Hotels in Rotterdam
Hotels in the city of Rotterdam are often require for tourists who need short term accommodation. Some may want to see the culture, the history, the tourist attractions, the society, the sports, and the landmarks of the city. Some may want a hotel that has good scenery, tourist attractions, culture, entertainment and scenery. Some may want a hotel that has good prices. Some may want a hotel that is luxury or cheap. Some may want hotels that have good access to culture, sports and to entertainment.
Rotterdam city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, situated in the west of the Netherlands.
The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe, and was the world's busiest port from 1962 to 2004, when it was overtaken by Shanghai. Rotterdam is situated on the banks of the river Nieuwe Maas ('New Meuse'), one of the channels in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse rivers. The name Rotterdam derives from a dam in the Rotte river.
The Nieuwe Maas (English: New Meuse) is a river branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in the Netherlands. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. It ends west of the city where it meets the Oude Maas (Old Meuse), near Vlaardingen, to form Het Scheur. The total length is approximately 24 kilometers. The Nieuwe Maas flows through some of the most densely populated and developed areas in the Netherlands. Along its shores are numerous harbours and industries. During the early Middle Ages the Nieuwe Maas was considered to be the continuation of the river Merwede and was named accordingly. In the original situation, the Merwede was the continuation of the river Waal (itself being a distributary branch of the river Rhine), but after some major floods the river Meuse shifted its course towards the Merwede as well. From that moment on, several stretches of the original Merwede were named Meuse instead.
Settlement at the lower end of the fen stream Rotte (or Rotta, as it was then known, from rot, 'muddy' and a, 'water', thus 'muddy water') dates from at least 900. Around 1150, large floods in the area ended development, leading to the construction of protective dikes and dams, including Schielands Hoge Zeedijk ('Schieland’s High Sea Dike') along the northern banks of the present-day Nieuwe Maas. A dam on the Rotte or 'Rotterdam' was built in the 1260s and was located at the present-day Hoogstraat ('High Street').
On 7 June 1340, Count Willem IV of Holland granted city rights to Rotterdam, which then had approximately 2000 inhabitants. Around 1350 a shipping canal, the Rotterdamse Schie was completed, which provided Rotterdam access to the larger towns in the north, allowing it to become a local transshipment center between Holland, England and Germany, and to slowly urbanize.
The port of Rotterdam slowly but steadily grew into a port of importance, becoming the seat of one of the six 'chambers' of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), or the Dutch East India Company.
The greatest spurt of growth, both in port activity and population, followed the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872. The city and harbor started to expand on the south bank of the river. The Witte Huis or White House skyscraper, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the French Chateau style is evidence of Rotterdam's rapid growth and success. It was at the time of completion the tallest office building in Europe, with a height of 45 m.
Rotterdam is divided into a northern and a southern part by the river Nieuwe Maas, connected by (from west to east): the Beneluxtunnel; the Maastunnel; the Erasmusbrug ('Erasmus Bridge'); a subway tunnel; the Willemsspoortunnel ('Willems railway tunnel'); the Willemsbrug ('Willems Bridge'); the Koninginnebrug ('Queen's Bridge'); and the Van Brienenoordbrug ('Van Brienenoord Bridge'). The former railway lift bridge De Hef ('the Lift') is preserved as a monument in lifted position between the Noordereiland ('North Island') and the south of Rotterdam.
The city centre is located on the northern bank of the Nieuwe Maas, although recent urban development has extended the center to parts of southern Rotterdam known as De Kop van Zuid ('the Head of South', i.e. the northern part of southern Rotterdam). From its inland core, Rotterdam reaches the North Sea by a swathe of predominantly harbor area.
Built mostly behind dikes, large parts of the Rotterdam are below sea level. For instance, the Prins Alexander Polder in the northeast of Rotterdam extends 6 meters below sea level, or rather below Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP) or 'Amsterdam Ordnance Datum'. The lowest point in the Netherlands (6.76 meters below NAP) is situated just to the east of Rotterdam, in the municipality of Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel.
Rotterdam has the largest port in Europe, with the rivers Meuse and Rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream reaching to Basel, Switzerland and into France.
n 1872, the Nieuwe Waterweg ('New Waterway') opened, a ship canal constructed to keep the city and port of Rotterdam accessible to seafaring vessels as the natural Meuse-Rhine channels silted up. The canal proper measures approximately 6.5 kilometers from the western tips of its protruding dams to the Maeslantkering ('Maeslant Barrier'). Many maps, however, include the Scheur as part of the Nieuwe Waterweg, leading to a length of approximately 19.5 kilometers.
In the first half of the twentieth century, the port's center of gravity shifted westward towards the North Sea. Covering 105 square kilometers (40.5 sq mi), the port of Rotterdam now stretches over a distance of 40 kilometers (25 mi). It consists of the city center's historic harbor area, including Delfshaven; the Maashaven/Rijnhaven/Feijenoord complex; the harbors around Nieuw-Mathenesse; Waalhaven; Vondelingenplaat; Eemhaven; Botlek; Europoort, situated along the Calandkanaal, Nieuwe Waterweg and Scheur (the latter two being continuations of the Nieuwe Maas); and the reclaimed Maasvlakte area, which projects into the North Sea.
In 1898, the 45 meter high rise office building, the White House, was completed, at that time the tallest office building in Europe.
In the first decades of the 20th century, some influential architecture in the modern style was built in Rotterdam. Notable are the Van Nelle fabriek (1929) a monument of modern factory design by Brinkman en Van der Vlugt, the Jugendstil clubhouse of the Royal Maas Yacht Club designed by Hooijkaas jr. en Brinkman (1909), and Feyenoord's football stadium de Kuip (1936) also by Brinkman en Van der Vlugt. The architect J. J. P. Oud was a famous Rotterdammer in those days. During the early stages of World War II the center of Rotterdam was bombed by the Germans, destroying much of the older buildings in the center of the city. After initial crisis re-construction the center of Rotterdam has become the site of ambitious new architecture.
Rotterdam
is also famous for its Kubuswoningen or cube houses built by architect Piet Blom
in 1984. In addition to that there are many international well known architects
based in Rotterdam like O.M.A (Rem Koolhaas), MVRDV, Neutelings & Riedijk
and Erick van Egeraat to name a few.
Rotterdam houses several of the tallest structures in the Netherlands.
The Erasmus Bridge (1996) is a 2,600 foot (790 m) cable stayed bridge linking
the north and south of Rotterdam. It is held up by a 138 meters (453 ft) tall
pylon with a characteristic bend, earning the bridge its nickname 'De Zwaan' ('the
Swan').
Rotterdam has the tallest residential building in the Netherlands:
the Montevideo Tower (524 foot (160 m)).
Rotterdam is also home to the tallest
office building 'Delftse Poort' (520 foot (160 m)) which houses Nationale-Nederlanden
insurance company, part of ING Group.
The city also houses the 186 meters
(610 ft) tall Euromast, which has long been a major tourist attraction. It was
built in 1960, initially reaching a height of 101 meters (331 ft); in 1970, the
Euromast was extended by 85 meters (279 ft) to its current height.
Rotterdam
is the home of Feyenoord and Sparta, and Excelsior. Feyenoord is a professional
football club located in Rotterdam. Alongside Ajax and PSV, Feyenoord are one
of the big three clubs in the Netherlands
Some tourists may want to try
Rotterdam Hotels.
Some tourists may want to stay at hotels Rotterdam NL to
have a place to stay.
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