Short history of the Netherlands and other Netherlands General Tips

Favorite Thing: A comprehensive short history of The Netherlands, from:

Fondest Memory: Wikipedia's short history of The Netherlands

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Favorite Thing: Text in English (1st and 6th verse):
--
William of Nassau, scion
Of a Dutch and ancient line,
I dedicate undying
Faith to this land of mine.
A prince I am, undaunted,
Of Orange, ever free,
To the king of Spain I've granted
A lifelong loyalty.
--
A shield and my reliance,
O God, Thou ever wert.
I'll trust unto Thy guidance.
O leave me not ungirt.
That I may stay a pious
Servant of Thine for aye
And drive the plagues that try us
And tyranny away.
--

Fondest Memory: I am very fond of our national anthem. Maybe it is because I lived abroad for a few years and when you hear it on the world radio it gives a strange feeling of being far away from home, even though I was a child.

Our national anthem is the "Wilhelmus".
Written around 1568, and is accredited to the poet and diplomat Philip van Marnix, Seigneur of Sint Aldegonde (1540-1598) an ardent supporter of Prince William of Orange. We usually sing the first and sixth verse at national events.

"In the first verse, Prince William vows that he will remain true to his country unto death; in the sixth, he prays to God for strength to rid the land of tyranny. In periods of oppression especially, these verses have had a strong appeal for the people of the Netherlands. The "Wilhelmus" has been the official Dutch national anthem since 1932."

(adapted text)

Hear Wilhelmus in Real Audio
or hear it in Quicktime.

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Favorite Thing: Old maps hold an endless fascination for me. It's amazing how some 400 years ago, people were able to draw maps of places so meticuously detailed.
I am sometimes lucky enough to get a print as a gift and I sometimes buy one.

Fondest Memory: The maps here (free to download) are from the Blaeu's Toonneel der Steden (1652). Blaeu was the master map maker of The Netherlands (including Flemish Netherlands, now Belgian territory).

Discover the wealth of maps here:
Blaeu maps
(University of Groningen, Literature)

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Favorite Thing: This map shows the political situation between 1556 and 1648.
It shows that a large part of Belgium (Flanders/Brabant) were all part of the same republic, later kingdom).
If you want a larger copy, e-mail me!


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Favorite Thing: Many old places in The Netherlands, be they large cities or places more the size of a village, have city rights.
What are city rights?
A settlement would only become a city when it received cityrights from the most important lord or count of the area where the town was situated. It could also be given by the "stadhouder" or king of The Netherlands.
The town would become judicially and adminstratively independent from the surrounding country. It would have its own council, its own law and jurisdiction.
Usually this also involved the right to build city walls and a moat which indicated the boundary of the jurisdiction. Outside, another lord would be in charge.

Fondest Memory: Cityrights were granted from the 12 century.
The last to receive cityrights (by King Willem I) was Winschoten in 1825.
Brielle, my hometown, received city rights in 1306.

In 1806, the kingdom The Netherlands, was founded by Napeleon Bonaparte ( I know, this is a mighty jump in history). His brother Louis was king of The Netherlands.
Then in 1815, Willem I is crowned in 1815 after his arrival in The Netherlands from England in 1813 (where he lived), a grab for power, European intervention and politics to support the Orange-Nassau family.

After The Netherlands became a kingdom, individual cityrights were slowly changed to national jurisdiction and administration.

In Off The Beaten Path Tips you will find two tips with all places that have city rights. It might be a nice theme for your travel!

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Favorite Thing: The Netherlands is a monarchy.
Read about it in the link.

Fondest Memory: Official website about the Dutch royal family

Picture: Surprisingly informal official portrait of Queen Beatrix by Carla Rodenberg (1995)

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Favorite Thing: On Oct. 6th. 2002, Prince Claus, husband of Queen Beatrix died. He was brought to the family tomb in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft on Oct. 15th.

My Delft page is at:
http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/2bf0c/70d99


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Favorite Thing: Prinsjesdag takes place every year on the 3rd Tuesday of September.
On this day, the Queen rides her golden coach from her palace to parliament in The Hague, the political capital of NL.
She reads a speech in which the government unfolds its plans and views for the new parliamentary year.
After that, she rides back to her palace again and the inevitable balcony scene takes place.
It's great fun to watch, the pomp and circumstance, the golden coach, the royalty and all the hats that the ladies wear.
But the real work starts there. That same day, the Minister of Finance presents the budget and long and interesting debate then commences in parliament about what the government proposes to do in the coming year.

Fondest Memory: Read more about Prinsjesdag

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Favorite Thing: If you are travelling to The Netherlands, and need information, then please ask!
I hope I can help.

If you want to know about the Euro, please visit my Europe page!

Fondest Memory: Did you know that in a very early stage they cut off a piece of the Nightwatch by Rembrandt? On the right side, so it fitted somewhere. It gave the picture a whole new dimension. And that's how we know it today. The Nightwatch, most famous painting in the world, can be found at the Rijksmuseum website

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Favorite Thing: OK OK..... I must give the tourist what he expects: a tulip field.

Drive around the west part of The Netherlands in spring to enjoy the burst of colours!


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