Destination Netherlands, a nation in western Europe, bordered by the North Sea in west and north.
Border countries are Belgium, and Germany. The country also shares maritime borders with France and the United Kingdom.
European Netherlands is a low-lying country with around a quarter of its territory at or below sea level, it covers an area of 41,543 km² making it just slightly larger than Switzerland (41,285 km²) or half the size of the U.S. state of South Carolina.
Dutch Dependencies were the Caribbean islands of Aruba, and the Netherlands Antilles. On 10 October 2010 the Netherlands Antilles has been dissolved and its constituent islands have acquired a new status, Curaçao and St Maarten are now autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba have become special municipalities.
The Kingdom has a population of 16,785,000 (est. May 2013), capital and largest city is Amsterdam; seat of government is in the city of The Hague (Den Haag).
Spoken language is Dutch (official), recognized regional languages are West Frisian (in Friesland), Papiamento (in Bonaire), and English (in Sint Eustatius and Saba).
Netherlands | Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
Background:
After centuries of foreign rules by the Romans, Franks, Burgunds, Habsburgs, and Spaniards in 1648 the Dutch Republic became a free and sovereign state. During the 17th century, also called the ‘Golden Age’, the Republic became increasingly prosperous and a major colonial power, thanks largely to the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
In 1815, the northern and southern Netherlands – today’s Netherlands and Belgium – were combined to form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I but was invaded in World War II by Germany in May 1940 and occupied for five years.
Today the Netherlands is a modern, industrialized nation and the third largest exporter of food. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EU, and participated in the introduction of the Euro in 1999.
Official Sites of Netherlands
Het Koninklijk Huis
The Dutch Royal House.
Het Parlement
Staten Generaal — the Dutch Parliament with the
Senate and the
House of Representatives
Overheid.nl
The Dutch government directory.
Netherlands Board of Tourism (N.B.T.)
Comprehensive guide to the country – Official Holland Site with 59,000 pages of useful content to people who will travel to holland.
Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken
The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs with general information about the Netherlands.
Diplomatic Missions
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UN
Netherlands representation to the United Nations.
Royal Netherlands Embassy
USA, Washington D.C.
Dutch Missions Abroad
Addresses of Dutch missions by country.
Foreign Missions in the Netherlands
Addresses of foreign diplomatic missions in the Netherlands.
Statistics
CBS – Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek
Statistics Netherlands presents latest statistics regarding all aspects of the Netherlands.
Weather
Het Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI)
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.
Arts & Culture
Arts & Architecture
A guide to events, attractions and activities.
Dutch Pop and Rock Music Institute
The “Nationaal Pop Instituut”
Holland Museums
All Dutch Museums
Kunsthal Rotterdam
Culture in the widest sense of the word, art exhibitions
Melkweg
A Milestone in the European Hippie Culture
Mondriaanhuis
The birthplace of the painter Piet Mondrian with a permanent collection of its art
De Museumserver
Netherlands museums on the WWW (in Dutch)
Paradiso
Another Milestone in the European Hippie Culture
Rembrandthuis Museum
House of Rembrandt van Rijn and permanent collection of almost all of Rembrandt’s etchings
Stedelijk Museum
Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, Amsterdam
The Van Gogh Museum
XS4ALL
Notorious Internet Directory
Transportation
Airline
Royal Dutch Airlines
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
Airports
Schiphol Airport
Official site of Netherlands’ principal airport.
Rotterdam Airport
Regional airport.
_Railroad
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
The Dutch Railroad (in Dutch)
_Shipping
Rotterdam Port Authority
Official site of the Rotterdam port and industry complex.
Destination Netherlands – Travel and Tour Guides
Discover Holland: Amsterdam, Den Haag, Rotterdam, North-Holland, South Holland, the West Frisian Islands.
Accommodation, attractions, festivals, events, tours and much more.
Tourism Offices of the Netherlands
Netherlands Board of Tourism (NBTC)
Official site with comprehensive tourism information to the Netherlands.
Noord Holland
The official tourism site of North-Holland, the most important bulb province in the Netherlands.
Zuid-Holland
Official visitors guide to South Holland province.
Zuid-Holland Zuid
Travel and tourism guide for the southern part of South Holland province.
Geography of the Netherlands
Geography of a flat world.
Roundabout
A guide to “Whats on in the Netherlands”.
TouristInfo
Tourism webportal of the Netherlands (in Dutch).
City Guides
Amsterdam
Official site of the City of Amsterdam with tourism and event information.
Amsterdam Hotspots
A guide to all the local favorites.
The Internet Guide to Amsterdam
Amsterdam city guide ready to be printed out and taken with you.
Den Haag
The Hague is theseat of the Dutch government.
Rotterdam
The biggest city of the Netherlands after Amsterdam, with the largest port of the world.
Rotterdam Tourism
The official Rotterdam city guide.
Groningen
The City of Groningen.
Haarlem
The City of Haarlem.
Maastricht
The oldest city of The Netherlands.
Utrecht
The City of Utrecht.
West Frisian Islands
Texel
Official website of the municipality as well as of the island of Texel.
Vlieland
Official tourism information about the island.
Terschelling
Official tourist office website of the municipality and the island.
Ameland
Official tourism website of the island.
Schiermonnikoog
Official tourism website of the Dutch Frisian islands (in Dutch and German).
History
Timeline Dutch History
Timeline of Dutch History by the Dutch Rijksmuseum.
Bataviawerf
Batavia Yard, National Centre for Maritime History
Dutch History Resources on the Internet
by the University Leiden, History Department.
Dutch Portuguese Colonial History
Dutch Colonial History.
Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (1602-1660)
A site about the history of the Dutch East India Company.
Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis
The ING promotes, through faculty research and its own independant research, the disclosure of source material in the subject area of the history of the Netherlands. (in Dutch)
The Low Countries
Timeline and reigns of the “Low Countries” in historical chronology.
Koninklijke Bibliotheek
The National Library of the Netherlands.
De hoofdlijn van de Nederlandse geschiedenis
Netherlands history (in Dutch).
Nationaal Archief
The largest public archive in the Netherlands.
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Largest museum with the largest collection of art and history in the Netherlands.
WWW VL Dutch History Index
Dutch History internet resources.