A Vacation in the Municipality of Rotterdam

Rotterdam, with a population of around 605,000 inhabitants, is one of the most attractive destinations tourists can travel to in the region of South Holland. This city is famous by having the largest port in the entire Europe, port which also was recognized as the busiest one in the entire world until not long ago. As it can be guessed, this city offers visitors the chance to spend a vacation at a very lively spot, as well as due to its proximity to other attractive destinations in the Netherlands, it also offers the possibility to meet several other spots in a short period of time.

The city of Rotterdam is located within the municipality of same name. This municipality is composed by several other cities and villages besides Rotterdam, such as, for example, Pernis, Europoort, Spaanse Polder, Beverwaard, Delfshaven, Ijddelmonde, Noord, Botlek, Hoek van Holland, Kralingen Crooswijk, Prins Alexander, Maasvlakte, and Vondelingenplaat. Most of these spots count with interesting attractions, and, during their vacation in Rotterdam, tourists should try to meet to visit as many as possible.

Rotterdam can be officially considered a city since June of 1340 when it first received city rights. This city started developing as a port town, and its popularity and importance started increasing when the Netherlands East India Company was established in it. Throughout its entire history, this port has always been extremely important and busy, and has been a central commercialization spot for the entire world.

One of the most important moments in the history of Rotterdam took place in the year 1940 when this city was bombed by the Germans. As a consequence of this bombing, the centre of Rotterdam was almost entirely destroyed, and five days of consequent war started. Nowadays, tourists who travel to this city can still observe a statue built after that event, called the Stad zonder hart or City without a heart, located towards the northern area of the city, in Leuvenhaven.

It is interesting to know that the city of Rotterdam has the highest percentage of foreigners in the Netherlands. According to the specialists on the subject and statistics, the population of this city is composed by about 319,000 Dutch people, 52,500 Surinamese, 43,500 Turkish, 34,000 Moroccan, 20,500 Antillian, 18,000 North African, 15,000 Cape Verdian, and 97,500 people from other origins.

There are several interesting antique constructions and buildings tourists could meet during their vacation in Rotterdam. One of these constructions is the tallest office building in the Netherlands, the Delftse Poort with about 151 meters of height. Other interesting construction visitors should not miss is the Erasmus Bridge, a cable stayed bridge of over 2,500 foot which connects the northern side of Rotterdam with the southern. Besides this, tourists could also meet several other unique constructions, such as the tallest residential building in the country, which has a height of approximately 152 meters and is named Montevideo, or the Eurotower, considered to be one of the most important attractions in that region of Holland.