Travel to Holland

The classic and romantic image of Holland depicts a multitude of canals, neatly decorated clogs, tulips in all the colors of the world and small, chubby mills. Add a bunch of golden sunflowers painted in temperamental style, stressed cyclists who do not shy away from anyone or anything and the characteristic scent of hashish. Holland has both a deep historical roots and an ultra-modern side – a fantastic country to travel in.

Population: 17 million

Capital: Amsterdam

Language: Dutch, Frisian

• The official name of the Netherlands, the Netherlands, dates from the 12th century, when the name was used for the areas around the lower reaches of the Rhine – that is, from Cologne and down to the North Sea?
• hash after all is not legal in Holland? However, the authorities accept that a number of approved coffee shops sell small quantities of marijuana for personal use.

Dutch geography

According to bridgat, the Netherlands has always been low-lying, but about 1,500 years ago the country began to sink in earnest. Now a third of the Dutch landscape is below sea level and a 3,000 kilometer long ditch system has therefore been built to keep the North Sea and rivers such as the Rhine at a distance. Therefore, during a trip in Holland, you can get the rare pleasure of going up instead of down to the sea. The lowest point in the low-lying country is at Zuidplaspolder northeast of Rotterdam, which is seven meters below sea level. In the southeast, however, the country rises in a few isolated hills with the highest point at 322 meters above sea level.

The Netherlands is today one of Europe ‘s most densely populated countries. Despite this, during a trip in Holland you can experience that it is far to the nearest neighbor as the Dutch have a tendency to gather in the cities. The areas around The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Amsterdam are especially popular. Outside the cities, the area is occupied by cornfields, pastures for cows and long rows of the colorful tulips for which Holland is so famous. The characteristic windmills are scattered over the green landscape. Over 1,100 are said to adorn the flat plains and canal and river beds. The climate is relatively pleasant and very reminiscent of that in southern Skåne, with mild winters and somewhat cold summers, with as great a risk of rain in July as in November or February.

Holland’s history and culture

Holland has been under various dominions from Caesar and Charlemagne to the Burgundians and Habsburgs. Spain’s Philip II was the last foreign head and ruled until 1579, when Holland finally regained its freedom. This did not mean that life flowed in peace and quiet for the small tulip country, but they now faced several years of fierce battles between different religious groups. It is perhaps because of this tradition that most of Holland’s 16.5 million inhabitants choose to completely renounce established religions. The rest confess to various religions such as the Roman Catholic faith and Calvinism.

From the 17th century onwards, the small nation developed into one of the world’s leading shipping nations. It would not be long before the Dutch established extensive trade routes and thriving colonies around the world – from the Caribbean and South Africa to Southeast Asia. During their colonization, the Dutch also discovered Australia and established a small trading post on the east coast of America which they called New Amsterdam. This later changed Holland to the small South American country of Suriname, and later New Amsterdam changed its name to New York. While the merchants and the explorers sailed all over the world, the artists at home in Holland took the opportunity to create the Dutch golden age. Therefore, today we can admire paintings by, among others, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Rubens at Amsterdam’s many museums.

In 1815, Holland formed a kingdom which at that time also included Belgium. The name of the kingdom was the Netherlands, which is still the official name of the Netherlands. Holland is actually the name of the part of the country that lies along the west coast. After this name confusion, we can now continue our story: Belgium soon liberated itself from the Netherlands, and for the next hundred years life ran rather painlessly until World War II broke out and the country was occupied by the Germans for five years. In the wake of the occupation, among other things, a severe famine followed. Thereafter, the country’s foreign colonies began to demand freedom again, and today only the islands of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles remain in the Caribbean.