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 The
Netherlands is a country partly reclaimed from the waters of the
North Sea, and around half of it lies at or below sea level. Land
reclamation has been the dominant motif of its history, the result a
country of resonant and unique images - flat, fertile landscapes
punctured by windmills and church spires; ornately gabled terraces
flanking peaceful canals; and mile upon mile of grassy dunes, backing
onto stretches of pristine sandy beach.
A leading colonial power, its mercantile fleets once challenged the best
in the world for supremacy, and the country enjoyed a so-called "Golden
Age" of prosperity in the seventeenth century. These days, the
Netherlands is one of the most developed countries in the world, with
the highest population density in Europe, its sixteen million or so
inhabitants (most of whom speak English) concentrated into an area about
the size of southern England.
Most people travel only to the uniquely atmospheric capital, Amsterdam :
the rest of the country, despite its accessibility, is comparatively
untouched by tourism. The west of the country is the most populated and
most historically interesting region - unrelentingly flat territory,
much of it reclaimed, that is home to a grouping of towns known
collectively as the Randstad (literally "rim town"). It's a good idea to
forsake Amsterdam for a day or two and investigate places like Haarlem ,
Leiden and Delft with their old canal-girded centres, the gritty port
city of Rotterdam , or The Hague , stately home of the government and
the Dutch royals. Outside the Randstad, life moves more slowly. The
province of Zeeland , in the southwest, is the country at its most
remote, its inhabitants a sturdy, distant people, busy with farming and
fishing and hardly connected to the mainland. In the north, Groningen is
a busy cultural centre, lent verve by its large resident student
population. To the south, around the town of Arnhem , the landscape
undulates into heathy moorland, best experienced in the Hoge Veluwe
national park. Further south still lies the compelling city of
Maastricht , squeezed between the German and Belgian borders.
Though "Holland" is often used as a shorthand alternative name for the
country, this is strictly speaking outdated; these days, although there
are two Dutch provinces called North Holland and South Holland, they are
separate entities. On the same note, it's common to call Belgium and the
Netherlands "the Low Countries", and to use the abbreviation "Benelux"
to refer to the neighbouring trio of Belgium, the Netherlands and
Luxembourg
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