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this is strictly speaking outdated;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.
