South Holland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see South Holland (disambiguation).
South Holland
Zuid-Holland
Province of the Netherlands
Canals are essential parts of most cities in South- (as well as North-) Holland; here one at Rotterdam

Flag
Coat of arms
Anthem: Lied van Zuid-Holland (Song of South Holland)
Country Netherlands
Established 1840 (split-up of Holland)
Capital The Hague
Largest city Rotterdam
Government
 • King's Commissioner Jan Franssen (VVD)
Area
 • Land 2,818 km2 (1,088 sq mi)
 • Water 585 km2 (226 sq mi)
Area rank 5th
Population (2011)
 • Land 3,528,324
 • Rank 1st
 • Density 1,300/km2 (3,200/sq mi)
 • Density rank 1st
ISO 3166 code NL-ZH
Religion (2005) Protestant 20%
Roman Catholic 15%
Muslim 8%
Hindus 2%
Website www.zuid-holland.nl
Orangery in park at Voorburg, one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands.
One of South Holland's historical towns is Delft, a stronghold of tourism and of (mainly technical) science.
A site at worldwide known Keukenhof flower garden near Lisse South Holland.
The Koornbrug (Grain Bridge) in Leiden, also a historical university city in South Holland.
The Peace Palace at The Hague in which the International Court of Justice is established.
Pier at Scheveningen, one of the several seaside resorts of South Holland.
Road through the dunes near Noordwijk, a second main seaside resort in this province.
Zoetermeer, the third largest population centre in this province, was a typical South Holland village until the late 1960s.
A view of the newly built nowadays Zoetermeer town centre.
A canal at Dordrecht, which town is the oldest in Holland (North and South together) and has a rich history and culture.
The 15th century town hall of Gouda, another historically rich town in South Holland.

South Holland (Dutch: Zuid-Holland [ˈzœy̆t ˈɦɔlɑnt] ( listen)) is a province in the western part of the European country the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague. The largest city is Rotterdam.

South Holland is situated on the North Sea. It is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. With a population of 3,502,595 (on November 30, 2009) and an area of 3,403 km2 (1,314 sq mi), the province has the highest population density in the Netherlands, whereas this country itself is one of the most densely populated on Earth.

History

For more on the history of South Holland in the context of Dutch history, see the article on the "History of the Netherlands". The history of this province can also be found in the articles on its constituent elements (e.g. Rotterdam, the Hague, etc.) The information here pertains just to South Holland itself.[1]

Before 1795

For most of its history, the modern-day province of South Holland was an integral part of Holland.

From the 9th century to the 16th century, Holland was a county of the Holy Roman Empire, and was ruled by the counts of Holland. Some of the counts were powerful magnates who also ruled many other territories, culminating in a period of rule by the House of Habsburg which was terminated by the Dutch Revolt.

From the 16th century to 1795, Holland was the wealthiest and most important province in the United Provinces in the Dutch Republic. As the richest and most powerful province, Holland dominated the union. During this period a distinction was sometimes made between the "North Quarter" (Noorderkwartier) and the "South Quarter" (Zuiderkwartier), areas that roughly correspond to the two modern provinces.

The emergence of a new province (1795 to 1840)

The province of South Holland as it is today has its origins in the period of French rule from 1795 to 1813. This was a time of bewildering changes to the Dutch system of provinces. In 1795 the old order was swept away and the Batavian Republic was established. In the Constitution enacted on 23 April 1798, the old borders were radically changed. The republic was reorganised into eight departments (département) with roughly equal populations. Holland was split up into five departments named "Texel", "Amstel", "Delf", "Schelde en Maas (fr)", and "Rijn". The first three of these lay within the borders of the old Holland; the latter two were made up of parts of different provinces. In 1801 the old borders were restored when the department of Holland was created. This reorganisation had been short-lived, but it gave birth to the concept of breaking up Holland and making it a less powerful province.

In 1807, Holland was reorganised once again. This time the two departments were called "Maasland" (corresponding to the modern province of South Holland) and "Amstelland" (corresponding to the modern province of North Holland). This also did not last long. In 1810, all the Dutch provinces were integrated into the French Empire. Maasland was renamed "Monden van de Maas" (Bouches-de-la-Meuse in French). Amstelland and Utrecht were amalgamated as the department of "Zuiderzee" (Zuyderzée in French).

After the defeat of the French in 1813, this organisation remained unchanged for a year or so. When the 1814 Constitution was introduced, the country was reorganised as provinces and regions (landschappen). Monden van de Maas and Zuiderzee were reunited as the province of "Holland".

However, the division was not totally reversed. When the province of Holland was re-established in 1814, it was given two governors, one for the former department of Maasland (i.e. the area that is now South Holland) and one for the former department of Amstelland (i.e. the area that is now North Holland). Even though the province had been reunited, the two areas were still being treated differently in some ways and the idea of dividing Holland remained alive.

When the constitutional amendments were introduced in 1840, it was decided to split Holland once again, this time into two provinces called "South Holland" and "North Holland". The impetus came largely from Amsterdam in North Holland, which still resented the 1838 relocation of the court of appeal to the Hague in South Holland.

Municipalities

South Holland is divided into 65 municipalities.

CBS-codeMunicipalityPopulationLand area (km2)Population density (/km2)
482Alblasserdam 19,800 8.79 2,253
613Albrandswaard 25,078 21.87 1,147
484Alphen aan den Rijn 106,760 126.58 843
489Barendrecht 47,313 19.83 2,386
491Bergambacht 9,966 35.10 284
568Bernisse 12,386 57.34 216
585Binnenmaas 28,704 69.26 414
1901Bodegraven-Reeuwijk 32,857 75.69 434
501Brielle 16,302 27.56 592
502Capelle aan den IJssel 66,246 14.25 4,649
611Cromstrijen 12,734 54.37 234
503Delft 100,051 22.82 4,384
505Dordrecht 118,799 79.01 1,504
689Giessenlanden 14,448 63.57 227
1924Goeree-Overflakkee 48,177 262.00 184
512Gorinchem 35,196 18.92 1,860
513Gouda 71,034 16.86 4,213
523Hardinxveld-Giessendam 17,767 16.92 1,050
530Hellevoetsluis 38,972 31.56 1,235
531Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht 28,894 10.67 2,708
534Hillegom 20,908 12.92 1,618
1884Kaag en Braassem 25,745 63.39 406
537Katwijk 62,787 24.54 2,559
588Korendijk 10,713 77.26 139
542Krimpen aan den IJssel 28,824 7.80 3,695
1621Lansingerland 57,006 54.28 1,050
545Leerdam 20,615 33.79 610
546Leiden 121,221 21.95 5,523
547Leiderdorp 26,809 11.55 2,321
1916Leidschendam-Voorburg 73,300 32.70 2,242
553Lisse 22,303 15.69 1,421
556Maassluis 32,075 8.49 3,778
1842Midden-Delfland 18,429 47.35 389
1927Molenwaard 29,033 118.29 245
643Nederlek 14,063 27.82 505
569Nieuwkoop 27,095 78.88 343
575Noordwijk 25,706 35.48 725
576Noordwijkerhout 15,949 22.61 705
579Oegstgeest 22,955 7.30 3,145
584Oud-Beijerland 23,718 18.75 1,265
644Ouderkerk 8,214 27.07 303
590Papendrecht 32,106 9.48 3,387
1926Pijnacker-Nootdorp 51,079 37.36 1,367
597Ridderkerk 45,246 23.74 1,906
603Rijswijk 47,596 14.05 3,388
599Rotterdam 618,279 208.80 2,961
606Schiedam 76,603 18.02 4,251
608Schoonhoven 11,916 6.27 1,900
610Sliedrecht 24,464 12.83 1,907
612Spijkenisse 72,487 26.12 2,775
617Strijen 8,696 50.85 171
1525Teylingen 35,801 28.55 1,254
518The Hague 508,480 81.88 6,210
622Vlaardingen 70,982 23.64 3,003
623Vlist 9,704 53.71 181
626Voorschoten 24,882 11.16 2,230
627Waddinxveen 25,479 27.90 913
629Wassenaar 25,597 50.92 503
1783Westland 103,306 79.53 1,299
614Westvoorne 13,955 53.23 262
707Zederik 13,649 73.73 185
637Zoetermeer 123,576 34.55 3,577
638Zoeterwoude 8,075 21.26 380
1892Zuidplas 40,928 59.37 689
642Zwijndrecht 44,565 20.35 2,190

1840 to today (municipal reorganisations)

Since 1840, South Holland has ceded three municipalities to the province of Utrecht: Oudewater in 1970, Woerden in 1989, and Vianen in 2002.

Municipal reorganisations since 2000:

Geography

Islands of South Holland

Satellite image of the Rhine-Meuse delta, showing the islands of South Holland
The southern part of the province of South Holland consists of a number of islands lying in the Rhine-Meuse river delta. Although technically islands in the sense that they are surrounded by rivers, canals or other bodies of water, most of these islands are well connected to the rest of the province.

The islands are listed here alphabetically. A few of these islands bear the same name as a municipality (and are therefore linked to the information about the municipality).

Regions in South Holland

Map of South Holland (2013)

Administrative regions

Some of the regions in South Holland are official regional groupings artificially created for various administrative purposes. Other regions have developed their own identities for historical, geographic or other reasons. These regions are sometimes undefined and overlapping.

The province is officially divided into four regions:

Another official region is the Zuidvleugel ("The South Wing"), which refers to the conurbation consisting of the southern wing of the Randstad.

Nature

One of the several nature reserves in this province is National park De Biesbosch, of which the western part is situated in South Holland. Other ones are:

  • "Delftse Hout" ("Delft Wood"), a relatively vast nature and recreation area east of Delft.[4]
  • "Ackerdijkse plassen", a bird reserve north of Rotterdam.[5]
  • "Buytenpark" at Zoetermeer;
  • "Westerpark" at Zoetermeer;[6]

More information about nature reserves in South Holland is available (in Dutch) on the relevant site pages of national nature conservation organisations Natuurmonumenten [7] and Staatsbosbeheer ,[8] as well as provincial organisation "Zuid-Hollands Landschap".[9]

One of the several national nature friendly organisations based in South Holland is the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals

Sunrise in the Biesbosch
Wild blossoms in "Buytenpark"
Horses in "Buytenpark"
Winter in Delftse hout

Notable residents

Two well known scientists originating from South Holland are:

As far as art concerns, several famous painters originate from this province; such as:

Economy

Main sectors of economical activity in this province are among others:

  • Growing vegetables and flowers in greenhouses (particularly in the Westland);
  • Flower bulb cultivation;
  • Port of Rotterdam;
  • Petrochemical industry, particularly near Rotterdam neighbourhood Pernis; (Shell's refinery there is the largest oil refinery in Europe, and one of the largest in the world);
  • The service-oriented economy of The Hague, where many jobs are offered by the national government (of which the main administrative parts are settled in this town), international institutions and headquarters of several large international businesses;
  • Tourism related activities (among others in historic places like Delft, and in several seaside resorts);
  • Commercial fishing; main South Holland fishing places are Katwijk and Scheveningen;
  • Stock breeding, of which in this province dairy industry is the main sector.

Galery of bulb fields in springtime

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The information in this section has been drawn from the Dutch articles on "Zuid-Holland" and "Noord-Holland" on the Dutch Wikipedia.
  2. ↑ "Home | Stadsgewest Haaglanden" (in (Dutch)). Haaglanden.nl. Retrieved 2013-09-04. 
  3. ↑ "Hof van Delfland |". Hofvandelfland.nl. 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2013-09-04. 
  4. ↑ Delftse Hout images on Commons
  5. ↑ Ackerdijkse plassen web page in Dutch
  6. ↑ Page in Dutch about Westerpark on site Zoetermeer municipality
  7. ↑ Nature reserves in South Holland on site Natuurmonumenten
  8. ↑ Nature reserves in South Holland on site Staatsbosbeheer
  9. ↑ Nature reserves in South Holland on site Zuid-Hollands Landschap

External links

Amsterdam Almelo Almere Amersfoort Arnhem Assen Breda Delft Delfzijl Den Helder Dordrecht Enschede Haarlem Hilversum Maastricht Middelburg Zwolle Lelystad Leiden Katwijk Nijmegen Eindhoven Vlissingen Rotterdam Leeuwarden Heerenveen Groningen Emmen Almelo Apeldoorn Alkmaar Zaanstad Tilburg Venlo Heerlen Drenthe Flevoland Friesland Gelderland Groningen Limburg North Brabant North Holland Overijssel South Holland Utrecht Zeeland
Map of the Netherlands, linking to the province articles; red dots mark provincial capitals and black dots other notable cities or towns.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to South Holland.

Links to maps

Entries for South Holland in worldwide gazetteers

 North Holland
North Sea Utrecht
   South Holland  
Zeeland North Brabant Gelderland
   Municipalities of South Holland
Railway stations in South Holland
Map: Provinces of the Netherlands South Holland North Holland Friesland Groningen Drenthe Flevoland Overijssel Gelderland Utrecht Limburg North Brabant Zeeland
About this image

Coordinates: 52°00′N 4°40′E / 52.000°N 4.667°E / 52.000; 4.667

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.