I’m hoping these random facts about the Netherlands will teach you
something new about the country and make you curious enough to want to
visit it.
Enjoy!
Interesting facts about the Netherlands
Source: Flickr – Andrés Nieto Porras
1. Using “Holland” to talk about the Netherlands is wrong. Holland
comprises the Dutch provinces of North and South Holland. It used to be
economically strongest region of the country, which is why it’s so
known.
2. Neanderthal traces have been found near
Maastricht, thought to trace back at least 250,000 years.
4. The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. It did so in 2001.
5. Did you know that Dutch isn’t the only national language in the
Netherlands? Frisian or Fryslân, the language spoken in the province of
Friesland, is too.
6. Only 50% of the Netherlands has land exceeding one meter above sea level, with most of the areas below being man-made.
7. Amsterdam is one of the most popular cities in the Netherlands and home to at least 200 different nationalities.
9. The Dutch are the biggest licorice eaters in the world. They consume 32 million kilos of the stuff every year.
11.
KLM (
Koninklijke Luchtvaartmaatschappij or “Royal Airline Company”), the Dutch national airline, is the oldest national airline in the world. It was founded in 1919.
12. What we now know as gin was invented as “jenever” in the
Netherlands in the 16th century and originally used for medicinal
purposes. Nowadays, gin and jenever aren’t exactly the same thing
anymore and the name “jenever” can only be used for that kind of liquor
made in Belgium, the Netherlands, two northern French departments and
two German federal states.
13. There are almost no streets in the Dutch village of Giethoorn,
but there are many canals, which is why it’s also known as the “Venice
of the Netherlands”.
14. The Netherlands has the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world, according to the
International Monetary Fund. Perhaps that’s why it is such a happy country!
15. The audio tape, the video tape and the CD were al invented in Eindhoven by the Dutch company Philips.
16. With over 4.2 million international visitors, Amsterdam is now Europe’s 5th-busiest tourist destination.
17. Amsterdam is entirely built on wooden poles 11 meters deep. This
is due to its soil which consists of thick layers of clay and fen.
18. There are about 15,000 km of bike lane in the Netherlands.
19. The Dutch people are the tallest in Europe with an average height
of 1.81-1.84 meters for adult males and 1.67-1.70 (depending on the
source) meters for women – which is probably just as well if things get a
bit ‘watery’.
Source: Flickr – Moyan Brenn
20. There are more bikes (over 18 million) in the Netherlands than there are people.
21. Planes at Schipol Airport Amsterdam actually land about 3 to 4.5 meters below sea level.
22. The Netherlands are famous for their tulips, but tulips
originally didn’t grow there. They were imported from the Ottoman empire
in the 17th century.
23. Today, the Netherlands are the biggest producer and exporter of tulips in the world.
24. But not just tulips. 75% of the world’s flower bulbs come from the Netherlands.
25. The
Royal Palace situated at Dam Square is built on at least 13,659 wooden poles.
26. Home births are very popular in the Netherlands, with something like 30% of all Dutch babies born at home.
27. Almost 17% of Netherlands land area is reclaimed from lakes and sea.
28. The Dutch
Max Havelaar certificate was the first fairtrade certificate in the world.
29. Because the land is so flat, the country’s highest point, which
is 323 meters high, is actually referred to as a mountain. It’s located
in Vaalserberg.
30. The lowest point is the Zuidplaspolder and lies seven meters below sea level.
31. The Dutch national anthem, the “Wilhelmus” is the oldest national
anthem still in use. It was written in 1568 and used ever since,
although it only became the official national anthem in 1932.
32. The Dutch national flag is also the oldest tricolor flag, dating back to 1572.
33.
Rotterdam has the largest seaport in Europe.
34. The Dutch are estimated to have at least 18 million bicycles. In
2013 the Netherlands together with Denmark were ranked by the
European Cyclists’ Federation as the most bike-friendly countries in Europe.
35. The Netherlands was a founder member of the Euro, swapping their “gulden” (guilder) to the euro 1 January, 1999.
36. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange Hendrik D-de Keyser is the world’s oldest stock exchange.
37. The Netherlands has produced many well-known painters including
famous names such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Vincent van Gogh and Willem de
Kooning. There are at least 22 Rembrandt painting and 206 works by Van
Gogh in Amsterdam alone.
38. There are 1,281 bridges in Amsterdam!
39. The microscope was invented in the Netherlands in the 16th century.
40. In Amsterdam, you can find Europe’s first and only addiction
clinic, called Smith & Jones. It treats everything from gambling
addictions to substance addictions and video gaming addictions.
41. The famous tulip garden Keukenhof is the largest flower garden in the world. Read about my
visit to Keukenhof.
42. Well-known Dutch actors include Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner),
Famke Janssen (the X-Men) and Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones).
43. The highest cable density in Europe is in the Netherlands.
44. Pedestrians are not allowed to walk on the specially-designated bike lanes, found all over the country.
45. When Dutch schoolchildren pass their exams, both a Dutch flag and a school bag is hung outside their homes.
46. Did you know that carrots didn’t use to be orange? They were
black, yellow, red, purple or white. An orange variant was made in honor
of the House of Orange, that led the revolt against the Spanish and
later became the Dutch Royal Family.
47. That, by the way, is also why orange is the Dutch national color,
even though the Dutch flag’s colors are red, white and blue.
48. A Dutch person will cycles 2.5 km per day on average and 900 km per year.
49. There are approximately 1000 museums in the Netherlands, 42 of them situated in
Amsterdam.
50. The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815
and, since 1848, a parliamentary democracy. It has always had a
coalition government.
51. The telescope was invented in the Netherlands in the 17th century.
Source: Flickr – Christoper A. Dominique
52. Though Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, the seat of government is in the Hague.
53.
New York City was first called “New Amsterdam” and was founded as a Dutch Colony.
54. Both Australia and New Zealand were discovered by the Dutch.
Australia was named “New Holland”, after a Dutch province, and New
Zealand was named after the province of Zeeland. Check out this
photo essay of Zeeland.
55. The most popular tourist souvenirs from the Netherlands include
clogs (wooden shoes), miniature windmills, cheese and tulips.
56. Although it were the Portuguese who discovered tea in East Asia,
it were the Dutch who started to import it commercially into Europe in
1610. By the way: tea didn’t get to the UK until about 40 years later!
57. A popular Dutch snack is raw herrings topped with onions.
58. Some well-known Dutch film directors include Fons Rademakers (The
Assault), Jan de Bont (Speed) and Anton Corbijn (A Most wanted Man).
59. Despite occupying only 0.008% of the world’s surface, the Netherlands is its third largest agricultural exporter.
60. Dutch foreign policy has always been characterized by its neutrality.
61. At only 1%, the Dutch have the lowest incidence of lactose intolerance of any country.
Source: Flickr – Bert Kaufmann
62. In Groningen you can find the biggest bar in Europe. The “
Drie Gezusters” (“Three Sisters”) fits 3,700 people.
63. Netherlands is the world’s biggest exporter of cheese; its dairy industry worth a mind-blowing €7 billion.
64. The Dutch have been making cheese since 400 A.D.
65. The Dutch wear rain suits in lieu of umbrellas because of the blustery winds.
66. The Netherlands was one of the six founding members of the European Union.
67. If all the dikes controlling the water in the Netherlands would
be put one behind the other, they would make a chain of almost 80,000 km
long.
68. The province of Flevoland was almost entirely won from the water
and it would only take 48 hours for it to flood entirely if one of the
dikes broke. Flevoland is about three times the size of Manhattan in New
York.
69. 70% of the world’s bacon comes from the Netherlands.
70. In the Netherlands, 4/10 people work part-time. That’s the highest number in the European Union.
And that’s it for now! What did you think about these Netherlands
facts? Did I miss something important? Did I get something wrong? Let me
know, but please be gentle.
Also, if you liked these facts about the Netherlands, I’d really
appreciate it if you could share them on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.
Thanks!
