Capital: Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of
government
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Borders: Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km
The Netherlands or 'Holland' is situated in Northern Europe, at the
basin of the North Sea. It is an extremely flat country with little
or no hills. The Dutch have for years been renowned for there use of
natural resources such as water management and it is due to this
lack of hills that perhaps the Dutch have been so advanced in
developing their dykes, canals and irrigation channels. The Dutch
have even re-claimed land from the sea. These areas of reclaimed
land lie in the North East of the country and are known collectively
as the Polders. The landmass of the Netherlands is a relatively
small 33,883 sq km and the Netherlands has the joy of being one of
the world's most densely populated countries with an average of
2,000 per sq km.
Almost all the major cities have canal networks
within the centre. The big stereotypes of the Netherlands have to be
its tulips, clogs and windmills. It is possible to see all of these
in modern day Holland, although they normally appear in tourist
souvenir shops. It is possible to venture out into the flatlands in
spring and catch a glimpse of glorious colour as tulip fields are in
abundance in all the colours of the rainbow. The Dutch are also
renowned for their art contributions, not least in the form of
Rembrandt Van Riijn and Vincent Van Gogh. These two very talented
artists are world famous and their works of art can still be viewed
in the many galleries around the Netherlands.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. The area had been
constantly under threat of the sea until this time and had many
floods until the wind-pumping mill was invented. This excellent
contraption enabled huge areas of land to be drained of water, thus
pioneering water management for future generations. The capital city
is Amsterdam, infamous for its beautiful canals. Both prostitution
and the consumption of Marijuana have been decriminalized and are
tolerated but most definitely not legal. The official language is
Dutch although you will be hard pressed to find somebody that does
not speak good English. The national unit of currency is the Euro.
Den Haag or the Hague is the seat of the Dutch government.
The Netherlands enjoy a wealthy and prosperous economy. Industries
include metal and engineering products, electrical machinery and
equipment, chemicals, petroleum, construction and microelectronics.
4% of the national workforce is employed within agriculture,
producing grains, potatoes, sugar beet, fruits and vegetables. The
transport network is comprised of 2808 km of railways, 116,500 km of
highways and 5046 km of waterways.
The climate is temperate with a fairly mild winter in Northern
European terms, and as a result, the Dutch receive very little snow
each year. The average annual daily temperature in the Netherlands
is 15°C. |
