More About Holland
More About Holland [The Netherlands]
Holland has rich cultural and historical traditions. It is a country that has given the world great artists and painters such as Rembrandt and Bosch (15th century), van Gogh (19th century) and Escher (20th century). Rembrandt was known for his deft strokes of light and shade. In the Golden Age (1580-1740), Johannes Vermeer and Frans Hals delighted art lovers with their masterly portraits. Piet Mondriaan is credited with the creation of the Cubist movement. The influence of French artists is said to be visible in the works of Dutch artists, especially those from the school of Impressionism.
Holland welcomes tourists in all seasons, though summer is mostly preferred for outdoor excursions along the canals and countryside. Spring is the most beautiful with an array of blazing flowers. Autumn, beginning with October, is pleasant and offers you exciting activities, events and sightseeing trips. It’s freezing in winter, but can be thrilling with some lusty ice skating along the plains and canal regions. If you want to get among the milling crowds, go to the capital city Amsterdam during the Easter season.
Urban delights are aplenty for the visitor in the cities and towns of Holland in general and Amsterdam in particular. A heavily populated Urban Agglomeration, called the Randstad or “ring city”, sprawls out in a circle off Amsterdam and other major cities/towns that include the Hague, Haarlem, Leiden, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Hoge Veluwe houses the exquisite Kröller-Müller Museum apart from an extensive national park.
If you are a lover of history, go to the antique town of Maastricht that traces its history to the Roman era, but offers an international ambience. The Hague with its museums and proximity to the beach is a must-see location and is the majestic seat of the government. Leiden livens up into a riot of colours with the bulb fields from March to May, while Keukenhof has one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.
Dutch cuisine in general and its dairy products and meat-laced sweet snacks in particular are an exotic and delicious treat for the visitor. Don’t miss patat chips, the popular Dutch fast food. Chilled and frothing beer is the staple beverage in Holland. Among the culinary options on offer apart from the Dutch cuisine are Chinese, Italian, Indonesian and Turkish.
Holland’s early history made it part of the three “Lowland Countries” that included Belgium and Luxembourg. In the 16th century, Holland’s northern region fought against the Catholic-dominated Spanish dominion and expelled them in 1648. Thus the country got independence and its boundaries were fixed. In the Golden Age, Amsterdam flourished as a European centre of trade and commerce. In 1795 the French under Napoleon invaded Holland. After the French defeat at the hands of the English, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands came into being. In 1814, King William I of Orange became Holland’s first king. In World War II, the Netherlands suffered major damages due to the invasion by the Germans. Today, Holland has recovered and emerged as a modern and advanced country that is well recognised on the global arena.
