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This small country is best known for its tulips, wooden windmills and shoes However, the Netherlands has a lot more to offer than the landscape, although predominantly flat, is very diverse Enjoy a nice walk around a bog area or catch the wind coast in some cities, it is even possible to take a tour through the Dutch canals are very friendly and speak good English should be no excuse not to visit this Netherlands.
The area we now know that the Netherlands has been inhabited for tens of thousands of years Excavations give us an indication as to what the country was like at the time of the megalithic monuments of the beaker culture are the most prehistoric known rest They were built in the stone Age.
The first written sources about the Netherlands appeared in Roman times to the late first century BC, the Netherlands was now in the hands of the Romans The Rhine formed the boundary of the Roman Empire in this time the cities of Utrecht Nijmegen and Maastricht were founded after the fall of Roman Empire West in 450, the country was divided into three parts along the coast there were the Frisians to is the Saxons and southern Frankish Frankish empire under Charlemagne was expanding in this period, the population groups in the Netherlands were converted to Christianity.
The ninth century brought a change in the Frankish Empire was divided; the current Netherlands is part of the Holy Roman Empire Germany There was a lot of political unrest and various princes fought each other on the coast of Holland County was formed.
After these dark Middle Ages, Western Europe has been slow trade has increased and the population grew Holland region, with Dordrecht as the most important city, has become increasingly important halfway fifteenth century, the Netherlands -Low have been added to the Empire Burgundy the German Emperor Charles V came to power here in Spain America and Germany were part of the same empire Charles V united the Netherlands with present-day Belgium and Luxembourg under the same seventeen provinces or the Netherlands Spain in 1555, he transferred power to his son, Philip II.
Philip II was a Catholic and he would not allow parts of the Netherlands to become Protestant In 1568, this led to the Eighty Years War Philip II sent the Duke of Alva, a Spanish general, the Netherlands the Dutch put down the rebellion, led by William orange, resisted the Spanish oppression the struggle for independence lasted until 1648 this year the Dutch Republic finally became independent.
The large-scale trade of the Dutch Republic had emerged during the heyday Ships Eighty years of war were improved, colonies were founded, including the Dutch East Indies and a naval power and commerce arose after the rebellion against the Spaniards began the republic was the richest country in western civilization.
At the end of the 17th century, the tide Steward Guillaume II died, leaving the country without a strong leader cities and provinces were largely independent Various trade wars were fought against the English and the Netherlands became poor In 1795, the Republic was attacked by France Until 1813 the country was occupied by Napoleon.
In the early 19th century Napoleon's empire collapsed the great powers of the time, Russia Great Britain Prussia, united Belgium Luxembourg and the Netherlands to the United Kingdom of the Netherlands The first constitution was written 1798 and the kingdom quickly recovered.
Current Belgium began its struggle for independence in 1830, and in 1839, after many battles, it gained independence Luxembourg remained a part of the Netherlands until 1890 It was a restless age for Europe in the Netherlands, much changed as well in 1848, the Liberal politician Johan Thorbecke drafted a new constitution in the Netherlands became a constitutional monarchy, which later led to a democracy Catholics resumed their rights Indonesia's position was strengthened the native population was repressed by force.
The Netherlands remained neutral during World War I. The period between the two world wars was characterized by pillarization company This caused internal division and people for only focused on those with similar convictions as their unemployment rose and Indonesia began to demand its independence.
Despite earlier promises, the Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940. After the Second World War, the Netherlands lost Indonesia as a colony of New Guinea remained in Dutch hands until 1962 industrialization being and standard of living increased in the Netherlands decided to work with Belgium and Luxembourg and the Benelux was formed.
In the 1960, 1970 and 1980's there was a wave of democratization The church has lost much of its influence and depillarisation began Emancipation underway and a major cultural change has occurred within the young generation pollution and the environment came to the political agenda larger groups if immigrant workers came to the Netherlands to work for economic reasons many of them never returned to their homeland.
Today, the Netherlands is a modern industrial nation The country is member of NATO and the European Union There is a positive attitude towards cooperation with other European countries, and the country has played an important role during the introduction of the euro in 1999 the netherlands is one of the most tolerant countries on earth so it is hardly surprising that it was the first country to allow same-sex marriages.
The Netherlands over 16 5 million inhabitants and is the most densely populated country in Europe, it is a multicultural country more than 80 of the population has the Dutch identity Slightly more than 10 other people in the country is born outside Europe, particularly Turkey Morocco Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles Frisians have a special place in the Dutch population in 2005, they were officially recognized as a minority.
The country has no city with over a million inhabitants The four major cities are the capital Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, in collaboration with the area, they form the urban center known as the Randstad This region has about seven million inhabitants.
Frisian and Dutch are the official in this densely populated almost all countries the inhabitants speak and use in the northern province is spoken Dutch Friesland, Frisian is a language spoken by fewer and fewer people Besides, there are various regional meetings dialects, especially in the east and south.
Originally, the Netherlands is a Christian country Today, only half of the population is a member of a religious community, a majority of the religious population is Roman Catholic of them live in the southern provinces Noord-Brabant and Limburg about 20 of the population is mainly that part of the population is Protestant reformed especially in the north also, there are about 920,000 Muslims They are mostly of Turkish and Moroccan origin this group of population is largely concentrated in major cities.
Vincent van Gogh, Piet Mondriaan, M C. Escher and Rembrandt van Rijn are internationally renowned painters Netherlands are also known for their philosophers, among whom Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza.
This small country is also known for its tulips, windmills, wooden shoes, Delft earthenware and dykes In general, the population is direct, simple and tolerant equality is considered very important as in Scandinavian countries, this is reflected in the extensive social security system in addition, the country is known for its liberal drugs policy and legalized prostitution, among others in Amsterdam.
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Beatrix as the head of state and head of government Hers is a largely ceremonial role His eldest son, Prince Willem Alexander, is heir to the throne Executive power is between the hands of the Prime Minister's office is President of the firm since July 22, 2002, Jan Peter Balkenende is the prime minister since the 19th century, the firm has been to various coalitions No political party is big enough to govern itself.
Well known political parties are the Labor Party PvdA, CDA, Christian Democrats, the Liberal Party VVD, the Socialist Party SP and the Green Party GL The VVD is a rightwing party, the PvdA, SP and GL are leftwing parties and CDA , Prime Minister Balkenende's party, holds a central position more and more people vote for left parties.
The population of the Netherlands is the aging of the social security system is threatened, modern developments of immigration was also an important item on the political agenda in recent years.
The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy foreign trade in particular is important to influence the government of the Dutch economy is down, and the focus is increasingly on the strength of purchasing power market high per capita and relatively low unemployment.
Nearly three-quarters of the Dutch professional population is active in the services sector Only a small percentage is employed in agriculture Despite this, production in this sector is high Exporting Netherlands most agricultural products, following the US and France Belgium Great Britain France Italy and the United States are important trade partners.
Industrial activity is mainly focused on the transformation of well-known food companies are Unilever and Heineken production of electrical equipment, for example, Philips is also important to the economy The service sector is very internationally oriented The banking and transport are the most important economic sectors Its favorable location makes the country a hub of European transport.
As co-founder of the European Union, the Netherlands in 1999 was among the first countries to adopt the euro as its national currency.
Netherlands covers an area of about 41500 square kilometers In addition to the mainland, there are a number of islands north Texel is that largest of the Wadden islands supposedly about 216 square kilometers Borders Country- down on Germany's east, Belgium to the south and the North sea and the Wadden sea the total coastline is about 450 km long, which all face the North sea measure of the total border of country 1,027 km.
A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is the flatness of the country No wonder the country is also called the Netherlands About half of its surface is less than one meter above sea level, and much still below sea level extensive networks of dykes and dunes protect the country against floods Some dykes are as high as 25 meters many pumping stations maintain the water level.
The highlight of the Netherlands is the Vaalsberg This mountain is located in the southeast of the country and is 321 meters high the lowest point, the Zuidplaspolder, is 7 meters below the level of the two sea Hauts-Netherlands and in the Netherlands Low- ago Moorish Because a lot of peat was removed in the past, various lakes were created, they are now used for recreational purposes southern Country- Netherlands Zuid-Limburg has a plateau landscape Its soil is very old and coal and marl are found.
Flevoland is the result of land reclamation is the largest artificial island in the world between the province of Noord-Holland and Friesland, there is the so-called Afsluitdijk, a long dam 32 km long in 1932 separated the Zuider Zee and Wadden sea, changing the former into what is now the largest lake IJsselmeer in the Netherlands the most important rivers are the Rhine, Waal, Schelde and Meuse.
The country has a temperate maritime climate Its cool summers and mild winters July and August are the hottest December months, January and February are the coldest months of the coast, average temperatures reach 16 degrees Celsius in summer and 3 Celsius in winter further inland, average temperatures in summer are 17 degrees Celsius and 2 degrees centigrade in winter precipitation falls throughout the year, with an annual average of 780 mm So remember to bring an umbrella.
Public transport plays an important role in the Netherlands, and the government tries to encourage people to use more, in an attempt to reduce traffic congestion and environmental damage Train Travel is a good way to move this country two urban and rural areas can be reached by train national railways NS are the leading provider of transportation by train Traveling by train is relatively cheap.
There are also many bus connections The bus takes you to more places than the train, however, because buses stop more often, a bus journey may take longer Sometimes a combination of bus and train offers the best solution There are several bus companies, however, you will not notice that it; they work well together bus tickets can be purchased from the bus driver on the bus, you can buy a stamp card at a kiosk, at a bus station or a vending machine in some supermarkets.
Traveling by car is also a pleasant way to travel across the country has an extensive road network of high quality roads are very good condition congestion of traffic is a serious problem, however, especially in the Randstad region of L the advantage of renting a car or other motor vehicle is that you do not have to worry about departure times of trains or buses.
Distances and speed limits are in kilometers, it is advisable to respect the speed limits there are speed cameras countless everywhere and fines are high Also, make sure you do not drink more than May 1 drinks alcohol before driving car seatbelts are mandatory.
The Netherlands is a small country that you won t drive more than a few hours from west to east before crossing the border not including traffic jams or other delays This means that is not the used to take a domestic flight for international flights, there is a major airport Amsterdam Schiphol Schiphol airport has an extensive international network of smaller airports are Eindhoven Welschap airport Rotterdam Groningen airport and the airport.
There is a lot of water transport, including freight All the Dutch islands are accessible by ferry In addition, there are ferry services in the Netherlands, among other places, England Rotterdam has the largest port freight worldwide other important ports are Amsterdam Groningen IJmuiden, Terneuzen, Vlissingen and Zaanstad.
Finally, the Netherlands are known to be a rich country bike in the cities and villages, you will see many people on their bikes in the Netherlands, is a very common way to move people do the cycle t just for fun, but also to travel short distances There are many beautiful cycling routes and traffic is listening to the many cyclists.
The Netherlands have a time zone of GMT 1 or CET CET In the summer, clocks are put forward one hour, which means that darkness is an hour later.
Flat Dutch typically is stamppot This dish takes its name from the way it is prepared ingredients are ground with potatoes in one pan pot examples are hutspot with carrots, andijviestamppot with endive and zuurkoolstamppot with Sauerkraut In addition, the kitchen Dutch was influenced by the French, Italian and German cuisine, the country has many vegetarian dishes are some typical Dutch drop liquorice candy, chocolate sprinkles Hagelslag, Stroopwafels Dutch syrup cookies and cinnamon nuts pepernoten.
Most Dutch people do not have a hearty breakfast or lunch a sandwich and a glass of milk or a cup of coffee will usually make dinner is usually relatively early most people have dinner between 5 pm and 30 20 hours you can keep this in mind when you eat in most restaurants, the kitchen closes relatively early.
Dutch drink a lot of tea and coffee also, dairy products are of good quality, it is possible to drink tap water Also, many Dutch people like a good glass of wine or a beer in the pub.
Many places in the Netherlands have hotels especially in the cities you find enough hotels You can also choose to stay in a holiday home There are various holiday parks where you can rent a bungalow In the summer, camping is a fun and cheap way to spend the night in the Netherlands along the coast and lakes near you find many campsites There are campsites also in quiet areas in a variety of price and Finally quality in major cities, there are hostels They offer a cheap way to spend the night, that appeal especially to young people the quality of accommodation in the Netherlands is generally very high, and you will be welcomed courteously.
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