Rotterdam was built around the year 1270 when along the river Rotte a small fisherman's village was built. At the end of the 16th century about 20.000 people are living in the city and the harbourarea is expanding. Mid 19th century the Rotterdam population was about 100.000. In 1872 the Nieuw Waterweg (the New Waterway) was finished and the tradelane to Germany explosively grows. From this year on Rotterdam has a connection to the North Sea which is accessible for large seaships. In 1878 the first bridge (Willemsbrug) was built connecting Rotterdam North and South. When the 20th century starts Rotterdam population has grown to 400.000 inhabitants.
14 May 1940 is a black day in Rotterdam history. This day marks the German bombings of the city center that killed 800 people and left over 80.000 people homeless. The complete city centre was destroyed. Only the townhall and postoffice survived the attacks. The Laurenskerk (church, 15th century) was badly damaged but was rebuilt after the war (1947). On 18 May 1940 the descision was taken to rebuild the complete city center.
GO 4 more on the past present & future of Rotterdam
Rotterdam, gateway to Europe.
The port of Rotterdam covers an area of about 40 kilometers. You name it and it is shipped via our harbour. From cars to computers, from bananas to beer and from oil to textiles, it all is shipped via Rotterdam. All goods find their way to up to 500 million Europeans by road, train or ship. Over 70.000 people are employed in the port of Rotterdam.
Some port figures:
some 36.000 seagoing vessels a year call at the port of Rotterdam, as do 135.000 inland vessels;
over 400 million tons of cargo are being shipped via Rotterdam (2007);
largest vessel to call in Rotterdam is the "Berge Stahl", which is 360 metres long and 65 metres wide;
every day over 200 trucks leave Rotterdam carrying fresh fruit and vegetables;
yearly over 270.000 American, European, Japanese and Korean cars are shipped via Rotterdam.
→ tip visit the world harbour days in the first weekend of September and have a look behind the scenes. Many harbour facilities are open to visitors during this festival. www.wereldhavendagen.nl
2009 Rotterdam Skyline. Photo: Ton Smulders
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