The Netherlands is both a very densely populated and a highly developed country in which transport is a key factor of the economy. Correspondingly it has a very dense and modern infrastructure, facilitating transport with road, rail, air and water networks. In its Global Competitiveness Report for 2014-2015, the World Economic Forum ranked the Dutch transport infrastructure fourth in the world.
Rotterdam is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the "New Meuse" inland shipping channel, dug to connect to the Meuse first, but now to the Rhine instead.
South Holland is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about 1,373/km2 (3,560/sq mi), making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. Situated on the North Sea in the west of the Netherlands, South Holland covers an area of 3,307 km2 (1,277 sq mi), of which 607 km2 (234 sq mi) is water. It borders North Holland to the north, Utrecht and Gelderland to the east, and North Brabant and Zeeland to the south. The provincial capital is the Dutch seat of government The Hague, while its largest city is Rotterdam. The Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta drains through South Holland into the North Sea. Europe's busiest seaport, the Port of Rotterdam, is located in South Holland.
Zoetermeer is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 37.05 km2 (14.31 sq mi) of which 2.60 km2 (1.00 sq mi) is water. A small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950. By 2013 this had grown to 123,328, making it the third largest population centre in the province of South Holland, after Rotterdam and The Hague. While now a city in its own right, Zoetermeer started out as a suburb of The Hague and is still a part of the Greater The Hague urban area; it is about 12 km east of The Hague, 15 km north of Rotterdam and 12 km south of Leiden.
Battersea Bridge is a five-span arch bridge with cast-iron girders and granite piers crossing the River Thames in London, England. It is situated on a sharp bend in the river, and links Battersea south of the river with Chelsea to the north. The bridge replaced a ferry service that had operated near the site since at least the middle of the 16th century.
The Betuweroute is a double track freight railway between Rotterdam and Germany. Betuweroute is the official name, after the Betuwe area through which the route passes. The line is popularly called Betuwelijn, after an older track in the same region. The line extends into Germany as the Oberhausen–Arnhem railway, and it is part of Project No. 5 of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
The Alamillo Bridge is a structure in Seville, Andalucia (Spain), which spans the Canal de Alfonso XIII, allowing access to La Cartuja, a peninsula located between the canal and the Guadalquivir River. The bridge was constructed as part of infrastructure improvements for Expo 92, which was held on large banana farms on the island. Construction of the bridge began in 1989 and was completed in 1992 from a design by Santiago Calatrava.
The Netherlands entered World War II on May 10, 1940, when invading German forces quickly overran the country. On December 7, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Netherlands government in exile also declared war on Japan. Operation Market Garden, which started in 1944, liberated the southern and eastern parts of the country, but full liberation did not come until the surrender of Germany on May 5, 1945.
The Erasmusbrug is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge, construction began in 1986 and was completed in 1996. It crosses the Nieuwe Maas in the centre of Rotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of this city, second largest in the Netherlands. The bridge was named in 1992 after Desiderius Erasmus, a prominent Christian Renaissance humanist also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam. The Erasmus Bridge is Rotterdam's most important landmark and is even part of the city's official logo.
Monaco aan de Maas is a Formula One demonstration and a parade of international racecars and racing drivers, held on the streets of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 2006 the event was renamed to Bavaria City Racing, also sometimes referred to as Bavaria City Racing Festival.
The A4 motorway, also called Rijksweg 4, is a motorway in the Netherlands running from Amsterdam southwards to the Belgian border near Zandvliet, north of the city of Antwerp. The A4 is divided into two sections; the first and longer section runs from Amsterdam to the A15 near the city of Rotterdam, while the second section starts near Heijningen, where the A29 and the A4 meet, going to the Belgian border.
The Van Brienenoord Bridge is a large twin tied-arch motorway bridge in the Netherlands. Located at the east side of Rotterdam, it crosses the New Meuse , a major distributary of the river Rhine. The bridge actually consists of two separate, parallel, and (visually) almost identical arch-bridges, as well as a set of three parallel bascule bridges on the north end.
The bridge carries 12 lanes of traffic of the A16 motorway, the busiest highway in the Netherlands. Additionally, on the outside of the east arch, a two-way segregated cycling bridge has been mounted.
Including lead-up ramps, the Van Brienenoord Bridge is 1320 metres long and vessels with up to 24 metres air draft can pass under the closed bridge. With a span of 300 m, the west arch is the longest span road bridge in the Netherlands.
The Battle of Rotterdam was a Second World War battle fought during the Battle of the Netherlands. Fought between 10 and 14 May 1940, it was a German attempt to seize the Dutch city. It ended in a German victory, following the Rotterdam Blitz.
Samuel Beckett Bridge is a cable-stayed swingbridge in Dublin, Ireland that joins Sir John Rogerson's Quay on the south side of the River Liffey to Guild Street and North Wall Quay in the Docklands area.
The Nieuwe Maas is a distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch province of South Holland. 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, near Vlaardingen, to form Het Scheur. After a few miles, the Scheur continues as the artificial Nieuwe Waterweg. The total length of the Nieuwe Maas is approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi).
Noordereiland is a neighborhood of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Noordereiland owes its name to the Noorderhaven which, under the leadership of C.B. van der Tak was dug between 1872 and 1874. By digging the Noorderhaven, the Noordereiland was separated from the former island of Fijenoord and is now an island between the central parts of the North and South side of the city. Until the end of the 20th century the island was inhabited by a large population of inland skippers. Part of the neighborhood is a protected cityscape.
Rotterdam was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment by the Luftwaffe during the German invasion of the Netherlands during the Second World War. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch army to surrender. Bombing began at the outset of hostilities on 10 May and culminated with the destruction of the entire historic city centre on 14 May, an event sometimes referred to as the Rotterdam Blitz. According to an official list published in 2022, at least 1,150 people were killed, with 711 deaths in the 14 May bombing alone, and 85,000 more were left homeless.
The Vlaardingse Vaart Bridge is a helical truss bridge for pedestrian and bicycle traffic over the Vlaardingervaart canal in Vlaardingen, Netherlands.
Hedel Bridge is a tied-arch bridge over the Meuse dating from 1937 near Hedel, Gelderland. The bridge was built for the Oude Rijksweg, a former part of the A2 motorway that connected 's-Hertogenbosch to Utrecht.
