Amsterdam is the capital and most populated city of the Netherlands. It has a population of 921,402 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the urban area and 2,480,394 in the metropolitan area. Located in the Dutch province of North Holland, Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the "Venice of the North", for its large number of canals, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Groningen is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of the country; as of December 2021, it had 235,287 inhabitants, making it the sixth largest city/municipality in the Netherlands and the second largest outside the Randstad.
Utrecht is the fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the province of Utrecht. The municipality of Utrecht is located in the eastern part of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Netherlands, and includes Haarzuilens, Vleuten and De Meern. It has a population of 361,699 as of December 2021.
Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of January 2023, Drenthe had a population of about 502,000, and a total area of 2,680 km2 (1,030 sq mi).
Montfoort is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. Montfoort received city rights in 1329.
Purmerend is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster and the Wormer. Purmerend's population grew relatively slowly until the 1960s, when it increased from around 10,000 to over 80,000 by 2020. This expansion has turned Purmerend into a commuter town; many inhabitants work, go to school or spend leisure time in Amsterdam. Purmerend is part of the Randstad, one of the largest conurbations in Europe.
Since 1 January 2023, there have been 342 regular municipalities and three special municipalities in the Netherlands. The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean. Municipalities are the second-level administrative division, or public bodies, in the Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces. Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are informally subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative and statistical purposes.
Club Brugge Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging, known simply as Club Brugge, is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They play in the Belgian Pro League, the top domestic league in Belgian football.
Belgians are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural rather than ethnic. The majority of Belgians, however, belong to two distinct linguistic groups or communities native to the country, i.e. its historical regions: Flemings in Flanders, who speak Dutch, West Flemish and Limburgish; and Walloons in Wallonia, who speak French or Walloon. There is also a substantial Belgian diaspora, which has settled primarily in the United States, Canada, France, and the Netherlands.
Maasgouw is a municipality in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located on both banks of the river Meuse southwest of the city of Roermond. It was formed in a merger of the former municipalities of Heel, Maasbracht and Thorn on 1 January 2007.
The Netherlands and Belgium are doing a joint procurement for the replacements of the Tripartite-class/Alkmaar-class minehunters. Each of the two countries is procuring six new mine countermeasure (MCM) vessels, which makes for a total of 12 MCM ships. The new MCM ships, developed by Naval Group, will include a range of unmanned systems including unmanned surface, aerial and underwater vehicles alongside towed sonars and mine identification and neutralization remotely operated vehicles.
Oostende (M940) is the first ship in the City-class mine countermeasures vessels. She is being constructed in France for the Belgian Navy.
HNLMS IJmuiden (M842) is the sixth ship in the City / Vlissingen-class mine countermeasures vessels, and third to be built for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
HNLMS Harlingen (M843) is the eighth ship in the City/Vlissingen-class mine countermeasures vessels, and fourth to be built for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
HNLMS Delfzijl (M844) is the tenth ship in the City / Vlissingen-class mine countermeasures vessels, and fifth to be built for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
HNLMS Schiedam (M845) is the twelfth ship in the City / Vlissingen-class mine countermeasures vessels, and sixth to be built for the Royal Netherlands Navy.
Tournai (M941) is the third ship in the City-class mine countermeasures vessels, and second to be built for the Belgian Navy.
Brugge (M942) is the fifth ship in the City-class mine countermeasures vessels, and third to be built for the Belgian Navy.
Liège (M943) is the seventh ship in the City-class mine countermeasures vessels, and fourth to be built for the Belgian Navy.
Rochefort (M945) is the eleventh ship in the City-class mine countermeasures vessels, and sixth to be built for the Belgian Navy.
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