Rotterdam is a city in the west of the Netherlands. The city is the second largest in the country and largest in the provence Zuid Holland. It forms the southern part of the Randstad, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in Europe, with a population of 6.7 million. The port of Rotterdam was the largest/busiest port in the world, now it's Shanghai. Rotterdam is devided by the river nieuwe Maas (new Meuse) into North and South. The name Rotterdam comes from dam in the river Rotte. Settlements started around 900 BC and building the dam in the 1260s where the Hoogstraat (Highstreet) is.
During 16th and 17th centuries (the golden centuries) and because of the VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the Dutch East India Company) Rotterdam became more and more important as a city and harbour. In 1898 the Witte Huis (White House) was build and became Europe's highest office building at 45m (150ft).
Rotterdam was bombed in the beginning of the WW2 because of unexpected resistance of the Dutch army. On May the 14th 1940 the heart of Rotterdam was destroyed by the Nazi airforce killing 800 people and made 80.000 homeless. Ossip Zadkine made his statue Stad zonder hart ('City without a heart').
Rotterdam was gradually rebuilt from the 1950s through the 1970s. After the 1980s daring and new styles of apartments, office buildings and recreation facilities resulted in a more 'livable' city center with a new skyline. |
