歐洲:
英国 United Kingdom 爱尔兰 Ireland 比利时 Belgium 荷兰 Netherlands 法国 France 西班牙 Spain 葡萄牙 Portugal 意大利 Italy 希腊 Greece 奥地利 Austria 匈牙利 Hungary 德国 Germany 瑞士 Switzerland 罗马尼亚 Romania 俄罗斯 Russia 波兰 Poland 克罗地亚 Croatia (Hrvatska) 捷克 Czech 芬兰 Finland 瑞典 Sweden 挪威 Norway 冰岛 Iceland 土耳其 Turkey 丹麦 Denmark 阿尔巴尼亚 Albania 爱沙尼亚 Republic of Estonia 安道尔 Andorra 白俄罗斯 Belarus 保加利亚 The Republic of Bulgaria 波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那 Bosnia and Herzegovina 梵蒂冈 Vatican City State (Holy See) 黑山 The Republic of Montenegro 拉脱维亚 Latvia 立陶宛 Republic of Lithuania 列支敦士登 Liechtenstein 卢森堡 Luxembourg 马耳他 Republic of Malta 马其顿 The Republic of Macedonia 摩尔多瓦 The Republic of Moldova 摩纳哥 Monaco 塞尔维亚 the Republic of Serbia 斯洛伐克 The Slovak Republic 斯洛文尼亚 the Republic of Slovenia 圣马力诺 San Marino 乌克兰 Ukraine |
| 荷蘭 Netherlands 首都:阿姆斯特丹 國家代碼: nl |
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【國名】尼德蘭王國，通稱荷蘭(荷蘭語：Koninkrijk der Nederlanden，
英語：The Kingdom of the Netherlands)。 【國名釋義】荷蘭全稱為“尼德蘭王國”，“荷蘭”在日耳曼語中叫尼德蘭，意為“低地之國”， 荷蘭衹是尼德蘭王國的一個最大的省，所以古代中國就稱之曰“荷蘭”，該稱呼一直沿用至今。 【國旗】呈長方形，長與寬之比為3∶2。自上而下由紅、白、藍三個平行相等的橫長方形相連而成。藍色表示國傢面臨海洋，象徵人民的幸福；白色象徵自由、平等、民主，還代表人民純樸的性格特徵；紅色代表革命勝利。 【國徽】即奧倫治·拿騷王室的王徽。為鬥篷式。頂端帶王冠的鬥篷中有一盾徽，藍色盾面上有一隻頭戴三葉狀王冠的獅子，一爪握着銀色羅馬劍，一爪抓着一捆箭，象徵團结就是力量。盾徽上面有一頂王冠，兩側各有一隻獅子，下邊的藍色飾帶上寫着威廉大公的一句格言“堅持不懈”。 【重要節日】4月30日：女王日(係已故王太後朱麗安娜生日,即國慶日)； 紀念日：5月4日（1945年5月4日占領荷蘭的法西斯德軍在瓦格寧根簽署投降書，被定為荷蘭“紀念日”） 【國歌】《威廉·凡·拿騷》，這也是世界上第一首國歌 【國花】鬱金香 【國鳥】琵鷺 【國石】鑽石 【同北京時差】-7.00 【國際電話碼】 31 【語言】荷蘭語 【貨幣】荷蘭盾(NLG) 【人口】1619．7萬，90％以上為荷蘭族，此外還有弗裏斯族。官方語言為荷蘭語，弗裏斯蘭省講弗裏斯語。居民31％信奉天主教，21％信奉基督教。 【首都】阿姆斯特丹(Amsterdam)有人口73. 5萬（2003年）；政府所在地：海牙(The Hague) ，人口45.8萬（2003年）。 【行政區劃】全國劃分為12個省，省下設489個市鎮(2003年)。各省名稱如下：格羅寧根、弗裏斯蘭、德倫特、歐弗艾塞爾、格爾德蘭、烏特勒支、北荷蘭、南荷蘭、西蘭、北布拉邦、林堡、弗雷佛蘭。 【國傢政要】女王貝婭特麗剋絲·威廉明娜·阿姆加德 (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard) ，1980年4月登基繼位。首相揚·彼得·巴爾剋嫩德 (Jan Peter Balkenende) ，2003年5月就任，2007年2月再次就任。 【主要城市】阿姆斯特丹 首都，人口73.5萬（2001年）。 政府所在地海牙，人口44.2萬（2001年）。 重要港市鹿特丹，人口592,597（2000年）。 自然地理 荷蘭國土總面積為41528平方公裏，位於歐洲西部，東面與德國為鄰，南接比利時。西、北瀕臨北海，地處萊茵河、馬斯河和斯凱爾特河三角洲，海岸綫長1075公裏。全境為低地，四分之一的土地海拔不到1米，四分之一的土地低於海面，沿海有1，800多公裏長的海壩和岸堤。十三世紀以來共圍墾約7，100多平方公裏的土地，相當於全國陸地面積的五分之一。境內河流縱橫，主要有萊茵河、馬斯河。西北瀕海處有艾瑟爾湖。其西部沿海為低地，東部是波狀平原，中部和東南部為高原。南部由萊茵河、馬斯河、斯海爾德河的三角洲連接而成。“荷蘭”在日耳曼語中叫尼德蘭，意為“低地之國”，因其國土有一半以上低於或幾乎水平於海平面而得名。荷蘭的氣候屬海洋性溫帶闊葉林氣候，鼕溫夏涼，月平均氣溫：1月2~3℃；7月18~19℃。由於地低土潮，荷蘭人接受了法國高盧人發明的木鞋，並在幾百年的歷史中賦予其典型的荷蘭特色。 年降水量650~700毫米。有天然氣、石油和煤等藴藏。 為了生存和發展，荷蘭人竭力保護原本不大的國土，避免在海水漲潮時遭“滅頂之災”。他們長期與海搏鬥，圍海造田。早在13世紀就築堤壩攔海水，再用風動水車抽幹圍堰內的水。幾百年來荷蘭修築的攔海堤壩長達1800公裏，增加土地面積60多萬公頃。如今荷蘭國土的20％是人工填海造出來的。鎸刻在荷蘭國徽上的“堅持不懈”字樣，恰如其分地刻畫了荷蘭人民的民族性格。 歷史 1463年正式成為國傢，16世紀前長期處於封建割據狀態。16世紀初受西班牙統治。1568年爆發延續80年的反抗西班牙統治的戰爭。1581年北部七省成立荷蘭共和國（正式名稱為尼德蘭聯合共和國）。1648年西班牙正式承認荷蘭獨立。17世紀曾為海上殖民強國，繼西班牙之後成為世界上最大的殖民國傢。18世紀後，荷蘭殖民體係逐漸瓦解。1795年法軍入侵。1806年拿破侖之弟任國王，荷被封為王國。1810年並入法國。1814年脫離法國，翌年成立荷蘭王國（1830年比利時脫離荷蘭獨立）。1848年成為君主立憲國。一戰期間保持中立。二戰初期宣佈中立。1940年5月被德國軍隊侵占，王室和政府遷至英國，成立流亡政府。1945年恢復獨立，戰後放棄中立政策，加入北約和歐共體及後來的歐盟。 荷蘭的崛起歷史 15世紀末的地理大發現，給歐洲帶來前所未有的商業繁榮，也為荷蘭提供了成就商業帝國的歷史性機遇。 1581年7月26日，來自荷蘭各起義城市的代表在海牙鄭重宣佈：廢除西班牙國王對荷蘭各省的統治權。 1588年，七個省份聯合起來，宣佈成立荷蘭聯省共和國。這是一個在人類歷史上前所未有的國傢。很多歷史學家說，它是世界上第一個“賦予商人階層充分的政治權利的國傢”。 1602年，在共和國大議長奧登巴恩維爾特的主導下，荷蘭聯合東印度公司成立。就像他們創造了一個前所未有的國傢一樣，如今，他們又創造了一個前所未有的經濟組織。 到17世紀中葉，荷蘭聯省共和國的全球商業霸權已經牢固地建立起來。此時，荷蘭東印度公司已經擁有15000個分支機構，貿易額占到全世界總貿易額的一半。懸挂着荷蘭三色旗的10000多艘商船遊弋在世界的五大洋之上： 在東亞，他們占據了中國的臺灣，壟斷着日本的對外貿易； 在東南亞，他們把印度尼西亞變成了自己的殖民地，他們建立的第一個殖民據點——巴達維亞城，構成了今天雅加達的雛形； 在非洲，他們從葡萄牙手中奪取了新航綫的要塞好望角； 在大洋洲，他們用荷蘭一個省的名字命名了一個國傢——新西蘭； 在南美洲，他們占領了巴西； 在北美大陸的哈得遜河河口，東印度公司建造了新阿姆斯特丹城，今天，這座城市的名字叫做紐約。 1648年的荷蘭：已達到了商業繁榮的頂點。 1656年，荷蘭使團到達北京。入主中原剛剛八年的大清朝廷，以一種興奮的態度接待了他們。但荷蘭人遇到了那個時候所有到中國的外交使團都會遇到的一個麻煩，就是在覲見皇帝時必須行三拜九叩的大禮。事實上，一直到18世紀末，幾乎沒有一位歐洲國傢的外交官願意接受這種苛刻的天朝規矩。但是，荷蘭人卻毫不猶豫地答應了。 “……我們衹是不想為了所謂的尊嚴，而喪失重大的利益。” 荷蘭人的重大利益是什麽，就是通商和賺錢。 1688年9月，一支龐大的艦隊從阿姆斯特丹港拔錨起航，這些船上載着荷蘭的最高執政官威廉三世和兩萬名荷蘭士兵。威廉三世此行是受英國議會的邀請，前去保護英國國民的“宗教自由和財産”。 歷史的安排竟是這樣的巧合。17世紀末期，荷蘭發展的速度慢了下來，逐漸失去了左右世界的霸權。無論在時間上還是空間上，威廉三世離開荷蘭到英國，都成為了世界中心舞臺的一次極有象徵意義的轉移。 政治 【憲法】1814年3月29日頒布憲法，1848年修改憲法，規定荷蘭是世襲君主立憲王國。立法權屬國王和議會，行政權屬國王和內閣。樞密院為最高國務協商機構，主席為女王本人，其他成員由女王任命。 【議會】 由一院和二院組成。二院擁有立法權；一院有權同意或拒絶批準法案，但不能提出或修改法案。一院共有議員75名，由省議會間接選舉産生；二院共有議員150名，按比例代表製通過直接普選産生。兩院議員任期均為4年，但改選不在同一年進行。 【司法機構】 全國設62個基層法院（市鎮法院），19個中級法院（地區法院），5個上訴法院和1個最高法院。此外還設有軍事法庭、行政法庭等若幹特別法庭。 基層法院負責審理一般性民事與刑事案件，中級法院負責審理較重大的民事及刑事案件（上述兩級法院均為初審法院）。上訴法院專門負責審理上訴、抗訴案件。 【政黨】荷蘭主要政黨有6個 ：①基督教民主聯盟 ，簡稱基民盟，由原天主教人民黨 、 基督教歷史同盟和反對革命黨3個教派政黨於1980年聯合組成。是戰後執政次數最多的政黨。②工黨，1946年成立，前身是1894年成立的社會民主黨。③自由民主人民黨，1948年成立。由原自由民主黨派中的右翼組成，代表荷蘭壟斷資産階級中的保守觀點。④六六民主黨，1966年由工黨、自由黨中分裂出來的左翼激進分子組成。⑤政治革新黨，1918年成立。為神權主義加爾文教派黨，由原反對革命黨中最保守的右翼分子組成。⑥緑色左派聯盟，1989年5月由政治激進黨、荷蘭共産黨 、 和平社會黨和新教人民黨等左翼黨組成，聯合參加大選。此外，還有中心黨、新教民主黨、緑黨、新荷蘭人民聯盟、社會主義工人黨、新教政治聯盟等。 經濟 荷蘭是發達的資本主義國傢，西方十大經濟強國之一。荷自然資源相對貧乏，但天然氣儲量豐富，2001年開採天然氣約743億立方米，自給有餘，還能出口。荷工業發達，主要工業部門有食品加工、石油化工、冶金、機械製造、電子、鋼鐵、造船、印刷、鑽石加工等，原料和銷售市場主要依靠國外。近20年來重視發展空間、微電子、生物工程等高技術産業，傳統工業主要是造船、冶金等。鹿特丹是歐洲最大的煉油中心。荷是世界主要造船國傢之一。荷蘭的農業也發達，是世界第三大農産品出口國。農業生産現代化，乳、肉産品供應國內有餘，是世界主要蛋、乳出口國之一。荷蘭人利用不適於耕種的土地因地製宜發展畜牧業，現已達人均一頭牛、一頭豬，躋身於世界畜牧業最發達國傢的行列。他們在沙質地上種植馬鈴薯，並發展薯類加工，世界種薯貿易量的一半以上從這裏輸出。花卉是荷蘭的支柱性産業。全國共有1．1億平方米的溫室用於種植鮮花和蔬菜，因而享有“歐洲花園”的美稱。荷蘭把美麗送到世界各個角落，花卉出口占國際花卉市場的40％~50％。荷金融服務和保險業、旅遊業發達。 航運業和漁業在經濟中占重要地位。歐洲經濟共同體成員國。糧食（小麥）和飼料依靠進口。海運和內河航運發達，鹿特丹和阿姆斯特丹是重要港口。海岸外小島、古城、運河風光和花卉種植業吸引國外旅客。每年旅遊者達260餘萬。 荷蘭著名的跨國公司有： 荷蘭皇傢殼牌集團（Royal Dutch /Shell Group of Companies）： 荷蘭最大的工業公司。1907年由荷蘭皇傢石油公司與英國殼牌運輸和貿易公司合併而成，實行兩總部控股製，其中荷蘭資本占60％，英國占40％，兩總部分別設在荷蘭鹿特丹和英國倫敦。集團公司下設14個分部.，分別經營石油、天然氣、化工産品、有色金屬、煤炭等，其中石油、石化燃料的生産和銷售能力居世界第二位。截至2000年底，資産總額達570.86億美元。2000年淨銷售額1491.46億美元，淨收入127.19億美元。公司總裁範德菲爾（J. van der Veer)。 飛利浦電子公司（Philips Electronic N.V） :成立於1891年，在全球500傢大企業中居第58位，在世界電子行業中排名第9。在60多個國傢設有營業機構，共有雇員26.51萬人。其股票在9個國傢的16個交易所上市。主要生産視聽産品、照明、電子元件、半導體、醫療係統、小傢電、工業電子及商業電子等，其中照明設備、彩色顯象管、電動剃須刀、X光分析儀及音響設備在國際市場居領先地位。2000年資産總額384.54億歐元，銷售額378.62億歐元，利潤96億歐元。總部設在荷蘭阿姆斯特丹，總裁剋萊斯特雷（Gerard Kleisterlee)。 聯合利華公司（Unilever N.V，原譯尤尼萊佛公司）： 英、荷合資企業，成立於1930年，是世界著名的日用及食品化工集團，在世界500傢大型企業中名列第35位。公司在荷蘭鹿特丹和英國倫敦各有一個總部。荷蘭部分主要生産食品，英國則主要生産日用化工産品。集團現有員工30.6萬人，分佈在世界70多個國傢和地區。2000年總資産576.40億歐元，營業額475.82億歐元，利潤33.02億歐元。公司總裁博格曼斯。其在華公司稱聯合利華。 阿剋蘇· 諾貝爾公司（Akzo Nobel N.V）：跨國化工和醫藥集團，1994年由荷蘭阿剋蘇公司和瑞典諾貝爾公司合併而成。公司主要有藥品、塗料和化學3個部門，共有員工8.6萬人，在世界60多個國傢和地區設有分支機構。主要經營????、鹼、塑料、添加劑、工業及紡織用纖維、各種薄膜、醫療設備、藥品及藥品生産用原料等。2001年，公司總資産102億歐元，營業額為141.10億歐元，淨利潤6.17億歐元。總裁範雷德（Cees J.A. van Lede)。 交通運輸 荷蘭陸、海、空運輸均十分發達。境內河流縱橫，水路四通八達。素有“北方威尼斯”之稱的荷蘭首都阿姆斯特丹有大小水道160多條，橋梁1000多座。位於萊茵河與馬斯河出海口的鹿特丹港是世界第一大港。阿姆斯特丹機場是荷蘭和歐洲主要航空港之一，曾多次獲世界最佳機場稱號。荷蘭人充分利用這一得天獨厚的地理條件發展交通運輸業，其陸海空各類運輸占歐盟交通市場總額的百分之三十。 人民生活 社會保障體係較完整，居民福利水平較高。 2001年人均國民收入22317歐元，全年國民消費總支出為2129.05億歐元。貧富差距不明顯，2000年生活舒適的家庭占53%，收支大體相等的占38%，生活睏難的9%。2000年家庭耐用消費品普及率(%)如下: 汽車72, 彩電99, 錄像機79, 冰櫃71, 洗衣機95,洗衣烘幹機53, 摩托車8, 自行車200, 電話100, 傢用電腦64。 軍事 荷在第二次世界大戰前為中立國，戰後加入北約，並以北約的集體防衛政策作為其國防政策的基礎。女王為全國武裝力量最高統帥，實際指揮權掌握在內閣手中。國防委員會是荷最高安全决策機構，首相為委員會主席。現任國防大臣德赫拉夫，國防參謀長範登布雷蒙上將。荷武裝部隊負有保衛荷屬安的列斯群島安全的義務。1997年1月1日起部隊全面職業化，軍隊通過與自願者簽訂合同形式招募人員。1999年現役部隊7.5萬人，其中陸軍24900人，海軍13300人，空軍11700人，憲兵4900人，文職2萬人。荷在荷屬安的列斯群島的庫拉索建有一個海軍基地，駐軍400人。荷有4000人參加聯合國維和部隊和其他軍事行動。 海外領地 荷屬安第列斯 （The Netherlands Antilles） 由加勒比海中相距800多公裏的南北兩組島嶼組成。80％為黑白混血種人，有少數白人。荷蘭語和帕彼曼都語為官方語言，也講西班牙語和英語。82％的居民信奉天主教，10％的居民信奉基督教新教。1499年西班牙殖民者在庫拉索登陸。1527年西班牙占領南部三島，1634年成為荷殖民地。北部兩島於1493年被哥倫布發現，17世紀中葉被荷蘭占據，此後多次易主，1816年成為荷蘭屬地。1954年群島獲得完全的內部事務自治權。2007年1月1日，庫拉索島和聖馬丁島正式脫離，成為單獨的荷蘭屬國，剩下3島組成“王國列島”，地位待定。 阿魯巴（Aruba） 加勒比海南部背風群島的一部分。主要為印第安人與歐洲白人的混血後裔。官方語言為荷蘭語，通用帕彼曼都語，也講西班牙語和英語。80%以上的居民信奉天主教，少數信奉基督教新教。1499年西班牙占領該島。1643年易手荷蘭。1986年1月1日宣佈正式脫離荷屬安的列斯，成為荷蘭王國的一個單獨的政治實體，荷蘭繼續負責該島的國防和對外事務 荷蘭四寶 風車 風車原為荷蘭人首創，適應着水力利用和磨坊工業的需要。如今雖然仍為荷蘭的“國傢商標”，實際運用上卻不多見了。我們當然無法帶回荷蘭的大風車，但是小型的風車模型紀念品是可以的，權當是你來到荷蘭的留念。 鬱金香 鬱金香為何可以聞名於世？其中非常大的因素就是因為荷蘭。鬱金香是荷蘭的國花，荷蘭人也非常愛鬱金香，在他們的生活中鬱金香已經是必不可少的東西，每逢集市、花展，他似乎總是可以充當主角。如果你覺得鮮花攜帶不方便，你可以選擇購買一下鮮花製作的幹花，作為你的擺設一樣不失體面。 奶酪 假如有人問起荷蘭有什麽好吃的，十有八九人們都會認為是奶酪。荷蘭人有各種各樣的奶酪，多得可以讓你無法想象。奶酪也像紅酒一樣分開等級，最貴的會讓你瞠目結舌。你可以接受這種食品的話不妨去買上一些，購買時還可以先品嚐一下，微微的酸與甜很好的結合在一起，味道非常醇正。 木屐 風車、木鞋、奶酪、鬱金香號稱荷蘭四寶，而木鞋又位於四寶之首，其地位可見一般。木鞋成為荷蘭的特産，和光照期短、地勢低窪有關。全年晴好天氣不足70天，這使荷蘭人的愛陽光一如所愛他們的畫傢梵·高筆下的“嚮日葵”，也使他們不得不穿上敦實的木鞋對付潮濕的地面，下地幹活、庭院勞作乃至室內打掃都穿不同樣式的白楊木鞋。後來，精明的荷蘭人把木鞋製作發展成一門半機械操作的工藝，木鞋也就成為特色産品和旅遊紀念物。 文化教育 【教育】 實行12年（5~16歲）全日製義務教育製。中小學校分為公立和私立兩類。2000年，荷全國共有9195所各級各類學校，學生總數335萬人，教育和科研經費184.13億歐元。目前小學在校生共166萬餘人，中學在校生130萬，成人和職業教育學校在校生約達45萬人。荷高等教育分為大學、開放大學和高等職業教育。荷現有13所重點大學，其中9所為綜合性大學，一所為理工大學、一所為農業大學，在校生15.3萬人。高等職業學校學生25.2萬人。著名高等院校有萊頓大學、烏特勒支大學、阿姆斯特丹自由大學、格羅寧根大學、鹿特丹伊拉斯謨大學、代爾夫特理工大學和瓦格寧根農業大學等。 萊頓大學 建於1575年，現有學生17500人，外國留學生約1000人，教職員約5000人。 代爾夫特理工大學 原屬於1842年建立的“皇傢學院”的一個理工分院，1905年正式取得大學地位，現有學生約13000人，外國留學生約1300名，教職員約5000人。 瓦格寧根農業大學 建於1918年，現有學生4500名，外國留學生約500人，教職員2000餘人。 新聞出版 報刊發行始於1618年。現共有日報近90種（其中全國性日報8種），綜合性和專業性期刊約4000種。主要報刊有《電訊報》、《每日匯報》、《人民報》、《新鹿特丹商報》、《誓言報》、《忠誠報》、《金融日報》、《埃爾什維爾周刊》、《自由荷蘭》。荷蘭通訊社是半官方新聞機構。荷蘭有5個全國廣播電臺、10個地區廣播電臺和150個地方廣播電臺。電視廣播覆蓋率100％，其中76％的家庭可接收有綫電視。全國有35個廣播電視組織，由荷蘭廣播電視協會根據各組織會員人數分配廣播電視的播放時間，其中8大廣播電視組織在3套半官方的全國性電視節目中擁有絶大部分播放時間。近年來，荷商業電視臺發展較快。 外交 荷蘭為歐盟和北約成員國。對外政策以歐洲為重點，同時強調美國在歐洲的存在是歐洲安全與穩定的重要保證。主張在加強北約的同時，西歐國傢製訂共同外交、安全政策以加強北約的歐洲安全支柱。 與中國關係：中國與荷蘭的人員和經濟交往可追溯到17世紀初。隨着中國改革開放的深化和投資環境的日益改善，中荷經貿關係有了較大發展。雙方政府先後簽訂了包括海運、航空、經濟、技術、文化在內的多種雙邊協定和協議。荷蘭也是最早承認中國的西方國傢之一。 在抗美援朝戰役中，當時的荷蘭軍隊作為帝國主義力量曾經與中國志願軍發生戰爭。亞洲的印度尼西亞曾經是荷蘭的殖民地，至今許多荷蘭大鼻子喜歡吃印尼炒飯（Nasi Goreng） 1954年11月19日與中國建立代辦級外交關係。1972年5月18日升格為大使級外交關係。1981年5月5日降格為代辦級，1984年2月1日恢復大使級外交關係。2004年4月，首相巴爾剋嫩德對中國進行工作訪問。2004年12月，溫傢寶總理對荷蘭進行正式訪問。1994年，北京與荷蘭首都阿姆斯特丹結為友好城市。近年來兩國友好交往增加，經貿關係也有較大發展，雙方政府先後簽訂了包括海運、航空、經濟、技術、文化在內的一係列雙邊協定和協議。 風車之國 人們常把荷蘭稱為“風車之國”，荷蘭是歐洲西部一個衹有一千多萬人口的國傢。它的真正國名叫“尼德蘭”。“尼德”是低的意思，“蘭”是土地，合起來稱為“低窪之國”。荷蘭全國三分之一的面積衹高出北海海面l米，近四分之一低於海平面，真是名符其實的“尼德蘭”。 荷蘭坐落在地球的盛行西風帶，一年四季盛吹西風。同時它瀕臨大西洋，又是典型的海洋性氣候國傢，海陸風長年不息。這就給缺乏水力、動力資源的荷蘭，提供了利用風力的優厚補償。 荷蘭的風車，最早從德國引進。開始時，風車僅用於磨粉之類。到了十六、七世紀，風車對荷蘭的經濟有着特別重大的意義。有：造紙等作用，被譽為“風車之國”。荷蘭嚮來以風車聞名。而保存風車較多的地方，則是“小孩堤坊”。 小時候，你讀過這個故事吧？一個小男孩眼見堤坊上出現裂縫，海水滲入，他擔心村子將被海水淹沒，便用手指頭塞住堤坊，救了全村人… 如今，在這個地方還保留了19部風車，並且還能見到穿着傳統服飾的荷蘭婦女。 直到8月26日為止，是今年荷蘭的“風車之日”。每逢星期六，小孩堤坊的風車將一起轉動，有的還開放內部，讓遊人參觀。 當時，荷蘭在世界的商業中，占首要地位的各種原料，從各路水道運往風車加工，其中包括：北歐各國和波羅的海沿岸各國的木材，德國的大麻子和亞麻子，印度和東南亞的肉桂和鬍椒。在荷蘭的大港——鹿特丹和阿姆斯特丹的近郊，有很多風車的磨坊、鋸木廠和造紙廠。 隨着荷蘭人民圍海造陸工程的大規模開展，風車在這項艱巨的工程中發揮了巨大的作用。根據當地的濕潤多雨、風嚮多變的氣候特點，他們對風車進行了改革。首先是給風車配上活動的頂篷。此外，為了能四面迎風，他們又把風車的頂篷安裝在滾輪上。這種風車，被稱為荷蘭式風車(如左圖)。 荷蘭風車，最大的有好幾層樓高，風翼長達20米。有的風車，由整塊大柞木做成。十八世紀末，荷蘭全國的風車約有一萬二千架，每臺擁有6000匹馬力。這些風車用來碾𠔌物、粗????、煙葉、榨油，壓滾毛呢、毛氈、造紙，以及排除沼澤地的積水。正是這些風車不停地吸水、排水，保障了全國三分之二的土地免受沉淪和人為魚鱉的威脅。 二十世紀以來，由於蒸汽機、內燃機、渦輪機的發展，依靠風力的古老風車曾一度變得暗淡無光，幾乎被人遺忘了。但是，因為風車利用的是自然風力，沒有污染、耗盡之虞，所以它不僅被荷蘭人民一直沿用至今，而且也成為今日新能源的一種，深深地吸引着人們。 目前，荷蘭大約有兩千多架各式各樣的風車。荷蘭人很喜愛他們的風車，在民歌和諺語中常常贊美風車。風車的建築物，總是盡量打扮得漂漂亮亮的。每逢盛大節日，風車上圍上花環，懸挂着國旗和硬紙板做的太陽和星星。 由於地勢較低，荷蘭人與水抗爭的歷史一直是個傳奇。 荷蘭境內有三分之一的土地低於海平面，而靠近鹿特丹的Alexander Polder地區，更低於海平面6.5公尺之多。為了土地與大自然抗衡，荷蘭人建造堤防，阻擋海水，並利用風車産生動力將窪地的水抽幹，填海造地，至今你所看到的荷蘭是一望無際的平原，並孕育着無數的生命。歷史上，荷蘭一度在16、17世紀海上航權時代取得相當的優勢，成為當時歐洲北海沿岸勢力最強的代表，我們稱之為荷蘭的「黃金時代」！1602到1799年一百多年間，東印度公司(VOC)從一傢貿易公司躍身為對全球第一傢的跨國企業，對荷蘭的經濟發展貢獻良多，尤其對阿姆斯特丹的發展，産生了舉足輕重的影響。今天，從對阿姆斯特丹建築的風貌、運河的規劃等等，仍舊可以看出當時商業的蓬勃發展。此外，當時許多荷蘭北方、圍繞南海(Zuider Zee)的漁村，也成為東印度公司重要的港口。 儘管在築完堤壩後，原本的南海早已更名為艾塞湖(Ijsselmeer)，但如珍珠項鏈般環繞湖畔的馬肯(Marken)、沃倫丹(Volendam)、荷恩(Hoorn)、烏爾剋(Urk)與史帕肯堡(Spakenburg)等漁村，以及坎朋(Kampen)、斯塔佛倫(Stavoren)和恩剋森等貿易城中，所遺留的傳統文化將這個地區也，形成了一個獨特且多彩多姿的區域，我們稱之為「北海黃金圈」 。 現今荷蘭仍然是世界上的最有競爭力的先進國傢之一也是世界上重要的出口貿易國。 荷蘭木鞋不過是一種工藝品，實際上，木鞋對於荷蘭人來說有着重要的實用價值，至少在歷史上是這樣的。因荷蘭土地太潮濕，木鞋最能防潮濕，而且經久不爛,因而成了荷蘭人的最愛。 【飲食】青魚是荷蘭聞名的小吃之一，也是荷蘭進行殖民掠奪的標志。遠在十四世紀，1384年，一個叫博剋爾的荷蘭人發明了腌漬青魚辦法，於是捕魚業興旺起來。荷蘭以武力強占了波羅地海沿岸，瑞典南部盛産青魚的斯霍恩島，成為荷蘭第一個殖民地。所以有人把荷蘭叫做“建築在青魚骨上的國傢”。 荷蘭點滴 盛開的鬱金香——美麗卻又凄婉 說到荷蘭足球，總會引發一連串的疑問：如果剋魯伊夫參加78年世界杯賽，荷蘭還衹是亞軍嗎？如果90年荷蘭隊團结一致，還會那麽早就打道回府嗎？如果古利特參加94年世界杯，荷蘭還會輸給巴西嗎？時光無法倒流，足球場上是更沒有那麽多的“如果”，我們永遠得不到答案。事實上，也不太需要答案，因為人們已經習慣於那支令人敬仰卻又充滿悲情色彩的球隊。論才華，荷蘭堪比巴西；論氣質，荷蘭不遜法國；論剛毅，荷蘭不輸德國，但談起成績，荷蘭卻難以在列強面前擡頭。每次他們都是奪標的大熱門，但往往結局沒有期待的好，除了1988年的歐錦賽冠軍，荷蘭真成了無冕之王，甚至幾次被拒大賽的决賽圈之外，充當難以舒展激情的落寞看客。激情的鬱金香總是夭折的現實使荷蘭隊身上彌漫了悲情的色彩。 鬱金香是荷蘭的國花，是美好、莊嚴、華貴和成功的象徵，荷蘭足球在世人面前擁有了前三項，但荷蘭人一直在大賽成功的門外徘徊。荷蘭就是這樣一個讓你愛恨交加的球隊，不知道他們能帶來多少驚喜，更不知道他們會帶來多少悲傷。 荷蘭的國傢歷史充滿了反抗和鬥爭。在16世紀前長期處於封建割據狀態，而後又受到西班牙的殖民統治，於是歷史上的荷蘭以中立的姿態應對着風雲變化。和平和獨立的精神追求造就荷蘭人不去爭奪他人的利益，他們可以填海造田，可以同自然戰鬥卻無意稱霸世界。從倫勃朗到梵·高，荷蘭誕生了世界級的繪畫大師，但就像他們的印象畫派，荷蘭足球創造了印象之名卻沒有榮譽之實。 從足球看荷蘭：不為爭名逐利，衹求唯美主義 荷蘭隊可以革命性的足球屢屢改造世界足球的風格，但卻沒有辦法在足壇稱霸，實在和荷蘭的民族性有關，因為荷蘭人對稱霸不感興趣，荷蘭人更感興趣的是和平與創造，以及在足球中體現海一般的浪漫主義精神。 荷蘭歷史上一直采取中立政策，由此帶來它有意思的命運。16世紀前長期處於封建割據狀態。16世紀初受西班牙統治。1581年北部七省成立荷蘭共和國。1648年西班牙正式承認荷蘭獨立。17世紀曾為海上殖民強國。18世紀後，荷蘭殖民體係逐漸瓦解。1848年成為君主立憲國。一戰期間保持中立。二戰初期宣佈中立。1940年5月被德國軍隊侵占，王室和政府遷至英國，成立流亡政府。戰後，荷蘭人意識到中立並不能帶來長久的獨立，終於放棄中立立場，加入北約。 荷蘭的歷史就是一部不斷反抗大國統治的歷史，和平和獨立對荷蘭人來說已經不易，所以荷蘭人骨子裏並沒有興趣去爭取不屬於自己的利益。另外，荷蘭人也是世界上最值得敬佩的民族之一，荷蘭本來是一片沼澤，難以為生，但荷蘭人的遠祖沒有選擇嚮中歐移動，通過戰爭爭取新的生存空間，而是選擇了和自然搏鬥，篳路藍縷，改善荷蘭的地理環境。 “荷蘭風車”今天已經成為荷蘭的標志，在歷史上，風車幫助荷蘭人圍海造田，從大海口中爭取了近三分之一的國土，並且幫助荷蘭的社會生産力和科技水平一直處於歐洲社會前列，直到今天仍然如此。荷蘭民族，喜歡選擇內省，改善自身，來代替掠奪他人，在足球風格上，也是典型的“求道派”，所以荷蘭人骨子裏對勝負之爭並沒有太強的意識。或許擔任足球歷史上的改革者形象，已經夠了，世界冠軍對他們來說並不是惟一的選擇。 好在荷蘭人並不軟弱，反抗者的特徵就是大難不死，越危急的時候，越能迸發出不一般的求生力量。荷蘭國徽：即奧倫治。拿騷王室的王徽。為鬥篷式。頂端帶王冠的鬥篷中有一盾徽，藍色盾面上有一隻頭戴三葉狀王冠的獅子，一爪握着銀色羅馬劍，一爪抓着一捆箭，象徵團结就是力量。盾徽上面有一頂王冠，兩側各有一隻獅子，下邊的藍色飾帶上寫着威廉大公的一句格言“堅持不懈”。 荷蘭人就是這樣，不到生死攸關的時候，寧願去享受和平和藝術，但你真的要滅它了，你就會看到一個鐵一樣的荷蘭。所以一千年後，荷蘭隊可能會成為參加世界杯决賽圈比賽最多的隊，但卻是獲得冠軍最少的隊。 現實與理想的落差 先看一下荷蘭的繪畫，荷蘭出兩種畫傢，一種是“宏偉場面愛好者”，比如15世紀凡。愛剋兄弟畫的《根特祭壇畫》、16世紀魯斯本的《智者朝聖畫》、《劫奪列其普的女兒》和《亞馬孫之戰》等畫，氣勢磅礴，色彩富麗，對後來的歐洲繪畫産生了重大影響。另一種是不拘一格的革命者，從17世紀的倫勃朗到梵。高，再到抽象派創始人蒙德裏安。 如果把荷蘭國傢隊比作一幅畫的話，這幅畫永遠不會缺乏宏偉的場面、閃耀的群星、和不斷的戰術革命。荷蘭國傢隊，需要的是日本圍棋中的“勝負師”精神，有時候不惜一切，刻意追求勝負，也是一種最高的境界。 在這樣的一個國傢學習足球，想不用心學習也是不行的。 人們提起荷蘭足球常常有一種惋惜之情溢於言表，荷蘭球員的足球踢得如此完美無瑕，甚至於可以在不大的緑蔭場上用腳寫出一首首悠揚的詩篇。看他們踢球，球迷的神經一次次的蹦緊鬆動，隨他們的一次次出腳而跳躍。他們使球迷的思維空間得到了極大擴展。然而荷蘭足球卻一次也沒有驕傲的站在世界杯冠軍的領奬臺上，去享受那振人心肺的歡呼聲，荷蘭足球仿佛永遠處在現實與夢想的交界之間。幸福是那樣的觸手可及，又仿佛永遠的那麽遙遠。於是人們就非常的以為，荷蘭足球的實力和對足球理論的深刻理解，早就應該在世界杯上拜王封相了，然而沒有，衹是運氣太差了。他們演繹的是世界足壇一出悲劇，這出悲劇由於無奈纔顯的如此動人，如此震撼。 全世界所有熱愛荷蘭足球的人似乎都是偏執狂，他們以“荷蘭”的名義，追求一種足球的唯美。但現實總是殘忍的，任何追求完美和純粹的企圖，最終都會被粉碎，所謂純粹所謂唯美，依然還是可望不可及的海市蜃樓。 人都是需要一個精神傢園的，譬如王小波的精神傢園就是一個重建的人文世界。當然，關於荷蘭足球的“精神傢園”與人文無關，那更類似於一種完美的偶像象徵，一種圖騰。但凡成為“象徵意義”或者“圖騰”的東西都無一例外死得很難看，比如距離我們最近的那個全世界的“圖騰”——戴安娜。在這個生前以及死後相當長時間裏都被認為是人類最完美女性的精神世界裏，作為“偶像”的她早已經崩潰，“我也是一個普通的女人”，所以戴安娜選擇了婚外情，她背離了自己的“神聖”，卻活得更加純粹與快樂。 過分了的自由與獨立個性 然而正象世界上沒有無援無故的恨一樣，荷蘭足球形成這部悲劇經典是有自己的原因的，衹是由於故事本身的凄美，人們已經震撼的看不見背後的掩藏的蛛絲馬跡了。 荷蘭球員應該是上帝的寵兒，不然實在無法想象上帝為什麽對別的國傢如此的吝嗇，幾乎忘記給他們足球天才，而讓荷蘭這個國傢在同一時期就可以擁有一批。七十年代荷蘭不僅有約翰剋魯伊夫，還擁有約翰內斯肯斯，羅布耶倫森布林剋。八十年代範巴斯騰，路易德古力特，羅納德科曼和裏傑卡爾德又同時橫空出世。然而荷蘭人自大，驕橫，愛國心淡薄如紙的性格卻讓上帝的萬千寵愛顯的沒有了意義。那些天才們都視自己為跨越歷史時期的當然人選，是天然的領袖和無可爭議的英雄。是荷蘭隊的唯一核心。於是荷蘭國傢隊常常莫名其妙的，瘋狂的陷入一種內耗中。所以剋魯伊夫在國傢隊生死攸關的時刻可以毅然告退，古力特由於個人利益得不到滿足時會宣佈退出‘94年世界杯賽”，96年歐洲錦標賽上會出現“戴維斯事件”荷蘭的輿論和人們卻感到很正常的。但是這種事件發生在別的國傢會駡名千載，遺臭萬年的。 荷蘭足球唯一的亮點是1988年奪取了歐洲錦標賽冠軍，這次比賽中荷蘭人將現代足球的藝術演繹的異常完美，巴斯騰甚至用一個開創歷史先河的零度角射門為他們的演出烙上了歷史的腳印。然而那時的荷蘭四大天王幾乎還都是無名小卒，也衹是在這次比賽後纔聲名鵲起的。類似的經歷算來還有一次，當年阿甲剋斯隊是曾經打敗過AC米蘭的。然而那時衹有一個老天王裏傑卡爾德，西多夫，剋魯伊維特也衹有十八九，戴維斯也衹是初出茅廬，他們尚切沒有驕橫的本錢。 荷蘭人與逼人的大海進行的無情鬥爭，鍛煉的他們堅毅的性格和獨創精神，所以在足球史上我們會永遠記住他們獨創的全攻全守這一具有革命意義的戰術，和那種對待強敵毫不畏懼的大無畏精神。然而由於他們的自大，驕橫，不團结註定了在世界杯的緑蔭場上沒有冠軍的悲劇。 The Netherlands is often called Holland. This is formally incorrect as North and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country's twelve provinces. As a matter of fact, many Dutch people colloquially use Holland as a synecdoche, being well aware of the widespread use of this name. For more on this and other naming issues see terminology of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying and densely populated country. It is popularly known for its traditional windmills, tulips, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), delftware and gouda pottery, for its bicycles, its dikes and surge barriers, and, on the other hand, traditional values and civil virtues such as its classic social tolerance. But primarily, the Netherlands is a modern, advanced and open society. An old parliamentary democracy, the country is more recently known for its rather liberal policies toward recreational drugs, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia. The Netherlands is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the world; its internet connection rate of 87.8% is the 2nd highest in the world. The Netherlands has an international outlook; among other affiliations the country is a founding member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, and has signed the Kyoto protocol. Along with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands is one of three member nations of the Benelux economic union. The country is host to five international(ised) courts: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. All of these courts (except the Special Tribunal for Lebanon), as well as the EU's criminal intelligence agency (Europol), are situated in The Hague, which has led to the city being referred to as "the world's legal capital." A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is its flatness. Hilly landscapes can be found only in the south-eastern tip of the country on the foothills of the Ardennes, the central part and where the glaciers pushed up several hilly ridges such as the Hondsrug in Drenthe, the stuwwallen (push moraines) near Arnhem and Nijmegen, Salland, Twente and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. History Main article: History of the Netherlands Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and king of Spain, the region was part of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands, which also included most of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and some land of France and Germany. 1568 saw the start of the Eighty Years' War between the provinces and Spain. In 1579, the northern half of the Seventeen Provinces formed the Union of Utrecht, a treaty in which they promised to support each other in their defense against the Spanish army. The Union of Utrecht is seen as the foundation of the modern Netherlands. In 1581 the northern provinces adopted the Oath of Abjuration, the declaration of independence in which the provinces officially deposed Philip II. Philip II the son of Charles V, was not prepared to let them go easily and war continued until 1648 when Spain under King Philip IV finally recognised Dutch independence in the Treaty of Münster. Dutch Republic 1581-1795 Main article: Dutch Republic William the Silent, leader of the Netherlands during the Dutch Revolt.Since their independence from Phillip II in 1581 the provinces formed the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. The republic was a confederation of the provinces Holland, Zeeland, Groningen, Friesland, Utrecht, Overijssel and Gelre. All these provinces were autonomous and had their own government, the "States of the Province". The States-General, the confederal government, were seated in The Hague and consisted of representatives from each of the seven provinces. The very thinly populated region of Drenthe, mainly consisting of poor peatland, was part of the Republic too, although Drenthe was not considered one of the provinces. Drenthe had its own States but the landdrost of Drenthe was appointed by the States-General. The Republic occupied a number of so-called Generality Lands (Generaliteitslanden in Dutch). These territories were governed directly by the States-General, so they did not have a government of their own and they did not have representatives in the States-General. Most of these territories were occupied during the Eighty Years' War. They were mainly Roman Catholic and they were used as a buffer zone between the Republic and the Southern Netherlands. The Dutch grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century during the period of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. In the so-called Dutch Golden Age, colonies and trading posts were established all over the globe. (See Dutch colonial empire) Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world. In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as such less benign phenomena as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636–1637, and according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider - Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount. The republic went into a state of general decline in the later 18th century, with economic competition from England and long standing rivalries between the two main factions in Dutch society, the Staatsgezinden (Republicans) and the Prinsgezinden (Royalists or Orangists) as main factors. Under French influence 1795-1815 Main article: Batavian Republic On 19 January 1795, a day after stadtholder William V of Orange fled to England, the Batavian Republic (Bataafse Republiek in Dutch) was proclaimed. The proclamation of the Batavian Republic introduced the concept of the unitary state in the Netherlands. From 1795 to 1806, the Batavian Republic designated the Netherlands as a republic modelled after the French Republic. The Kingdom of Holland 1806 – 1810 (Dutch: Koninkrijk Holland, French: Royaume de Hollande) was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, in order to control the Netherlands more effectively. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country. The kingdom of Holland covered the area of present day Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg, and parts of Zeeland, which were French territory. In 1807 Prussian East Frisia and Jever were added to the kingdom. In 1809 however, after an English invasion, Holland had to give over all territories south of the river Rhine to France. King Louis Napoleon did not meet Napoleon's expectations — he tried to serve Dutch interests instead of his brother's — and the King had to abdicate on 1 July 1810. He was succeeded by his five year old son Napoleon Louis Bonaparte. Napoleon Louis reigned as Louis II for just ten days as Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte ignored his young nephew’s accession to the throne. The Emperor sent in an army to invade the country and dissolved the Kingdom of Holland. The Netherlands then became part of the French Empire. From 1810 to 1813, when Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated in the battle of Leipzig, the Netherlands were part of the French Empire. Kingdom of the Netherlands In 1795 the last stadtholder William V of Orange fled to England. His son returned to the Netherlands in 1813 to become William I of the Netherlands, Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands. On 16 March 1815 the Sovereign Prince became King of the Netherlands. Map of the Netherlands in 1843 after independence of Belgium.See also: Kingdom of the Netherlands In 1815 the Congress of Vienna formed the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, by expanding the Netherlands with Belgium in order to create a strong country on the northern border of France. In addition, William became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The Congress of Vienna gave Luxembourg to William personally in exchange for his German possessions, Nassau-Dillenburg, Siegen, Hadamar and Diez. Belgium rebelled and gained independence in 1830, while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890, when King William III of the Netherlands died with no surviving male heirs. Ascendancy laws prevented his daughter Queen Wilhelmina from becoming the next Grand Duchess. Therefore the throne of Luxembourg passed over from the House of Orange-Nassau to the House of Nassau-Weilburg, another branch of the House of Nassau. Colonies The largest Dutch settlement abroad was the Cape Colony. It was established by Jan van Riebeeck on behalf of the Dutch East India Company at Capetown (Dutch: Kaapstad) in 1652. The Prince of Orange acquiesced to British occupation and control of the Cape Colony in 1788. The Netherlands also possessed several other colonies, but Dutch settlement in these lands was limited. Most notable were the vast Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname (the latter was traded with the British for New Amsterdam, now known as New York). These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively). Only then did they become official colonies. Industrialisation During the 19th century, the Netherlands was slow to industrialize compared to neighbouring countries, mainly due to the great complexity involved in the modernizing of the infrastructure consisting largely of waterways and the great reliance its industry had on windpower. World War I Many historians do not recognise the Dutch involvement during World War I. However, recently historians started to change their opinion on the role of the Dutch. Although the Netherlands remained neutral during the war, it was heavily involved in the war. Von Schlieffen had originally planned to invade the Netherlands while advancing into France in the original Schlieffen Plan. This was changed by Helmuth von Moltke the Younger in order to maintain Dutch neutrality. Later during the war Dutch neutrality would prove essential to German survival up till the blockade integrated by the USA and Great Britain in 1916 when the import of goods through the Netherlands was no longer possible. However, the Dutch were able to remain neutral during the war using their diplomacy and their ability to trade. World War II Main article: History of the Netherlands (1939-1945) The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I and intended to do so in World War II. However, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940 in the Western European campaign of the Second World War. The country was quickly overrun and the army main force surrendered on May 14 after the bombing of Rotterdam, although a Dutch and French allied force held the province of Zeeland for a short time after the Dutch surrender. The Kingdom as such continued the war from the colonial empire; the government in exile resided in London. During the occupation over 100,000 Dutch Jews were rounded up to be transported to Nazi concentration camps in Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. By the time these camps were liberated, only 876 Dutch Jews survived. Dutch workers were conscripted for forced labour in German factories, civilians were killed in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers, and the countryside was plundered for food for German soldiers in the Netherlands and for shipment to Germany. Although there are many stories of Dutch people risking their lives by hiding Jews from the Germans, like in the diary of Anne Frank, there were also Dutch people who collaborated with Nazi occupiers in hunting down and arresting hiding Jews, and some joined the Waffen-SS to form the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands, fighting on the Eastern Front. The government-in-exile lost control of its major colonial stronghold, the Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia), to Japanese forces in March 1942. "American-British-Dutch-Australian" (ABDA) forces fought hard in some instances, but were overwhelmed. During the occupation, the Japanese interned Dutch civilians and used both them and Indonesian civilians as forced labour, both in the Netherlands East Indies and in neighbouring countries. This included forcing women to work as "comfort women" (sex slaves) for Japanese personnel. Some military personnel escaped to Australia and other Allied countries from where they carried on the fight against Japan. After a first liberation attempt by the Allied 21st Army Group stalled, much of the northern Netherlands was subject to the Dutch famine of 1944, caused by the disrupted transportation system, caused by German destruction of dikes to slow allied advances, and German confiscation of much food and livestock and above that all a very severe winter made the "Hunger Winter" of 1944-1945 one in which malnutrition and starvation were rife among the Dutch population. German forces held out until the surrender of May 5, 1945, in Wageningen at Hotel De Wereld. After the war After the war, the Dutch economy prospered by leaving behind an era of neutrality and gaining closer ties with neighbouring states. The Netherlands became a member of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) grouping. Furthermore, the Netherlands was among the twelve founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve, via the EEC (Common Market), into the European Union. Geography Floods In years past, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss is the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the south west. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72 square kilometres (28 sq mi) Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the south-centre. The most recent parts of Zeeland were flooded during the North Sea Flood of 1953 when 1,836 people were killed, after which the Delta Plan was executed. Map of the Netherlands. Satellite image of the Netherlands (ca. May 2000).The disasters were partially increased in severity through human influence. People had drained relatively high lying swampland to use it as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, locking the land users in a vicious circle whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The problem remains unsolvable to this day. Also, up until the 19th century peat was mined, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem. To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium AD, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later, these terps were connected by dykes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (English "water bodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (These agencies exist to this day, performing the same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dykes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. By the 13th century, windmills had come into use in order to pump water out of areas below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dyke") was completed, blocking the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 2,500 km2 (965 mi2) were reclaimed from the sea. Delta works After the 1953 disaster, the Delta project, a vast construction effort designed to end the threat from the sea once and for all, was launched in 1958 and largely completed in 2002. The official goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in the province of Zeeland to once per 10,000 years. (For the rest of the country, the protection-level is once per 4,000 years.) This was achieved by raising 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles) of outer sea-dykes and 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) of inner, canal, and river dikes to "delta" height, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally show problems requiring additional Delta project dyke reinforcements. The Delta project is one of the largest construction efforts in human history and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climatic change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but also erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow. Rivers The country is divided into two main parts by three large rivers, the Rhine (Rijn) and its main distributary Waal, as well as the Meuse (Maas). These rivers function as a natural barrier between earlier fiefdoms, and hence created traditionally a cultural divide, as is evident in some phonetic traits that are recognisable north and south of these "Large Rivers" (de Grote Rivieren). In addition to this, there was, until quite recently, a clear religious dominance of Catholics in the south and of Protestants in the north. The south-western part of the Netherlands is actually a massive river delta of these rivers and two tributaries of the Scheldt (Westerschelde and Oosterschelde). Only one significant branch of the Rhine flows northeastwards, the IJssel river, discharging into the IJsselmeer, the former Zuiderzee ('southern sea'). This river also happens to form a linguistic divide. People to the east of this river speak Low Saxon dialects (except for the province of Friesland that has its own language). Climate The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is south-west, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters. Mean measurements by the KNMI weather station in De Bilt between 1971 and 2000: Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Avg. highest temp. (°C) 5.2 6.1 9.6 12.9 17.6 19.8 22.1 22.3 18.7 14.2 9.1 6.4 13.7 Avg. lowest temp. (°C) 0.0 -0.1 2.0 3.5 7.5 10.2 12.5 12.0 9.6 6.5 3.2 1.3 5.7 Avg. temp. (°C) 2.8 3.0 5.8 8.3 12.7 15.2 17.4 17.2 14.2 10.3 6.2 4.0 9.8 Panoramic view of windmills at Kinderdijk.Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Avg. precipitation (mm) 67 48 65 45 62 72 70 58 72 77 81 77 793 Avg. hours sunshine 52 79 114 158 204 187 196 192 133 106 60 44 1524 Nature See also: List of national parks of the Netherlands and List of extinct animals of the Netherlands. The Netherlands has 20 national parks and hundreds of other nature reserves. Most are owned by Staatsbosbeheer and Natuurmonumenten and include lakes, heathland, woods, dunes and other habitats. In 1871 the last old original natural woods (Beekbergerwoud) were cut down and most woods today are planted monocultures of trees like Scots Pine and trees that are not native to the Netherlands. These woods were planted on anthropogenic heaths and sand-drifts (overgrazed heaths) (Veluwe). Government and administration Government Main article: Politics of the Netherlands Thorbecke reformed the Dutch government to a parliamentary monarchy.The Netherlands has been a constitutional monarchy since 1815 and a parliamentary democracy since 1848; before that it had been a republic from 1581 to 1806 and a kingdom between 1806 and 1810 (it was part of France between 1810 and 1813). The Netherlands is described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by an effort to achieve broad consensus on important issues, within both the political community and society as a whole. In 2007, The Economist ranked The Netherlands as the third most democratic country in the world. The head of state is the monarch, at present Queen Beatrix. Constitutionally the monarch still has considerable powers, but in practice it has become a ceremonial function. The monarch can exert most influence during the formation of a new cabinet, where he/she serves as neutral arbiter between the political parties. In practice the executive power is formed by de ministerraad Dutch cabinet. Because of the multi-party system no party has ever held a majority in parliament since the 19th century, therefore coalition cabinets have to be formed. The cabinet consists usually of around thirteen to sixteen ministers of which between one and three ministers without portfolio, and a varying number of state secretaries. The head of government is the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who is often, but not always, the leader of the largest party in the coalition. In practice the Prime Minister has been the leader of the largest coalition party since 1973. He is a primus inter pares, meaning he has no explicit powers that go beyond those of the other ministers. The cabinet is responsible to the bicameral parliament, the States-General which also has legislative powers. The 150 members of the Second Chamber, the Lower House, are elected in direct elections, which are held every four years or after the fall of the cabinet (by example: when one of the chambers carries a motion of no-confidence, the cabinet offers her resignation to the monarch). The provincial assemblies are directly elected every four years as well. The members of the provincial assemblies elect the 75 members of the First Chamber, the upper house, which has less legislative powers, as it can merely reject laws, not propose or amend them. Both trade unions and employers organisations are consulted beforehand in policymaking in the financial, economic and social areas. They meet regularly with government in the Social-Economic Council. This body advises government and its advice cannot be put aside easily. While historically the Dutch foreign policy was characterised by neutrality, since the Second World War the Netherlands became a member of a large number of international organisations, most prominently the UN, NATO and the EU. The Dutch economy is very open and relies on international trade. The Netherlands has a long tradition of social tolerance. In the 18th century, while the Dutch Reformed Church was the state religion, Catholicism and Judaism were tolerated. In the late 19th century this Dutch tradition of religious tolerance transformed into a system of pillarisation, in which religious groups coexisted separately and only interacted at the level of government. This tradition of tolerance is linked to the Dutch policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, LGBT rights, euthanasia, and abortion which are among the most liberal in the world. The Binnenhof is the centre of Dutch politics.Since suffrage became universal in 1919 the Dutch political system has been dominated by three families of political parties: the strongest family were the Christian democrats currently represented by the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), second were the social democrats, of which the Labour Party (PvdA) is currently the largest party and third were the liberals of which the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is the main representative. These cooperated in coalition cabinets in which the Christian democrats had always been partner: so either a centre left coalition of the Christian democrats and social democrats or a centre right coalition of Christian democrats and liberals. In the 1970s the party system became more volatile: the Christian democratic parties lost seats, while new parties, like the radical democrat and progressive liberal D66, became successful. In the 1994 election the CDA lost its dominant position. A "purple" cabinet was formed by the VVD, D66 and PvdA. In 2002 elections this cabinet lost its majority, due to the rise of LPF, a new political party around the flamboyant populist Pim Fortuyn, who was shot to death a week before the elections took place. The elections also saw increased support for the CDA. A short lived cabinet was formed by CDA, VVD and LPF, led by the leader of the Christian democrats, Jan Peter Balkenende. After the 2003 elections in which the LPF lost almost all its seats, a cabinet was formed by the CDA, the VVD and D66. The cabinet initiated an ambitious program of reforming the welfare state, the health care system and immigration policies. In June 2006 the cabinet fell, as D66 voted in favour of a motion of no confidence against minister of immigration and integration Rita Verdonk in the aftermath of the upheaval about the asylum procedure of Ayaan Hirsi Ali instigated by the Dutch immigration minister Verdonk. A care taker cabinet was formed by CDA and VVD, and the general elections were held on 22 November 2006. In these elections the Christian Democratic Appeal remained the largest party and the Socialist Party made the largest gains. The formation of a new cabinet started two days after the elections. Initial investigations toward a CDA-SP-PvdA coalition failed, after which a coalition of CDA, PvdA and ChristianUnion was formed. Dutch Tweede Kamer seats as of 2006 PvdD (2) D66 (3) GL (7) SP (25) PvdA (33) CU (6) CDA (41) VVD (22) SGP (2) PVV (9) Summary of the 22 November 2006 Netherlands Second Chamber election results: Administrative divisions Main articles: Provinces of the Netherlands and Municipalities in the Netherlands The Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces, each under a Governor, who is called Commissaris van de Koningin (Commissioner of the Queen), except for the province Limburg where the commissioner is called Gouverneur (Governor) which underlines the more "non-Dutch" mentality. All provinces are divided into municipalities (gemeenten), 458 in total (1 January 2006). The country is also subdivided in water districts, governed by a water board (waterschap or hoogheemraadschap), each having authority in matters concerning water management. As of 1 January 2005 there are 27. The creation of water boards actually pre-dates that of the nation itself, the first appearing in 1196. In fact, the Dutch water boards are one of the oldest democratic entities in the world still in existence. Map of the Netherlands, linking to the province pages; the red dots mark the capitals of the provinces and the black dots other notable cities or towns.Flag Province Capital Largest city Area (km²) Population Drenthe Assen Assen 2,641 486,197 Flevoland Lelystad Almere 1,417 374,424 Friesland (Fryslân) Leeuwarden Leeuwarden 3,341 642,209 Gelderland Arnhem Nijmegen 4,971 1,979,059 Groningen Groningen Groningen 2,333 573,614 Limburg Maastricht Maastricht 2,150 1,127,805 North (Noord) Brabant Den Bosch Eindhoven 4,916 2,419,042 North (Noord) Holland Haarlem Amsterdam 2,671 2,613,070 Overijssel Zwolle Enschede 3,325 1,116,374 Utrecht Utrecht Utrecht 1,385 1,190,604 Zealand (Zeeland) Middelburg Middelburg 1,787 380,497 South (Zuid) Holland The Hague (Den Haag) Rotterdam 2,814 3,455,097 Demographics and urbanisation Demographics Main article: Demographics of the Netherlands Population density in the Netherlands, 2006The Netherlands is the 25th most densely populated country in the world, with 395 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,023 sq mi)—or 484 people per square kilometre (1,254/sq mi) if only the land area is counted, since 18.4% is water. Fertility rate The fertility rate in the Netherlands is 1.72 children per woman, well below the 2.1 rate required for population replacement. Life expectancy Life expectancy is high in the Netherlands: 82 years for newborn girls and 77 for boys (2007). Body length The people of the Netherlands are amongst the tallest in the world, with an average height of about 1.85 m (6 ft 0.8 in) for adult males and 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) for adult females. People in the south are on average about 2 cm shorter than those in the north. Ethnic origins The ethnic origins of the citizens of the Netherlands are diverse. A majority of the population, however, still remains indigenous Dutch, although from a historic point of view, the latter notion is also to be relativised strongly. They were: 80.9% Dutch 2.4% Indonesian (Indo-Dutch, South Moluccan) 2.4% German 2.2% Turkish 2.0% Surinamese 1.9% Moroccan 0.8% Antillean and Aruban 6.0% other However, this does not include the whole Kingdom of the Netherlands (such as the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, which have a non-Dutch majority community), and only includes the population in the Netherlands itself. Urbanisation Main article: Geography of the Netherlands The Netherlands is a very densely populated country, although the cities are modest in size compared to international standards. It is not the size of the biggest cities, but the very high number of middle sized cities and towns, that accounts for the high degree of urbanisation. The capital and largest city is Amsterdam, although the government is located in The Hague. While the word capital is usually defined as the city of the government seat, no Dutchman would ever call The Hague the capital of The Netherlands. Schematic map of the Randstad. The Randstad Main article: Randstad The Randstad (Edge City) is a conurbation in the western part of the Netherlands. It consists of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht), plus their surrounding areas. With its 7.5 million inhabitants (almost half of the population of the Netherlands; when other conurbations connected to this area are also taken into consideration, it would have a population a little over 10 million, almost two-thirds of the entire Dutch population) it is one of the largest conurbations in Europe. There is discussion to what extent the Randstad may form a single more integrated metropolis in the future. At this moment, urban structures between these cities are not yet developed to such a level that the Randstad could be considered a kind of distributed super-agglomeration. Conurbation is not restricted to the Randstad alone, although the centre of gravity lies there. Quite typically, in the Netherlands there are many medium sized cities, but no truly large ones. Its largest city, Amsterdam with about 750,000 inhabitants in its own municipality, belongs to one of the smaller European capitals. The 10 largest cities Urbanisation in the Netherlands.List of the largest cities, by population, within the borders of one municipality with their provinces in 2006: Sources are CBS based Amsterdam (North Holland) 744,740 Rotterdam (South Holland) 581,615 The Hague ('s-Gravenhage / Den Haag) (South Holland) 474,245 Utrecht (Utrecht) 294,742 Eindhoven (North Brabant) 209,601 Tilburg (North Brabant) 200,975 Almere (Flevoland) 183,738 Groningen (Groningen) 180,824 Breda (North Brabant) 170,451 Nijmegen (Gelderland) 160,732 However, this picture has to be completed. Municipality sizes alone do not reflect the degree of urbanisation in the Netherlands comprehensively. Many of the larger Dutch cities are the cores of a significantly larger urban agglomeration. The largest ones are listed below: The 15 largest agglomerations Agglomerations consisting of only one municipality are not included. Sources are CBS based see and Rotterdam (Rotterdam, Barendrecht, Ridderkerk, Capelle aan den IJssel, Krimpen aan den IJssel, Spijkenisse, Schiedam, Vlaardingen, Maasland, Maassluis, Rozenburg) Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Uithoorn, Diemen, Landsmeer, Oostzaan, Wormerland, Zaanstad) The Keizersgracht in Amsterdam, which is the largest city and capital of the Netherlands.The Hague ('s-Gravenhage, Rijswijk, Wateringen, Voorburg, Leidschendam, Wassenaar, Westland, Zoetermeer, Delft) Utrecht (Utrecht, Nieuwegein, IJsselstein, Maarssen) Eindhoven (Eindhoven, Veldhoven, Geldrop, Son en Breugel, Waalre) Tilburg (Tilburg, Goirle) Groningen (Groningen, Haren) Haarlem (Haarlem, Heemstede, Bloemendaal) Arnhem (Arnhem, Rozendaal) Leiden (Leiden, Katwijk, Voorschoten, Leiderdorp, Oegstgeest, Rijnsburg, Valkenburg, Warmond) Dordrecht (Dordrecht, 's-Gravendeel, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, Papendrecht, Sliedrecht, Zwijndrecht) Heerlen (Heerlen, Kerkrade, Landgraaf, Brunssum) 's-Hertogenbosch ('s-Hertogenbosch, Vught) Sittard-Geleen (Sittard-Geleen, Beek, Stein) Amersfoort (Amersfoort, Leusden, Hoogland, Hooglanderveen) Language, religion, and culture Language Main articles: Dutch Language and Languages of the Netherlands The official language is Dutch, which is spoken by a majority of the inhabitants, the exception being some groups of immigrants. Another official language is West Frisian, which is spoken in the northern province of Friesland, called Fryslân in that language. West Frisian is co-official only in the province of Friesland, although with a few restrictions. Several dialects of Low Saxon (Nedersaksisch in Dutch) are spoken in much of the north and east, like the Twentse language in the Twente region, and are recognised by the Netherlands as regional languages according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, as well as the Meuse-Rhenish Franconian varieties in the southeastern province of Limburg, here called Limburgish language. Dom Tower of Utrecht. Life in the Netherlands Culture[show] Cuisine Culture Customs Holidays Music Religion Sport Economy[show] Communication Economy Taxation Transport Society[show] Demographics Education Customs Languages Media Politics[show] Human Rights Law Law enforcement Languages Politics Policies[show] Abortion Drug policy Euthanasia Pillarisation Prostitution Same-sex marriage edit box There is a tradition of learning foreign languages in the Netherlands: about 70% of the total population have good knowledge of English, 55– 59% of German and 19% of French. Some Dutch secondary schools also teach Latin and Ancient Greek. Religion Main article: Religion in the Netherlands The Netherlands is one of the more secular countries in the Western Europe, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), although 62% are believers (but 40% of those not in the traditional sense). Fewer than 20% visit church regularly . According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 34% of Dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". In 1950, before the secularisation of Europe, and the large settlement of non-Europeans in the Netherlands, most Dutch citizens identified themselves as Christians. In 1950, out of a total population of almost 13 million, a total of 7,261,000 belonged to Protestant denominations, 3,703,000 belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 1,641,000 had no acknowledged religion. However, Christian schools are still funded by the government, but the same applies for schools founded on other religions, nowadays Islam in particular. While all schools must meet strict quality criteria, from 1917 the freedom of schools is a basic principle in the Netherlands. Three political parties in the Dutch parliament (CDA, ChristianUnion and SGP) base their policy on the Christian belief system. Culture Main article: Culture of the Netherlands Erasmus (1466–1536).The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters", such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruysdael and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century were Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. Willem de Kooning was born and trained in Rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an American artist. Han van Meegeren was an infamous Dutch art forger. The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza. All of Descartes' major work was done in the Netherlands. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) discovered Saturn's moon Titan and invented the pendulum clock. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope. In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flourished as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P.C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the bad treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard (van het) Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl was published after she died in The Holocaust and translated from Dutch to all major languages. Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Huis ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China. Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese and Delftware pottery are among the items associated with the Netherlands. Military Main article: Military of the Netherlands Conscription in the Netherlands was suspended in 1996. All military specialities, except the Submarine service and Marine Corps(Korps Mariniers), are open to women. The Dutch Ministry of Defence employs almost over 70,000 personnel, including over 20,000 civilian and over 50,000 military personnel. The military is composed of four branches, all of which carry the prefix Koninklijke (Royal): Koninklijke Landmacht (KL), the Royal Netherlands Army Koninklijke Marine (KM), the Royal Netherlands Navy, including the Naval Air Service and Marine Corps Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLu), the Royal Netherlands Air Force Koninklijke Marechaussee (KMar), the Royal Military Police, tasks include military police and border control Economy Main articles: Economy of the Netherlands and List of Dutch companies Economy Aalsmeer Flower Auction. The largest commercial building in the world, and a centre of international flower trade.The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy in which the government has reduced its role since the 1980s. Industrial activity is predominantly in food-processing (for example Unilever and Heineken International), chemicals (for example DSM), petroleum refining (for example Royal Dutch Shell), and electrical machinery (for example Philips). In the north of the Netherlands, near Slochteren, one of the largest natural gas fields in the world is situated. So far (2006) exploitation of this field resulted in a total revenue of €159 billion since the mid 1970s. N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie still is the largest public-private partnership P3 world-wide following the global energy-transition of 1963 from coal to gas, coupling oil and gas prices. With just over half of the reserves used up and an expected continued rise in oil prices, the revenues over the next few decades are expected to be at least that much. The Netherlands has the 16th largest economy in the world, and ranks 10th in GDP (nominal) per capita. Between 1998 and 2000 annual economic growth (GDP) averaged nearly 4%, well above the European average. Growth slowed considerably in 2001-05 due to the global economic slowdown, but accelerated to 4.1% in the third quarter of 2007. Inflation is 1.3% and is expected to stay low at around 1.5% in the coming years. Unemployment is at 4.0% of the labour force. By Eurostat standards however, unemployment in the Netherlands is at only 2.9% - the lowest rate of all European Union member states. The Netherlands also has a relatively low GINI coefficient of 0.326. Despite ranking only 10th in GDP per capita, UNICEF ranked the Netherlands 1st in child well-being. Agriculture and horticulture Frisian Holstein cows originated in the Netherlands, where intensive dairy farming is an important part of agriculture.A highly mechanised agricultural sector employs no more than 4% of the labour force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing industry and for exports. The Dutch rank third worldwide in value of agricultural exports, behind the United States and France, with exports earning $55 billion annually. A significant portion of Dutch agricultural exports are derived from fresh-cut plants, flowers, and bulbs, with the Netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world's total. The Netherlands also exports a quarter of all world tomatoes, and one-third of the world's exports of peppers and cucumbers. The Netherlands' location gives it prime access to markets in the UK and Germany, with the port of Rotterdam being the largest port in Europe. Other important parts of the economy are international trade (Dutch colonialism started with cooperative private enterprises such as the VOC), banking and transport. The Netherlands successfully addressed the issue of public finances and stagnating job growth long before its European partners. Currency As a founding member of the Euro, the Netherlands replaced (for accounting purposes) its former currency, the "Gulden" (Guilder), on January 1, 1999, along with the other adopters of the single European currency. Actual Euro coins and banknotes followed on January 1, 2002. One Euro is equivalent to 2.20371 Dutch guilders. |
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