The province of Noord-Holland is located in the northwest of the
Netherlands. It consists largely of an elongated peninsula between the
North Sea, the Wadden Sea and the IJsselmeer. In the south it borders on
the provinces of Zuid-Holland and Utrecht, in the east on the province
of Flevoland and in the north on the Afsluitdijk on the province of
Fryslân. The capital is Haarlem. The province had 2,741,369 inhabitants
on December 31, 2013, the largest city is Amsterdam.
Holland was
the most important province of the Republic of the Seven United
Netherlands (1588-1795). In 1795 the Batavian Republic was proclaimed.
After a coup d'état in 1798, the historical provincial borders were
fundamentally changed. The republic was divided into eight departments
with as equal a population as possible. Holland was divided into
the
department of Texel
the department of the Amstel
the department of
Delf
The department of the Schelde and Maas and the department of
the Rhine were also partly on Dutch territory.
The new division
did not work, after which the Department of Holland was installed in
1801 with the old provincial borders of Holland. In 1806 the Batavian
Republic was replaced by the Kingdom of Holland. A year later, the
department of Holland was divided into the departments of Amstelland
(corresponds to Noord-Holland) and Maasland (corresponds to
Zuid-Holland). After 1810 the Kingdom of Holland became part of the
French Empire, Amstelland came to Utrecht as the département Zuyderzée -
Zuiderzee - and Maasland was renamed the département Bouches-de-la-Meuse
- estuaries of the Meuse.
After the French left the Netherlands
in 1813, the division remained unchanged. In the Basic Law of 1814, the
departments were replaced by provinces or regions. Zuiderzee and Maas
estuaries were united in the province of Holland.
The new
province received two governors in 1814, corresponding to the former
departments of Amstelland and Maasland. Vlieland and Terschelling
returned to Holland from Friesland, but the Dutch areas south of the
Meuse remained with Noord-Brabant.
In order to weaken the
dominance of Holland, it was divided into Noord- and Zuid-Holland when
the constitution was amended in 1840. In 1942 the German occupiers added
the islands of Vlieland and Terschelling to the province of Friesland.
A not insignificant part of Noord-Holland is the West Friesland
region. This is a part that originally belonged to Friesland - before
the development of the Almere into the Zuiderzee. For many centuries,
the West Frisians resisted the eventual "incorporation" into the County
of Holland. West Friesland has been bordered by the West Friese
Omringdijk (West Frisian Ring Dike) since the 13th century. The usual
naming of the province of Fryslân and the Wadden Islands as "West
Friesland" or "West Frisian Islands" in Germany does not correspond to
the historical and geographical circumstances. Incidentally, the island
of Texel, which has never belonged to either Friesland or West
Friesland, but even has Dutch city rights (1415), is counted in a group
to which it simply does not belong. The Dutch name Waddeneilanden is
much more correct.
The province of Noord-Holland is divided into six regions, which,
however, have no administrative tasks. These in turn are divided into
cooperation bodies between the different communities. In Germany, that
would correspond to the districts.
Amstelland
Amstelland
actually means the country south of Amsterdam along the Amstel River,
but here it is listed together with the city, especially since the
suburbs of the metropolis and Schiphol Airport are growing more and more
into the hinterland.
Amsterdam Schiphol Aalsmeer Amstelveen Diemen
Hoofddoorp
Connoisseur country
Located in the west of the
province on the North Sea coast, the dune-rich Geestland also includes
the provincial capital Haarlem and the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park.
Haarlem Zandvoort Bloemendaal Halfweg Heemstede IJmuiden
Waterland in the Zaanstreek
Waterland is the still swampy, water-rich
region north of Amsterdam on the edge of the Markermeer. Named after the
river Zaan, Zaanstreek is the oldest industrial region in the
Netherlands with historic windmills that processed wood, oil and paint.
Today a typical residential area with many commuters.
Zaanstad
Purmerend Volendam Marche
Gooien Vechtstreek
Het Gooi consists
of heathland, forest and meadows as well as small lakes, it is the
oldest settlement area in the Netherlands and there are many nature
reserves on the southern edge of the IJsselmeer and Gooimeer.
Vechtstreek is named after the river Vecht, which has many beautiful old
towns and flows in from Utrecht. The area is also known for its lakes
and good sailing opportunities.
Hilversum Muiden Naarden Weesp
North Holland Schereiland
The area around Alkmaar (Groot-Alkmaar)
is also partly seen as the northern continuation of Kennemerland or as
the western connection to West Friesland. It stretches along the North
Sea coast with dune landscapes. West Friesland lies in the middle area
away from the North Sea with some old towns within the ring dike. The
northern part Kop van Holland describes the area with and around Den
Helder.
Alkmaar Bergen Den Helder Hoorn Medemblik Enkhuizen Schagen
Texel
The island in the Wadden Sea, most southwesterly and
largest of the so-called (West) Frisian Islands.
Bergen aan Zee
Den Helder
Enkhuizen
Dutch is the official language in Noord-Holland. Although most Dutch
people learn German and English at school, it is important to remember
that not every Dutch person speaks German. Especially among young
people, German is not a favorite foreign language. In addition, the
Dutch feel arrogant when spoken to in German in restaurants, on the
street or in shops. You could then be quickly avoided by very
conservative Dutch people. However, most Dutch people speak English very
well. So first make yourself understood in English. It also helps to
learn small snippets or phrases of Dutch before you travel. You will be
credited.
In the Netherlands one also likes to hear Dag meaning
Daach (= good day) and Tot ziens saying tot siens (= goodbye). Other
words are Dankje wel say Dangkië wèll (= Thank you very much) and an
Alsjeblieft say alsiëblieft (= You are welcome).
The old towns of Alkmaar, Enkuizen and Hoorn
The Zaanse Schans
open-air museum
The Dutch capital Amsterdam
The island of Texel
Noord-Holland has a pronounced maritime climate that only rarely allows real extreme values. But there is often a strong wind. The province has generally moderate temperatures in summer and mostly not particularly low temperatures in winter. Characteristic is the large amount of sun in spring and early summer, especially by the sea. There and on Texel are the sunniest spots in the country.
Noord-Holland is a peninsula between the North Sea and the
IJsselmeer. More than half of the area consists of drained areas
(polders).
The island of Texel in the Wadden Sea also belongs to
the province.
Archaeological finds show that Noord-Holland (NH) was already
inhabited between 450 and 550 AD. Pots, jugs and bowls from this
period were found in the vicinity of Bloemendaal, which
archaeologists believe were imported from the Rhineland. The
excavations suggest that trade relations between Noord-Holland and
the Rhineland existed in the 5th century.
Holland was long a
personal union (Dutch personele unie) consisting of the counties of
Hainaut (Dutch Henegouwen) and Zeeland at the time of John II in
1299. During the Eighty Years' War, the province of Holland played
an important role in the resistance against the Spaniards. After the
"Unie van Utrecht" (Utrecht Union, 1579), Holland became part of the
Republic of the Seven United Provinces (Republiek der zeven
verenigde Provincien). In 1807 Holland was redivided into the areas
of Amstelland and Maasland, which remained in place until 1814.
In order to limit the province of Holland's dominance in Dutch
politics, it was divided into the provinces of North and South
Holland when the constitution was changed in 1840. Only in 1848
could the provincial deputies (Lid van de Provinciale Staten) be
elected directly by the population through a change in the law. In
1919, women's suffrage was introduced.
The Provincial Parliament (Dutch Provinciale Staten) has its seat in
the Provinciehuis in the provincial capital of Haarlem. According to the
population of the province, the parliament consists of 55 seats.
In the provincial election on March 20, 2019, the parties obtained the
following shares of the vote: FvD 15.33% (9 seats), GroenLinks 15.26% (9
seats), VVD 14.52% (9 seats), D66 9.94% ( 6 seats), PvdA 9.78% (6
seats), CDA 6.81% (4 seats), PvdD 6.07% (3 seats), PVV 5.60% (3 seats),
SP 5.01% ( 3 seats), ChristenUnie 3.13% (1 seat), 50PLUS/PvdO 2.76% (1
seat), DENK 2.40% (1 seat), others 3.40%. Voter turnout was 56.34%.
The next provincial election will take place on March 22, 2023.
At the head of the province is the king's commissioner. Since
January 2019, this has been right-wing liberal Arthur van Dijk. The
college van Gedeputeerde Staten, i.e. the government, has been formed by
a coalition of Greens, right-wing liberals, left-liberals and social
democrats since 2019.
In 2011, the regional gross domestic product per inhabitant,
expressed in purchasing power standards, was 145.99% of the EU-28
average. In 2017, the unemployment rate was 4.5%.
In 2013, the
commercial areas covered 12,007 hectares.
In 2014, 278,700 companies
were based in Noord-Holland, of which 6,010 were in agriculture and
fisheries, 33,390 in industry and construction, 168,180 in commercial
services and 71,120 in non-commercial services.
Tourism: In 2014
there were a total of 170 museums in Noord-Holland.