Did you know?

  • Two old men
  • A tandem parked near the beach
  • Coaches in front of palace Noordeinde

  • The Netherlands and Holland are one and the same place?
  • 26% of the Netherlands is under sea level?
  • The International Court of Justice (at the Peace Palace) and the International Criminal Court are both situated in The Hague?
  • Holland still has around a thousand old-fashioned working windmills? 
  • Holland is the third biggest exporter of agricultural produce, preceded only by the US and France, even though only 4% of the Dutch population works in the agriculture sector?
  • Holland has no less than 29,000 km of cycle paths?
  • Flevoland, the twelfth province, was reclaimed from the Zuiderzee (‘Southern Sea’) in 1986?
  • The Dutch are the tallest people in the world? 
  • Amsterdam was built entirely on piles?
  • Holland always has a coalition government, so it is a country of compromises?
  • Every Dutch person owns a bike and there are twice as many bikes as there are cars?
  • The Van Gogh collections in the Van Gogh Museum and the Kröller-Müller Museum are the largest in the world?
  • Holland has the highest concentration of museums in the world? 
  • Holland was one of the six founding members of the European Community? 
  • The canals of Amsterdam, the former island of Schokland, the fortifications around Amsterdam, the windmills of Kinderdijk-Elshout, the Beemster Polder, the Wadden Islands, D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station and the Rietveld-Schröderhuis are all on UNESCO’s World Heritage List? 
  • The highest point in Holland is in Vaals and is 323 meters above sea level, and is also the point where the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium meet? 
  • Amsterdam is the capital, but the government is in The Hague? 
  • Most Dutch people speak a foreign language as well as Dutch?
  • Rotterdam is one of the largest ports in the world?
  • Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel is 6.76 meters below sea level, which is the lowest point in Holland?
  • Amsterdam has over 1200 bridges?
  • Prince Willem-Alexander, the heir to the Dutch throne, takes personal interest in water management?
  • When you arrive at Schiphol Airport, you are four meters below sea level? 
  • Holland has more than 4,400 km of navigable rivers, canals and lakes?
  • You can see how Holland waged war against the sea at Deltapark Neeltje Jans in Zeeland? 
  • The Dutch saying “Act normally, that’s crazy enough” fits the Dutch like a glove?
  • Saint Nicholas’ Eve on 5 December is the Netherlands’ number one traditional holiday?
  • There is no country in the world where more liqorice is consumed than in the Netherlands: 32 million kilos per year?
  • 3% of the Netherlands consists of National Parks?
  • In the Netherlands, anyone aged 14  or older is obliged to carry an original and valid proof of identity?
  • The Netherlands has approximately 1,5 million cows, which together produce 10 billion liters of milk?
  • On average, the Dutch eat 14.3 kg of cheese per person per year?
  • 500 million kilos of cheese are exported per year?
  • The Netherlands has 1048 windmills and 108 water mills?
  • The mills in the Netherlands represent the age-long battle against water?
  • Many of the Dutch eat raw herring with onions using only their hands?