Explore Netherlands

Location:
Netherlands

Currency:
euro (EUR)

Communications:
The telephone code for Netherlands: + 31

About:
The Netherlands, inhabited since the Ice Age, were invaded and then controlled by many factions over time, including the Romans, Germanic Franks and Spanish.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. Via the (Dutch East and West India Companies) it once ruled its own worldwide empire of trade during much of the 17th and 18th Centuries.

The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.

This classic home of Rembrandt, windmills and tulips, is in a constant battle with the sea to save its land. In that effort it uses 1,500 miles of dikes, a tidal barrage and additional innovative technologies.

Europort, just west of Rotterdam, is the world's busiest tonnage port. Additional prosperity comes from flowers, electronics, offshore oil and gas production, and a wide variety of agricultural industries.

Today there is still confusion (in some circles) about the Netherlands. Some people call the Netherlands, Holland, but it is not the same. Holland is only a small part of the Netherlands and like the U.S. Dakotas, Carolinas and Virginias, there are two Hollands to consider; "North-Holland" (Capital city is Haarlem) and "South-Holland" (Capital city is The Hague).