in Europe (after Moscow, London, the Ruhr Area, Istanbul, and Paris). The Zuidvleugel includes
LeidenLeiden is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands and has 118,000 inhabitants. It forms a single urban area with Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten, Valkenburg, Rijnsburg and Katwijk, with 254,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Old Rhine, close to the cities...
,
The HagueThe Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
,
ZoetermeerZoetermeer is a city in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 37.06 km²...
,
DelftSee also: Delft, Cape Town, Delft IslandDelft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands...
,
VlaardingenVlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. On the east the town is separated from Schiedam by a motorway. Other places nearby are Maassluis to the west and Schipluiden and...
,
SchiedamSchiedam is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area.It is known its historical center with its canals, and the tallest old windmills in the world...
,
Capelle aan den IJsselCapelle aan den IJssel is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 65,605 in 2005, and covers an area of 15.42 km² of which 1.13 km² is water...
,
SpijkenisseSpijkenisse is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 74,482 in 2006, and covers an area of 30.23 km² ....
and
DordrechtDordrecht is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,390 in 2008...
, and has a population of around 3 million.
Municipal additions
The current size of the municipality of Rotterdam is the result of the amalgamation of the following former municipalities, some of which now are a submunicipality:
- Delfshaven (added on 30 January 1886)
- Charlois (added on 28 February 1895)
- Kralingen (added on 28 February 1895)
- Hoogvliet (added on 1 May 1934)
- Pernis (added on 1 May 1934)
- Hillegersberg
Hillegersberg is a former municipality of Zuid-Holland in The Netherlands. It was founded as a village in the Middle Ages, and remained a separate municipality until 1941, when it was amalgamated into Rotterdam as part of the new sub-municipality of Hillegersberg-Schiebroek.-Famous...
(added on 1 August 1941)
- IJsselmonde (added on 1 August 1941)
- Overschie (added on 1 August 1941)
- Schiebroek
Schiebroek is a former village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is now a neighbourhood of Rotterdam, and part of the borough of Hillegersberg-Schiebroek.Schiebroek was a separate municipality between 1817 and 1941, when it became part of Rotterdam....
(added on 1 August 1941)
History
- For the destruction of the city center in 1940, see Bombing of Rotterdam
Settlement at the lower end of the
fenA fen is a type of wetland fed by surface and/or groundwater. Fens are characterized by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline...
stream
Rotte (or
Rotta, as it was then known, from
rot, 'muddy' and
a, 'water', thus 'muddy water') dates from at least 900 CE. Around
1150, large
floodA flood is an overflow or accumulation of an expanse of water that submerges land. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide....
s in the area ended development, leading to the construction of protective
dikesA levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial slope or wall to regulate water levels...
and dams, including
Schielands Hoge Zeedijk ('Schieland’s High Sea Dike') along the northern banks of the present-day Nieuwe Maas. A dam on the Rotte or 'Rotterdam' was built in the 1260s and was located at the present-day
Hoogstraat ('High Street').
On 7 June 1340, Count
Willem IV of HollandDuke William II of Bavaria-Straubing was also count William VI of Holland, count William IV of Hainaut and count William V of Zeeland. He ruled from 1404 to his death in 1417 when he died of a dog bite. William was a son of Albert I and Margaret of Brieg.-Biography:William, allied with the Hooks,...
granted city rights to Rotterdam, which then had approximately 2000 inhabitants. Around 1350 a shipping canal, the
Rotterdamse Schie was completed, which provided Rotterdam access to the larger towns in the north, allowing it to become a local transshipment center between Holland,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, and to
urbanizeUrbanization is the physical growth of urban areas from rural areas as a result of population immigration to an existing urban area. Effects include change in density and administration services. While the exact definition and population size of urbanized areas varies amongdifferent countries,...
.
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 (VOC), the
Dutch East India CompanyThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock...
.
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 south bank of the river. The
Witte HuisThe Witte Huis or White House is a skyscraper in Rotterdam, Netherlands, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the Art Nouveau style. The building is tall, with 10 floors, and was the tallest in Europe at the time it was built....
or
White House skyscraper, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the French Chateau-style, is evidence of Rotterdam's rapid growth and success. When completed, it was the tallest office building in Europe, with a height of 45 m.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940.
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
had hoped to conquer the country in just one day, but his forces met unexpectedly fierce resistance. The Dutch army was finally forced to capitulate on 14 May 1940, following Hitler's bombing Rotterdam and threatening to bomb other Dutch cities. The heart of Rotterdam was almost completely destroyed by the
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
; 800 civilians were killed and 80,000 made homeless. The City Hall survived the bombing.
Ossip ZadkineOssip Zadkine was a Russian-born artist who lived in France. He is primarily known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs....
later strikingly captured the event with his statue
Stad zonder hart ('City without a heart'). The statue stands near the
Leuvehaven, not far from the
ErasmusbrugThe Erasmusbrug is a cable stayed bridge across the Meuse river, linking the northern and southern halves of the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands.The Erasmusbrug was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996...
in the centre of the city, on the north shore of the river
Nieuwe Maas.
Rotterdam was gradually rebuilt from the 1950s through the 1970s. It remained quite
windWind is the flow of air or other gases that compose an atmosphere . On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air...
y and open until the city councils from the 1980s on began developing an active architectural policy. Daring and new styles of
apartmentAn apartment, or flat, is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building. Such a building may be called an apartment building, especially if it consists of many apartments for rent...
s, office buildings and recreation facilities resulted in a more '
livableThe term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and political science. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of...
' city center with a new skyline. In the 1990s, the
Kop van Zuid was built on the south bank of the river as a new business center.
Demographics
With 55% of the inhabitants earning a low income, Rotterdam has its fair share of typical urban problems, such as dilapidated inner city areas.
Ethnic make-up
Figures are from 2008:
- Total: 582,949
- Dutch
The Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
: 313,765
- Suriname
Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America....
se: 51,885
- Turkish
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
: 45,699
- Moroccan
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
: 37,476
- Antillean
The Netherlands Antilles , previously known as the Netherlands West Indies or Dutch Antilles/West Indies, is part of the Lesser Antilles and consists of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea: Curaçao and Bonaire, just off the Venezuelan coast, and Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten, located...
/ ArubaAruba is a -long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.An...
n: 19,562
- South-European: 17,774
In the Netherlands, Rotterdam has the highest percentage of foreigners from non-industrialised nations. Nearly 50% of the population are not native to the Netherlands or have at least one parent born outside the country. Recent figures show that Muslims comprise close to 25% of the city's population. The current mayor of Rotterdam,
Ahmed AboutalebAhmed Aboutaleb is a Dutch-Moroccan politician of the Dutch Labour Party. He was State Secretary of Social Affairs and Employment in the fourth Balkenende cabinet. On January 5, 2009 he took office as mayor of Rotterdam. He is the first mayor of a large city in the Netherlands who is of Moroccan,...
, is of Moroccan descent and is a practicing Muslim. The city is also home to the largest
Cape VerdeanCape Verdeans in the Netherlands consist of migrants from Cape Verde to the Netherlands and their descendants. In 1995, it was estimated that there were 20,000 people of Cape Verdean descent in the Netherlands...
communities in the Netherlands, as well as the largest Dutch Antillean community.
Historical population
- 1796: 53,200 inhabitants
- 1830: 72,300
- 1849: 90,100
- 1879: 148,100
- 1899: 318,500
- 1925: 547,900
- 1965: 551,000
- 1984: 555,000
- 2005: 596,407
- 2006: 588,576
- 2007: 584,046
Geography
Rotterdam is divided into a northern and a southern part by the river
Nieuwe MaasThe Nieuwe Maas is a river branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in the Netherlands. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. It ends west of the city where it meets the Oude Maas , near Vlaardingen, to form Het Scheur...
, connected by (from west to east): the Beneluxtunnel; the Maastunnel; the
Erasmusbrug ('Erasmus Bridge'); a subway tunnel; the
Willemsspoortunnel ('Willems railway tunnel'); the
Willemsbrug ('Willems Bridge'); the
Koninginnebrug ('Queen's Bridge'); and the
Van Brienenoordbrug ('Van Brienenoord Bridge'). The former railway lift
bridgeA bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road, body of water, or other physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed.-History:The first...
De Hef ('the Lift') is preserved as a monument in lifted position between the
Noordereiland ('North Island') and the south of Rotterdam.
The city centre is located on the northern bank of the Nieuwe Maas, although recent urban development has extended the center to parts of southern Rotterdam known as
De Kop van Zuid ('the Head of South', i.e. the northern part of southern Rotterdam). From its inland core, Rotterdam reaches the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
by a swathe of predominantly harbor area.
Built mostly behind dikes, large parts of the Rotterdam are below sea level. For instance, the Prins Alexander Polder in the northeast of Rotterdam extends 6 meters below sea level, or rather below
Normaal Amsterdams PeilNormaal Amsterdams Peil or Amsterdam Ordnance Datum is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in The Netherlands, it was adopted by Prussia in 1879 under the name Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.Originally the zero level of NAP was...
(NAP) or 'Amsterdam Ordnance Datum'. The lowest point in the Netherlands ( below NAP) is situated just to the east of Rotterdam, in the municipality of
Nieuwerkerk aan den IJsselNieuwerkerk aan den IJssel is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland...
.
The Rotte river no longer joins the Nieuwe Maas directly. Since the early 1980s, when the construction of Rotterdam’s second subway line interfered with the Rotte’s course, its waters have been pumped through a pipe into the Nieuwe Maas via the Boerengat.
Commerce and industry
Rotterdam is home to the Dutch half of consumer goods giant
UnileverUnilever is a multinational corporation, formed of British and Dutch parentage, that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products...
, and
Mittal Steel Company N.V.Mittal Steel Company N.V. was the world's largest steel producer by volume, and also the largest in turnover. The company is now part of ArcelorMittal....
, subsidiary of Luxembourg-based Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel company.
The Erasmus University has a strong focus on research and education in management and economics. The University is located on the east side of the city and is surrounded by numerous multinational firms. On Brainpark I, Brainpark II, Brainpark III and
Het Rivium are located offices of major multinationals. In the center of the city are the above-mentioned
UnileverUnilever is a multinational corporation, formed of British and Dutch parentage, that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products...
offices, but also Robeco,
FortisFortis is a company that was active in banking, insurance, and investment management. In 2007 it was the 20th largest business in the world by revenue, but most of the company was sold in parts in 2008, with only insurance activities remaining....
(including Mees Pierson and Stad Rotterdam Verzekeringen),
ABN AMROABN AMRO is a Dutch bank, currently owned by RFS Holdings B.V., a consortium of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, the Government of the Netherlands, and Banco Santander...
,
INGING Group N.V. is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ING is an abbreviation of ' ....
(Nationale Nederlanden), and the Rotterdam WTC.
Ports
Rotterdam has the largest
port||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, with the rivers
MeuseThe Meuse , is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
and
RhineThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
providing excellent access to the
hinterlandThe hinterland is the land or district behind the borders of a coast or river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast...
upstream reaching to
Basel, SwitzerlandBasel is Switzerland's third most populous city . With 830000 inhabitants in the tri-national metropolitan area , Basel is Switzerland's second-largest urban area....
and into France. In 2003
SingaporeThe Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade handling functions in Singapore's harbours and which handle Singapore's shipping...
took over, and in 2005
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
, as the
world's busiest portThe world's busiest port is contested by several ports around the world, as there is as yet no standardised means of evaluating port performance and traffic. For the past decade, the distinction has been claimed by both the Port of Rotterdam and the Port of Singapore...
. In 2006, Rotterdam was the world's seventh largest
container portContainerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using standard intermodal containers that are standardised by the International Organization for Standardization...
in terms of
Twenty-foot equivalent unitThe twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals. It is based on the volume of a 20-foot long intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box which can be easily transferred between different modes...
s (TEU) handled.
The port's main activities are
petrochemicalPetrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of petroleum or other hydrocarbon origin. Although some of the chemical compounds that originate from petroleum may also be derived from coal and natural gas, petroleum is the major source...
industries and general
cargoCargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.- Marine Cargo Types :...
handling and
transshipmentTransshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or container to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
. The harbour functions as an important transit point for
bulkBulk material handling is an engineering field that is centred around the design of equipment used for the transportation of materials such as ores and cereals in loose bulk form...
materials and between the European continent and overseas. From Rotterdam goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. In 2007, the
BetuwerouteThe Betuweroute is a double track freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany. Betuweroute is the official name, after the Betuwe area through which it passes, but the line is popularly referred to as Betuwelijn, after an older track in the same region. The Germans have christened their part the...
, a new fast freight
railwayRail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth...
from Rotterdam to
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, has been completed.
In 1872, the
Nieuwe WaterwegThe Nieuwe Waterweg is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook of Holland...
('New Waterway') opened, a ship
canalCanals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canal: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.The word...
constructed to keep the city and port of Rotterdam accessible to seafaring vessels as the natural Meuse-Rhine channels silted up. The canal proper measures approximately from the western tips of its protruding dams to the
MaeslantkeringThe Maeslantkering is a storm surge barrier in the Nieuwe Waterweg waterway located between the towns of Hoek van Holland and Maassluis, Netherlands, , which automatically closes when needed...
('Maeslant Barrier'). Many maps, however, include the
ScheurHet Scheur is a branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in South Holland, the Netherlands, that flows west from the confluence of the Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas branches past the towns of Rozenburg and Maassluis...
as part of the Nieuwe Waterweg, leading to a length of approximately .
In the first half of the twentieth century, the port's center of gravity shifted westward towards the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
. Covering , the port of Rotterdam now stretches over a distance of . It consists of the city center's historic harbor area, including
DelfshavenDelfshaven is a borough of Rotterdam on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas, in South Holland, the Netherlands. It was a separate municipality until 1886.The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the city of Delft...
; the Maashaven/Rijnhaven/
FeijenoordFeijenoord is a district in Rotterdam and is located south of the Nieuwe Maas. As of 1 January 2004 there were 72,320 citizens. The area is 6.44 km² . It is the home of the city's main football club, Feyenoord....
complex; the harbors around Nieuw-Mathenesse; Waalhaven; Vondelingenplaat; Eemhaven;
Botlekthumb|right|[[Satellite]] [[image]] of the [[Rhine]]-[[Meuse River|Meuse]] [[river delta|delta]] showing the Botlek .The Botlek originally was the name of a stretch of the Nieuwe Maas river, part of the Rhine-Meuse delta near the Dutch cities of Vlaardingen and Spijkenisse in the province of...
;
EuropoortEuropoort is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and partly France, Europoort is by certain measurements the world's...
, situated along the Calandkanaal,
Nieuwe WaterwegThe Nieuwe Waterweg is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook of Holland...
and
ScheurHet Scheur is a branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in South Holland, the Netherlands, that flows west from the confluence of the Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas branches past the towns of Rozenburg and Maassluis...
(the latter two being continuations of the Nieuwe Maas); and the reclaimed
MaasvlakteThe Maasvlakte is part of the harbour and industrial area of the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It was created in the 1960s by reclaiming land from the North Sea through dykes and sand suppletion. The sand for the suppletion was largely taken from the North Sea and the Lake of Oostvoorne. This...
area, which projects into the North Sea.
The construction of a second Maasvlakte received initial political approval in 2004, but was stopped by the Raad van State (the
Dutch Council of StateIn the Netherlands, the Council of State is a constitutionally established advisory body to the government which consists of members of the royal family and Crown-appointed members generally having political, commercial, diplomatic, or military experience...
, which advises the government and parliament on legislation and governance) in 2005, because the plans did not take enough account of environmental issues. On 10 October 2006, however, approval was acquired to start construction in 2008, aiming for the first ship to anchor in 2013.
Education
Rotterdam has one major university, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, named after one of the city's famous former inhabitants,
Desiderius ErasmusDesiderius Erasmus Roterodamus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist and a Catholic theologian...
. The Woudestein campus houses (among others) the
Rotterdam School of ManagementRotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University is an international business school located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The renowned business school of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, RSM offers a wide array of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes taught mostly in English including a...
. In
Financial Times'The Financial Times is a British international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and is printed at 22 sites...
2005 rankings it placed 29th globally and 7th in Europe. In the 2006 rankings of European Masters of Management, the school reached a second place with the CEMS Master in Management and a thirteenth place with its RSM Master in Management. The university is also home to Europe's largest student association,
STAR Study Association RSM Erasmus UniversitySTAR is a student association for business administration students of the Rotterdam School of Management at the Erasmus University Rotterdam based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. STAR was founded in 1977 and currently has 5,500 members, of which 1,000 members are international...
.
The
Willem de Kooning AcademyThe Willem de Kooning Academy is a Dutch Academy of art and design based in Rotterdam and named in memory of the famous Dutch artist Willem de Kooning.- Overview :...
Rotterdam's main art school, which is part of the Hogeschool Rotterdam. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious art schools in the Netherlands and the number 1 in Advertising and Copywriting. Part of the
Willem de Kooning AcademyThe Willem de Kooning Academy is a Dutch Academy of art and design based in Rotterdam and named in memory of the famous Dutch artist Willem de Kooning.- Overview :...
is the
Piet Zwart InstituteThe Piet Zwart Institute is a post-graduate study and research institute based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and named in memory of the Dutch designer Piet Zwart...
for postgraduate studies and research in Fine Art, Media Design and Retail Design. The Piet Zwart Institute boasts a selective roster of emerging international artists.
The Hoboken campus of EUR houses the Dijkzigt (general) hospital, the Sophia Hospital (for children) and the Medical Department of the University. These are known collectively as the Erasmus Medical Center, which is ranked third worldwide for medical research, behind the
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
and
Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore...
. The Erasmus Medical Center ranks as the top European institution in clinical medicine according to the Times Higher Education rankings. As a combined medical treatment and research center it is particularly noted for its patient cohort studies in which large numbers of patients are followed for long periods of time.
There are also three
HogescholenA vocational university is an institution of higher education and sometimes research, which provides both tertiary and sometimes quaternary education and grants academic degrees at all levels in a variety of subjects...
(Universities of applied sciences) in Rotterdam. These schools award their students a professional
Bachelor's degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and postgraduate or
Master's degreeA master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
. The three
Hogescholen are
Hogeschool RotterdamThe Hogeschool Rotterdam is a University of Applied Sciences located in the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. It was created in 1988 by a large-scale merger of 19 higher education schools followed by a merger with the Hogeschool voor Economische Studies . It holds class at eight locations in...
, Hogeschool INHOLLAND and
Hogeschool voor Muziek en DansHogeschool voor Muziek en Dans is a music and drama school in Rotterdam, Netherlands....
(uni for music and dance) which is also known as CodArts.
Culture
Alongside Porto, Rotterdam was
European Capital of CultureThe European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. A number of European cities have used the City of Culture year to transform their cultural base and,...
in 2001. The city has its own orchestra, the
Rotterdam Philharmonic OrchestraThe Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. It is considered the second most important orchestra in the country after Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra....
with its world famous musical director
Valery GergievValery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera. Valery Gergiev is the artistic...
, a large congress and concert building called
De Doelen270px|thumb|De DoelenDe Doelen is a concert venue and convention centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was originally built in 1934 but then destroyed in 1940 during the German bombardment of Rotterdam in May, 1940 at the outset of World War II...
, plus many theatres (including the new
Luxor theatre) and movie theatres. The
Ahoy complex in the south of the city is used for pop concerts, exhibitions, tennis tournaments and other activities. A major
zooA zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
called
Diergaarde BlijdorpDiergaarde Blijdorp is a zoo in the northwestern part of Rotterdam, one of the oldest zoos in the Netherlands...
is situated at the northwest side of Rotterdam, complete with a walkthrough sea aquarium called the
OceaniumThe Oceanium, officially opened in 2001, is a massive aquarium. Its construction was the biggest project to date in Diergaarde Blijdorp, a zoo in Rotterdam, Netherlands ....
.
The city is home to the
Willem de Kooning AcademyThe Willem de Kooning Academy is a Dutch Academy of art and design based in Rotterdam and named in memory of the famous Dutch artist Willem de Kooning.- Overview :...
and
Piet Zwart InstituteThe Piet Zwart Institute is a post-graduate study and research institute based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and named in memory of the Dutch designer Piet Zwart...
.
Rotterdam is currently going through somewhat of a renaissance, with some urban renewal projects featuring ambitious architecture, an increasingly sparkling nightlife, and a host of summer festivals celebrating the city's multicultural population and identity, such as the Caribbean-inspired '
Summer CarnivalThe Summer Carnaval is a yearly event in the Belgian city of Kortrijk and the Dutch cities Rotterdam, Bentelo and Arnhem that mimics the Carnaval of South- Latin-America and the Cape Verde Islands. In the cold, Dutch climate Carnival often is held in the winter. This climate doesn't lend itself...
', the Dance Parade, Rotterdam 666, the Metropolis pop festival and the World Harbor days. The city has a few venues for
pop musicPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
like Rotown,
WATTWATT is a radio station broadcasting a news-talk-sports format. Licensed to Cadillac, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1945....
, Exit. The venue WORM focuses on
experimental musicExperimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-twentieth century, particularly in North America, and whose most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
and related cutting edge subcultural music.
There are also the International Film Festival in January, the Poetry International Festival in June, the North Sea Jazz Festival in July, the Valery Gergiev Festival in September, September in Rotterdam and the World of the Witte de With. In June 1970, The Holland Pop Festival (which featured
Jefferson AirplaneJefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
,
The ByrdsThe Byrds were an American rock and roll band. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964, The Byrds underwent several personnel changes, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973....
,
Canned HeatCanned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie band that formed in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
,
It's a Beautiful DayIt's a Beautiful Day was a band formed in San Francisco, California in 1967, the brainchild of violinist and vocalist David LaFlamme.-Biography:...
, and
SantanaSantana is a band consisting of a flexible number of musicians accompanying Carlos Santana since the late 1960s. The range of these artists has varied greatly. Just like Santana himself, the band is known for helping make Latin rock famous in the rest of the world.-Overview:The band was formed in...
) was held and filmed at the Stamping Grounds in Rotterdam.
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. There is a saying: "Amsterdam to party, Den Haag (The Hague) to live, Rotterdam to work". Another one, more popular by Rotterdammers, is "Money is earned in Rotterdam, divided in The Hague and spent in Amsterdam". Another saying that reflects both the rivalry between Rotterdam and Amsterdam is "Amsterdam has it, Rotterdam doesn't need it".
Rotterdam has had a rich hiphop scene since the early 1980s. It is also the home of
GabberGabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a Dutch word that literally means "buddy" or "friend"...
, a type of hardcore electronic music popular in the mid-1990s, with hard beats and samples. Groups like
NeophyteNeophyte is an influential and well-known hardcore, or gabber, group formed in 1992 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The three original members are Jeroen Streunding , Danny Greten and Robin van Roon....
and
Rotterdam Terror CorpsRotterdam Terror Corps is a Dutch gabber group formed in 1993 that is known for its hard beats and is considered by many as a pioneer in the genre, for instance they created landmark songs such as, "God is a gabber", "Masters of Hardcore", "Unleash Hell" and "Rotterdam Hooligan"...
(RTC) started in Rotterdam.
The main cultural organisations in Amsterdam, such as the Concertgebouw and Holland Festival, have joint forces with similar organisations in Rotterdam, via A'R'dam. In 2007 these organisations published with plans for co-operation. One of the goals is to strengthen the international position of culture and art in the Netherlands in the international context.
Museums
Rotterdam has many museums.
Well known
museumA museum is a building or institution which houses a collection of artifacts.Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary...
s are the
Boijmans-van BeuningenThe Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the main art museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The museum began in 1847 with the collection of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans . In 1958 the collection of businessman Daniël George van Beuningen was added to the museum...
Museum, the
NAi (
Netherlands Architecture InstituteThe Netherlands Architercture Institute is a Dutch architecture institute that consists of two museums in Rotterdam and Maastricht. The NAi owns one of the world’s largest architectural collections and publishes its own books...
), the
Historisch Museum (Historical museum), the
Volkenkundig Museum (foreign peoples and cultures), the
KunsthalThe Kunsthal is a museum in Rotterdam, which opened its doors in 1992. The museum is situated in the Museumpark of Rotterdam next to the Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam, and in the vicinity of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Entrance to the Kunsthal is from the Westzeedijk...
(design by
Rem KoolhaasRemment Lucas Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA...
),the center for contemporary art
Witte de WithWitte Corneliszoon de With was a famous Dutch naval officer of the 17th century.- Early life and childhood :...
, the Maritiem Museum and the
Brandweermuseum (Fire brigade museum).
Other museums include the tax museum, the nature historical museum, historical museum the Dubbelde Palmboom and the Schielandhuis. At the historical shipyard and museum Scheepswerf 'De Delft the reconstruction of
Ship of the LineA ship-of-the-line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th century through the mid-19th century, to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
'De Delft' can be visited.
Architecture and skyline
In 1898, the 45 meter high-rise office building the White House (or in official Dutch
Witte HuisThe Witte Huis or White House is a skyscraper in Rotterdam, Netherlands, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the Art Nouveau style. The building is tall, with 10 floors, and was the tallest in Europe at the time it was built....
) was completed, at that time the tallest office building in Europe.
In the first decades of the 20th century, some influential architecture in the modern style was built in Rotterdam. Notable are the Van Nelle fabriek (1929) a monument of modern factory design by Brinkman en Van der Vlugt, the
JugendstilArt Nouveau is an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century . The name 'Art nouveau' is French for 'new art'...
clubhouse of the
Royal Maas Yacht ClubThe Royal Maas Yacht Club is a Dutch yacht club located in the centre of Rotterdam.Members are able to engage in sailing and rowing and the yacht club's name, de Maas, stems from the name of the river Nieuwe Maas flowing through Rotterdam....
designed by Hooijkaas jr. en Brinkman (1909), and Feyenoord's football stadium
de KuipThe Feijenoord Stadion, better known by its nickname De Kuip , is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands that was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the area "Feijenoord" in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same name .Capacity at completion: 64,000. Maximum capacity: 69,000...
(1936) also by Brinkman en Van der Vlugt. The architect
J. J. P. OudJacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, commonly called J.J.P. Oud was a Dutch architect. His fame began as a follower of the De Stijl movement....
was a famous Rotterdammer in those days.
During the early stages of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the center of Rotterdam was bombed by the Germans, destroying many of the older buildings in the center of the city. After initial crisis re-construction the center of Rotterdam has become the site of ambitious new architecture.
Rotterdam is also famous for its Kubuswoningen or cube houses built by architect
Piet BlomPiet Blom was a Dutch architect best known for his 'Kubuswoningen' built in Helmond in the mid-1970s and in Rotterdam in the early 1980s. He studied at the Amsterdam Academy of Building-Arts as a student of Aldo van Eyck.Piet Blom, Aldo van Eyck, Herman Hertzberger a.o. are representatives of...
in 1984. In addition to that there are many international well known architects based in Rotterdam like O.M.A (
Rem KoolhaasRemment Lucas Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA...
),
MVRDVMVRDV is a Rotterdam, the Netherlands-based architecture and urban design practice founded in 1991.The name is an acronym for the founding members: Winy Maas , Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries ....
,
Neutelings & RiedijkNeutelings Riedijk Architecten is an architecture firm based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, founded by Willem-Jan Neutelings and Michiel Riedijk.-Work & Philosophy:...
and
Erick van EgeraatErick van Egeraat is a Dutch architect. He is based in Rotterdam but particularly active in Germany and Russia.-Other works:*experimental housing project at the International Garden Show in Stuttgart in 1993...
to name a few.
Rotterdam houses several of the tallest structures in the Netherlands.
- The Erasmus Bridge
The Erasmusbrug is a cable stayed bridge across the Meuse river, linking the northern and southern halves of the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands.The Erasmusbrug was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996...
(1996) is a 790-meter (2,600 ft) cable stayed bridge linking the north and south of Rotterdam. It is held up by a tall pylon with a characteristic bend, earning the bridge its nickname 'De Zwaan' ('the Swan').
- Rotterdam has the tallest residential building in the Netherlands: the Montevideo Tower
Montevideo is a multipurpose skyscraper located by the river Nieuwe Maas in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. The building has 43 floors and its structural height is...
(160 m (524 ft)).
- Rotterdam is also home to the tallest office building 'Delftse Poort' (160 m (520 ft)) which houses Nationale-Nederlanden insurance company, part of ING Group
ING Group N.V. is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ING is an abbreviation of ' ....
.
- The city also houses the tall Euromast
The Euromast is a tower in Rotterdam constructed between 1958 and 1960, designed by Hugh Maaskant. It was specially built for the 1960 Floriade. It is a concrete building with an internal diameter of and a wall thickness of 30 centimetres . For stability it is built on a concrete block of...
, which has long been a major touristTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
attraction. It was built in 1960, initially reaching a height of ; in 1970, the Euromast was extended by to its current height.
Rotterdam has a reputation in being a platform for architectural development and education through the Berlage Institute, a postgraduate laboratory of architecture, and the NAi (
Netherlands Architecture InstituteThe Netherlands Architercture Institute is a Dutch architecture institute that consists of two museums in Rotterdam and Maastricht. The NAi owns one of the world’s largest architectural collections and publishes its own books...
), which is open to the public and has a variety of good exhibitions on architecture and urban planning issues.
Rotterdam is standing in the best European SkylineTop together with Frankfurt,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
,
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
,
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
, and
WarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2009 was estimated at 1,709,781, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,785,000...
.
Over 30 new highrise projects are being developed at the moment, including the high 'Maas Tower', the 'New Orleans Tower', which will be about and the Zalmhaven Urban Tower .
Sports
Rotterdam is the home of two
EredivisieFor the Eredivisie for female football see: Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands.The top division consists of 18 clubs. Each club faces every other club twice during the season, once at home and once away...
('Honorary Division', or Dutch Premier League) football clubs, Feyenoord and
SpartaSparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Until the 2002/2003 season Sparta Rotterdam had always played at the highest level, but they were relegated from the top-level Eredivisie in 2002. Sparta returned to the Eredivisie for the...
, and one
Eerste DivisieThe Eerste Divisie is the second-highest division of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via a promotion/relegation system. It is also known as the Jupiler League due to sponsorship, which is the same name as the top league in Belgium...
club, Excelsior. Rotterdam also has three
HoofdklasseThe Hoofdklasse is the highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the third tier in general.-Background:The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of the traditional pillarisation , the segregation of Dutch society. The Saturday-clubs are by and...
(main class) clubs, SC Feijenoord (Feyenoord Amateurs), PVV DOTO and TOGR.
Feyenoord, founded in 1908 and the dominant of the three, has won fourteen national titles since the introduction of professional football in the Netherlands. It won the European Cup as the first Dutch club in 1970, and won the World Cup for club teams in the same year. In 1974, they were the first Dutch club to win the
UEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is a competition for eligible European football clubs; the second most prestigious European football contest after the UEFA Champions League. It is an annual football cup competition for European club teams organised by the Union of European Football Associations...
and in 2002, Feyenoord won the UEFA Cup again. In 2008, the year of their 100-year-anniversary, Feyenoord won the KNVB-cup. Feyenoord also has the biggest supporter group in the Netherlands.
Seating 51,480, its 1931 stadium, called
Stadion Feyenoord but popularly known as
De KuipThe Feijenoord Stadion, better known by its nickname De Kuip , is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands that was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the area "Feijenoord" in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same name .Capacity at completion: 64,000. Maximum capacity: 69,000...
('the Tub'), is the second largest in the country, after the
Amsterdam ArenAAmsterdam Arena is a stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The stadium was built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost of €140 million, and was officially opened on August 14, 1996. It has been used for association football, American football, concerts, and other events. The stadium has a retractable roof...
. De Kuip, located in the southeast of the city, has hosted many international football games, including the final of Euro 2000 and has been awarded a FIFA 5 star ranking. There are concrete plans to build a new stadium with a capacity of at least 80,000 seats. If the football worldchampionship in 2018 will go to the Netherlands and Belgium, the stadium is supposed to host the final of the tournament.
Sparta, founded in 1888 and situated in the northwest of Rotterdam, won the national title six times; Excelsior (founded 1902), in the northeast, has never won any. Nowadays Rotterdam is the only city with two (and with Excelsior sometimes even three) teams in the
EredivisieFor the Eredivisie for female football see: Eredivisie The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands.The top division consists of 18 clubs. Each club faces every other club twice during the season, once at home and once away...
.
Rotterdam has its own annual international
marathonThe Rotterdam Marathon is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April of every year since the third edition in 1984, and attracts many top athletes. It has also been ranked as one of the top 10 marathons in the world by Runner's World...
, which offers one of the fastest courses in the world. From 1985 until 1998, the
world recordThis is a list of progressive record times for the marathon. World records in the marathon are now ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations...
was set in Rotterdam, first by
Carlos LopesCarlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes, GCIH, is a former Portuguese long-distance athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1984 Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles...
and later in 1988 by
Belayneh DinsamoBelayneh Densamo is a long distance track and road running athlete from Ethiopia. He held the world record in the marathon for 10 years . This was the third longest span without the record being broken since the event was first organized at the 1896 Olympics...
. The marathon starts and ends on the
Coolsingel in the heart of Rotterdam.
Since 1972, Rotterdam hosts the
ABN AMRO World Tennis TournamentThe ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the International Series Gold of the ATP Tour...
, part of the
ATPThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the principal worldwide tennis tour for men, the ATP Tour, which was renamed in January 2009 and is now known as the ATP World Tour...
Tour.
Members of the student rowing club
SkadiA.R.S.R. "Skadi", or Algemene Rotterdamse Studenten Roeivereniging "Skadi", is a Dutch student rowing club, located in Rotterdam.The name "Skadi" refers to the goddess Skaði from Norse mythology, while A.R.S.R. is the abbreviation for "Algemene Rotterdamse Studenten Roeivereniging"...
were part of the 'Holland Acht', winning a gold medal at the
OlympicsRowing at the Summer Olympics has been part of the competition since the 1900 Summer Olympics. Rowing was on the program at the 1896 Summer Olympics but was cancelled due to bad weather. Only men were allowed to compete until the women's events were introduced at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal...
in
1996The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
.
In
field hockeyField hockey is a team sport in which a team of players attempt to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking the ball with hockey sticks into the opposing team's goal. Its official name is simply hockey, and this is the common name for it in many countries...
, Rotterdam has the largest hockey club in the Netherlands,
HC RotterdamHC Rotterdam is a Dutch field hockey club, which was founded on September 16, 1925. With a total number of 2.342 members it is the biggest hockeyclub in the Netherlands. The first teams compete on the highest level of the Dutch field hockey league, which is called "Hoofdklasse"...
, with its own stadium in the north of the city and nearly 2,400 members. The first men's and women's teams both play on the highest level in the Dutch
Hoofdklasse.
Rotterdam is home to the most successful European
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
team,
Neptunus RotterdamNeptunus is the baseball team of the Neptunus Sporting Club in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The title sponsor of the club is currently DOOR Training so that the official name of the team is DOOR Neptunus....
, winning the most
European CupsThe European Cup is an annual baseball tournament, prior to the "Final Four", sanctioned and created by the Confederation of European Baseball...
.
Since 1986, the city has selected its best sportsman, woman and team at the
Rotterdam Sports Awards ElectionThe Rotterdam Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year is an annual election, organised by the city's division for topsport named Rotterdam Topsport. The award goes to sportspeople who were born or have lived in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland....
, held in December.
Motor cycle speedway was staged in the Feyenoord Stadium after the second world war. The team which raced in a Dutch league was known as the Feyenoord Tigers. The team included Dutch riders and some English and Australian riders.
Tour De France
In November 2008 it was announced that Rotterdam will host the Grand Depart of the 2010 Tour De France.
"Rotterdam is a great metropolis and (as the start venue) is sure to be a big popular success – it does all it can to enable people to get around by bike," said Tour de France Director Christian Prudhomme according to the AFP.
Rotterdam won the selection over the Dutch city of
UtrechtUtrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern end of the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 300,030 in 2007...
. Germany's Dusseldorf had previously also expressed interest in hosting.
The Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), organizers of the Tour de France, said in a statement on its web site that it chose Rotterdam because in addition to it being another big city, like London, to showcase the use of bikes for urban transportation, it provided a location well positioned considering the rest of the route envisioned for the 2010 edition.
The start in Rotterdam will mark the fifth time The Netherlands kicks off the Tour de France. More details about the Grand Départ will be announced on December 11 in a press conference at the Nieuwe Luxor Theater in Rotterdam
Shopping
Well-known streets in Rotterdam are the
shoppingRetailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be individuals...
center the Lijnbaan (the first set of pedestrian streets of the country, opened in 1953), the Hoogstraat, the Coolsingel with the city hall, and the Weena, which runs from the Central Station to the Hofplein (square). A modern shopping venue is the Beurstraverse ('Stock Exchange Traverse), better known by the informal name 'Koopgoot' ('Buying/Shopping Gutter', after its low-lying position, crossing Rotterdam's main street Coolsingel below street level).
The main shopping venue in the south of Rotterdam is Zuidplein, which lies close to Ahoy' Rotterdam, an accommodation center for shows, exhibitions, sporting events, concerts and congresses. Another prominent shopping center, called Alexandrium (sometimes still called by its former name
Oosterhof), lies in the east of Rotterdam. It includes a large kitchen and furniture center.
Yearly events
- January: International Film Festival Rotterdam
The International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands at the end of January. It is one of the larger film festivals in Europe, arguably in the Big Five, alongside Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
- April-June
- Rotterdam Marathon
The Rotterdam Marathon is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April of every year since the third edition in 1984, and attracts many top athletes. It has also been ranked as one of the top 10 marathons in the world by Runner's World...
- August: Pleinbioscoop
- June till September: the Rotterdam Summer festivals, including
- North Sea Jazz Festival
The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival held each second weekend of July in The Netherlands. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam....
(second weekend of July)
- Summer Carnival
The Summer Carnaval is a yearly event in the Belgian city of Kortrijk and the Dutch cities Rotterdam, Bentelo and Arnhem that mimics the Carnaval of South- Latin-America and the Cape Verde Islands. In the cold, Dutch climate Carnival often is held in the winter. This climate doesn't lend itself...
- FFWD Heineken Dance Parade (technoparade
A Technoparade is a parade of vehicles equipped with strong loudspeakers and amplifiers, along the streets of a municipality, which are closed down for this purpose....
)
- September:
- World Port Days (2006: 1, 2 and 3 September)
Transportation
Rotterdam is well connected in international, national, regional and local public transport systems, as well as by the Dutch
motorwayThe OECD has defined a motorway as:Motorways are identical to freeways as a road type, and comparable to the United States's Interstate Highways as a classification....
system.
Motorways
There are several motorways which run to/from Rotterdam. The following four are part of its 'Ring' (
ring roadRing road is another term for beltway. It may also refer to:* Ring Road * Ring Road * Ring Road * Ring road of Iceland* Ring Road * "Ring Road", a song by the electronic band, Underworld....
):
- A20
The A20 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands. It is approximately 39 kilometers in length.The A20 is entirely located in the Dutch province South Holland and connects the N213 road from the Westland municipality with the cities of Rotterdam and Gouda, where it connects to the A12 motorway at...
(Ring North): Hoek van Holland - Rotterdam - GoudaGouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes and its 15th century city hall....
- A16
The A16 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands. It runs from the interchange Terbregseplein in the northeastern part of Rotterdam, towards the Belgian border near Breda....
(Ring East): Rotterdam - BredaBreda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was a strategic military and political significance...
(- BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
- ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
)
- A15
The Dutch Rijksweg 15 is a set of two motorways in the Netherlands, the A15 and the A18. The map on the right-hand side shows these two parts of this Rijksweg 15.- Connection between A15 and A18 :...
(Ring South): EuropoortEuropoort is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and partly France, Europoort is by certain measurements the world's...
- Rotterdam - NijmegenNijmegen is a municipality and a city in the east of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is considered to be the oldest city in the Netherlands and celebrated its 2000th year of existence in 2005.- History :...
- A4
The A4 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands from Amsterdam to the Belgian border near Zandvliet. Some parts of the motorway are still not completed. The completed route as of 2006 is divided into three parts: from Amsterdam via The Hague to Delft, from Vlaardingen to Pernis, and finally from...
(Ring West).
The following two other motorways also serve Rotterdam:
- A13
The A13 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands connecting the cities The Hague and Rotterdam.The 17 kilometers short, highly congested motorway, is the only current motorway connection between these two cities. It is a dual carriageway with three lanes in each direction. The maximum speed on the...
, (AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
-) The HagueThe Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
- Rotterdam
- A29
The A29 motorway is a motorway in the Netherlands. It is approximately 31 kilometers in length. The A29 is located in the Dutch provinces South Holland and North Brabant.No European routes follow the A29 motorway.- Section Klaaswaal-Dinteloord :...
, Bergen op ZoomBergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands.-History:Bergen op Zoom was granted city status probably in 1266. In 1287 the city and its surroundings became a lordship as it was separated from the lordship of Breda. The lordship was elevated to a margraviate in 1559...
- Rotterdam
Airport
Although much smaller than the international hub Schiphol airport,
Rotterdam AirportRotterdam Airport , located north northwest Rotterdam, is the Netherlands' third largest airport, coming after Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Eindhoven Airport . From the airport, there are amongst others daily services to London, Hamburg and charter flights...
(formerly known as
Zestienhoven) is the second largest
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
in the country. Located north of the city, it has shown a very strong growth over the past five years, mostly caused by the growth of the
low-cost carrierA low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services...
market. For business travelers Zestienhoven Airport offers advantages due to rapid handling of passengers and baggage. Environmental regulations make further growth uncertain.
Train
Rotterdam is well connected to the Dutch railroad system, and has several international connections. The train system hosts:
Four trainlines
- South direction Dordrecht
Dordrecht is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,390 in 2008...
-and further (including international to BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
/FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
)
- West direction Hoek van Holland
- North-West direction The Hague
The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
, AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
- North-East direction Utrecht
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern end of the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 300,030 in 2007...
- A fifth alternative train system to the Hague, the Hofplein Line
The Hofpleinlijn was one of the two railways between the Dutch cities of The Hague and Rotterdam. In 2006 it was converted to metro-loke operation as part of the RandstadRail network.-History:...
was converted to the light-rail system Randstadrail|}RandstadRail network in the southern part of the Randstad conurbation in the west of The Netherlands, connecting The Hague, Zoetermeer and Rotterdam, consists of a metro-like line between The Hague and Rotterdam and two light rail lines between The Hague and Zoetermeer...
in 2006.
Railway stations
- Rotterdam Centraal
Rotterdam Centraal is the main railway station of the city Rotterdam in the Netherlands.-History:The station opened on the 3rd June 1847 as the Delftsche Poort railway station. The current station building was designed by Sybold van Ravesteyn but closed on 2 September 2007 whilst the whole station...
-Rotterdam's main station
- Rotterdam Alexander
Rotterdam Alexander is a combined metro and railway station in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It is located on the railway line connecting Rotterdam and Utrecht.-Train services:The following services currently call at Rotterdam Alexander-Metro service:...
- Northern part of Rotterdam
- Rotterdam Blaak
Rotterdam Blaak is a railway station and metro station in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, located on the Staatslijn I between Rotterdam and Dordrecht. The station is located in the centre of the city, near the cube houses....
- Close to the centre of Rotterdam
- Rotterdam Lombardijen
Rotterdam Lombardijen is a railway station in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, located on the railway line between Rotterdam and Dordrecht. The railway station is located in the borough of IJsselmonde.-History:...
- Southern part of Rotterdam
- Rotterdam Noord
Rotterdam Noord is a railway station in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, located on the railway line between Rotterdam and Utrecht.It forms the border between the two Rotterdam municipalities Noord and Hillegersberg-Schiebroek.-History:...
- Northern part of Rotterdam
- Rotterdam Zuid
Rotterdam Zuid is a railway station in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, located on the railway line between Rotterdam and Dordrecht.It lays at the end of the Willemsspoortunnel in the municipalitie of Feijenoord-History:...
- Southern part of Rotterdam
- Rotterdam Stadion
Rotterdam Stadion is a railway station in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, located on the railway line between Rotterdam and Dordrecht.The station is located in front of Stadion Feijenoord, venue of the football club Feyenoord...
- A station near the De KuipThe Feijenoord Stadion, better known by its nickname De Kuip , is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands that was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the area "Feijenoord" in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same name .Capacity at completion: 64,000. Maximum capacity: 69,000...
stadium, open in connection with football matches and music concerts
Main connections
- Direct international services to Belgium
The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
and FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
via high speed train system: ThalysThalys is an international high-speed train operator originally built around the high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris or Brussels to London via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and with French domestic TGV trains. Thalys reaches...
- Frequent international trains to Antwerp
||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 and its total area is , giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km²...
and BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
, Belgium
- Frequent services within the Netherlands:
- Intercity line to The Hague
The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
, LeidenLeiden is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands and has 118,000 inhabitants. It forms a single urban area with Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten, Valkenburg, Rijnsburg and Katwijk, with 254,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Old Rhine, close to the cities...
, Schiphol airport and AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
(north)
- Intercity line to Utrecht
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern end of the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 300,030 in 2007...
and on to DeventerDeventer is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen Deventer is a municipality and city in...
or Enschede, also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
(the east), LeeuwardenLeeuwarden is the capital city of the Dutch province of Friesland. It is situated in the north of the country.-History:...
(north-west) or Groningen||-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |}Groningen is the capital city of the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. With a population of 185,000, it is by far the largest city in the north of the Netherlands....
(north-east)
- Intercity line to Dordrecht
Dordrecht is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,390 in 2008...
, RoosendaalRoosendaal is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands. Together with surrounding towns it used to form a municipality named Roosendaal en Nispen...
and on to VlissingenVlissingen , or Flushing in English, is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315...
(south west)
- Intercity line to Dordrecht
Dordrecht is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,390 in 2008...
, BredaBreda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was a strategic military and political significance...
, TilburgTilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout....
, EindhovenEindhoven is a municipality and a city located in the province of Noord-Brabant in the south of the Netherlands, originally at the confluence of the Dommel and Gender streams...
and VenloVenlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands. It is situated in the province of Limburg.On 1 January 2001, the municipalities of Tegelen and Belfeld were added to that of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago, whereas Venlo has a past in the...
(south east)
- Night services every hour connecting every day of the week to Delft, The Hague, Leiden, Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, and, with a detour, Utrecht. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday night services (either direct or via a detour) to Den Bosch, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Roosendaal.
- Several semi-fast services and local trains originate or call at Rotterdam Centraal; semi-fast services Amsterdam-Breda.
- Detailed information available from the site of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen
Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operating company in the Netherlands. Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national rail infrastructure company ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003.Every day, over one million people of a population of 16 million...
(Dutch Railways)
Light Rail
To bridge the gap between national train services and local public transportation the Dutch
RandstadImage:Randstad_with_scale.png|400px|thumb|right|Schematic map of the Randstadcircle 528 380 26 Schipholrect 426 356 498 436 Haarlemmermeerrect 399 166 479 245 Velsencircle 250 716 32 Delftcircle 220 642 60 The Hague...
has developed a regional
lightrailLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system called
Randstad Rail|}RandstadRail network in the southern part of the Randstad conurbation in the west of The Netherlands, connecting The Hague, Zoetermeer and Rotterdam, consists of a metro-like line between The Hague and Rotterdam and two light rail lines between The Hague and Zoetermeer...
. First trains ran in September 2006.
Subway
In 1968 Rotterdam was the first Dutch city to open a
subwayA rapid transit, metro, subway, underground, or elevated railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and which is grade separated from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically either in underground tunnels or elevated above street level...
system. Currently the system consists of two main lines, each of which has some variants.
- Erasmus Line: Rotterdam Central station - Albrandswaard
Albrandswaard is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 19,607 in 2004, and covers an area of 23.75 km² of which 1.57 km² is water....
(Rhoon, Poortugaal) - Hoogvliet - SpijkenisseSpijkenisse is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 74,482 in 2006, and covers an area of 30.23 km² ....
- Caland Line: two lines from the northeast of Rotterdam (Ommoord and since September 2005 to the new constructed neighborhood Nesselande (before it ended at Zevenkamp which is one stop before Nesselande), both in Prins Alexander
Prins Alexander is a borough in the northeast part of Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands.Prins Alexander knows 7 neighbourhoods:*Het lage Land*Kralingse Veer*Nesselande*Ommoord*Oosterflank*Prinsenland*Zevenkamp-Public transportation:...
) and one from Capelle aan den IJsselCapelle aan den IJssel is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 65,605 in 2005, and covers an area of 15.42 km² of which 1.13 km² is water...
join; the combined line terminated in the west of Rotterdam, but on 4 November 2002, an extension was opened: the line now connects to the main railway network at SchiedamSchiedam is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area.It is known its historical center with its canals, and the tallest old windmills in the world...
railway station, has a stop in Pernisthumb|200px|right|Pernis in 1865.Pernis is a village and district of the municipality of Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands. The district has a population of 4,560 on a total area size of 1.60 km². Pernis is not a full submunicipality of Rotterdam, but the former independent municipality...
and joins the Erasmus Line in Hoogvliet; trains on the Caland Line, like those on the Erasmus Line, terminate in Spijkenisse.
- The eastern parts of the Caland Line have some level crossing
The term level crossing is a crossing on one level — without recourse to a bridge or tunnel — of a railway line by a road or path...
s (with priority), and could therefore be called light railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
instead of metro; however, they are integrated in the system; these parts have overhead wiresOverhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
, while the rest has a third railA third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost fully...
, the vehicles can handle both.
Water bus
Every half hour a water bus (Waterbus route 1) goes from Rotterdam to Dordrecht and vice versa. The trip takes an hour, inclusive stops along the way. The ferry can carry about 130 passengers and there is space for 60
bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, push bike or cycle, is a pedal-driven, human-powered vehicle with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist or a bicyclist....
s. The stops are:
- Rotterdam Willemskade - Krimpen aan den IJssel
Krimpen aan den IJssel is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 28800 in 2006, and covers an area of 8.93 km² of which 1.10 km² is water.-History:Krimpen is first mentioned in a document from 1277...
Stormpolder - RidderkerkRidderkerk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 45,528 in 2004, and covers an area of 25.10 km² ....
De Schans - AlblasserdamAlblasserdam is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 9.96 km² of which 1.18 km² is water. Alblasserdam is officially a part of the Drechtsteden...
Kade -PapendrechtPapendrecht is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, at the crossing of the River Beneden Merwede and the Noord River...
Westeind - DordrechtDordrecht is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,390 in 2008...
Merwekade.
Beaches
Since the summer of 2003 an artificial
beachA beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of a body of water. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, or cobblestones...
is created at the Boompjeskade along the Nieuwe Maas, between the Erasmus Bridge and the Willems Bridge. Swimming was not possible, digging
pit-Technology:* Pressure Indicator Transmitter, abbreviation used in piping and instrumentation diagrams* Programmable Interval Timer, a computing device* Pulsed inductive thruster, a device used in spacecraft propulsion* The core of a nuclear weapon...
s was limited to the height of the layer of
sandSand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.As the term is used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 to 2 millimeters. An individual particle in this range size is termed a sand grain...
, ca. 50 cm. Alternatively people go the beach of Hoek van Holland (which is still a Rotterdam district) or one of the beaches in
ZeelandZeeland , also called Zealand in English and Zeelandic, is a 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...
or the Zuid Hollandse Eilanden:
OuddorpOuddorp is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Goedereede on the island Goeree-Overflakkee.In 2001, the towncentre of Ouddorp had 3820 inhabitants...
,
OostvoorneOostvoorne is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Westvoorne, and lies about 9 km north of Hellevoetsluis....
,
RenesseRenesse is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, and lies about 28 km west of Hellevoetsluis.Renesse is a popular tourist resort with zero-fare bus services in the area ....
.
Notable Rotterdammers
- Pierre Bayle
Pierre Bayle was a French philosopher and writer.Bayle was a self-pronounced Protestant and as a fideist he advocated a separation between the spheres of faith and reason, on the grounds of God being incomprehensible to man...
, enlightenment philosopher.
- Edsger Dijkstra
Edsger Wybe Dijkstra was a Dutch computer scientist. He received the 1972 Turing Award for fundamental contributions to developing programming languages, and was the Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin from 1984 until 2000.Shortly before his...
, Computer Scientist.
- Louis Davids, composer, entertainer, singer.
- Royston Drenthe
Royston Ricky Drenthe is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid.- Biography :Drenthe started his professional career mainly playing as a left back, although has been used mainly as a left winger at Real Madrid....
, Real Madrid C.F. defender/midfielder and Dutch international footballer.
- Francisco Elson
Francisco Marinho Robby Elson is a Dutch professional basketball player of Surinamese descent. At 7' 0" and weighing 235 lbs , he currently plays center for Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. On February 21, 2008, Elson was traded by the San Antonio Spurs along with Brent Barry to the Sonics in...
, NBA player for the Milwaukee BucksThe Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They play in the National Basketball Association . The current franchise owner is Herb Kohl.- Early years :...
.
- Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist and a Catholic theologian...
, philosopher and humanist.
- Pim Fortuyn
Wilhelmus Simon Petrus "Pim" Fortuyn Wilhelmus Simon Petrus "Pim" Fortuyn Wilhelmus Simon Petrus "Pim" Fortuyn was a charismatic Dutch politician, author, columnist, public servant, sociologist and professor who formed his own party, Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim...
, politician, assassinated in 2002.
- Piet Heyn
Pieter Pietersen Heyn was a Dutch naval officer and folk hero during the Eighty Years' War between the United Provinces and Spain.-Early life:...
, naval fleet officer.
- Leo Fuld
Lazarus 'Leo' Fuld was a Dutch singer who specialised in Yiddish songs.Prior to World War II, Leo Fuld was one the most popular recording and concert artists in Europe...
, singer.
- Willem de Kooning
Willem de Kooning was an abstract expressionist artist, born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.In the post-World War II era, de Kooning painted in a style that came to be referred to variously as Abstract expressionism, Action painting, and the New York School...
, painter.
- Rem Koolhaas
Remment Lucas Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA...
, internationally renowned architect.
- Coen Moulijn
Coenraad Moulijn is a former Dutch footballer who played for Feyenoord and was part of their European Cup victory in 1970. He earned 38 caps and scored 4 goals for the Netherlands national football team....
, football player of Feyenoord.
- Johan van Oldebarnevelt, statesman, executed bij Prince Maurits.
- Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Arsenal and Netherlands as a striker. In the national team he is occasionally deployed as a left/right winger as well....
, Arsenal F.C. forward and Dutch international footballer.
- Marten Toonder
Marten Toonder was a Dutch comic writer, born in Rotterdam. He was probably the most successful comic artist in the Netherlands and has had a great influence by introducing new words and expressions into the Dutch language....
, comic writer.
- Abraham Icek Tuschinski
Abraham Icek Tuschinski was a Dutch businessman of Jewish-Polish descent who ordered the construction of the Tuschinski Theater, a famed cinema in Amsterdam....
, businessman and movie theatre owner.
International Relations
Rotterdam has the following city and port connections throughout the world:
- 14 Sister Cities
- 13 Partner Cities
- 4 Sister Ports
Twin towns - sister cities
Rotterdam is
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with:
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
1958 Esch-sur-AlzetteEsch-sur-Alzette is a commune with city status, in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second city, and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 29,853 people...
, LuxembourgLuxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small, landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany...
1958 LilleLille is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
1958 TurinTurin is a major city as well as a business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch...
, ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
1958 |
Liège Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the administrative capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, near Belgium's eastern borders...
, BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
1958 BurgasBurgas is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210,260. It is also the fourth-largest by population in the country, after Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna...
, BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
1976 ConstantaConstanţa is the oldest living city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast...
, RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
1976 GdańskGdańsk, also known by its German name Danzig , is a city on the Baltic coast in northern Poland, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area....
, PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
1977 |
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
, ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
1979 HavanaHavana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. The city/province has 2.4 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 3.7 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region...
, CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
1983 Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
, RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
1984 Baltimore, MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
1985 |
DresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
1988 IstanbulIstanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province...
, TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
2005 SurabayaSurabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city, and the capital of the province of East Java. It is located on the northern shore of eastern Java at the mouth of the Mas River and along the edge of the Madura Strait....
, IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
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Partner Cities
HullKingston upon Hull , almost invariably referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located 25 miles from the North Sea on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary...
, United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
1936 Antwerp||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 and its total area is , giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km²...
en, BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
1940 BaselBasel is Switzerland's third most populous city . With 830000 inhabitants in the tri-national metropolitan area , Basel is Switzerland's second-largest urban area....
, SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
1945 Oslois the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the town was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania . Oslo, then an alternative name, became official again in 1925...
, NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
1945 |
DuisburgDuisburg is a German city in the western part of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an independent metropolitan borough within Regierungsbezirk Düsseldorf...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
1950 NurembergNuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich, at 49.27° N 11.5° E. The population is...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
1961 JakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. It also has a greater population than any other city in Southeast Asia. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa , Jayakarta , Batavia , and Djakarta . Located on the northwest coast of Java, it has an area of and a population of 8,489,910...
, IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
1983 Osakais a city in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshū.Osaka is a City in Japan and also is designated city under the Local Autonomy Law and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture...
, Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
1984 |
BudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe. In 2009, Budapest had 1,712,210 inhabitants, down from a mid-1980s...
, HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
1991 BratislavaBratislava is the capital of the Slovak Republic and, with a population of about 429,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River...
, SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
1991 DurbanDurban is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as the busiest port in Africa. It is also a major centre of tourism due to the city's warm subtropical climate and...
, South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
1991 PraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" , "city of a hundred spires", or Stověžatá Praha in Czech and "the golden city" or Zlaté město in Czech.Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the...
, Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
1991 |
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital, and largest city, of Argentina, currently the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the eastern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
1990 |
Sister Ports
Kobeis the sixth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture and a prominent port city in Japan with a population of about 1.5 million. The city is located in the Kansai region of Japan and is part of the metropolitan area...
, Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
1967 Seattle, WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
1969 Seattle List BusanBusan Metropolitan City, also known as Pusan is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world. Busan has a population of about 3.6 million. It is South Korea's second largest metropolis, after Seoul. The city is located on the Southeasternmost tip of the Korean...
, South KoreaSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
1987 Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
, Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
1989 |
External links