Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is Holland’s largest city, the second largest city in the Netherlands, and Europe’s busiest port. It has a crackling energy, with superb nightlife, a multicultural community, an energetic arts scene, and a clutch of excellent museums.
History
Rotterdam began life in the 13th century, when a settlement was established around a dam on the river Rotte (hence the name). In 1340 it was granted a charter but it was not until the 16th and 17th centuries that it really began to flourish, when the Dutch East India Company linked it to a wider mercantile empire.
The city was levelled during the Second World War by German bombers, and its decline continued until the 1960s, when its geographical position made it ideal as a container port. Amsterdam, its perennial rival, could not compete because it didn’t have the same short, direct access to the North Sea.