Rotterdam (/ˈrɒtərdæm/ ROT-ər-dam, UK also /ˌrɒtərˈdæm/ ROT-ər-DAM,[8][9] Dutch: [ˌrɔtərˈdɑm] ⓘ; lit. "The Dam on the River Rotte") is the second-largest city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the "New Meuse" inland shipping channel, dug to connect to the Meuse at first and now to the Rhine.

Rotterdam's history goes back to 1270, when a dam was constructed in the Rotte. In 1340, Rotterdam was granted city rights by William IV, Count of Holland. The Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 10th-largest in the European Union and the most populous in the country.

A major logistic and economic centre, Rotterdam is Europe's largest seaport. In 2022, Rotterdam had a population of 655,468 and is home to over 180 different nationalities.[10]

Rotterdam is known for its university, riverside setting, lively cultural life, maritime heritage and modern architecture. The near-complete destruction of the city centre in the World War II Rotterdam Blitz has resulted in a varied architectural landscape, including skyscrapers designed by architects such as Rem Koolhaas, Piet Blom and Ben van Berkel.[11][12]

The Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt give waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, including the highly industrialized Ruhr. The extensive distribution system including rail, roads, and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nicknames "Gateway to Europe" and "Gateway to the World".[13][14][15]

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Rotterdam.

Early history

Map of Rotterdam by Frederick de Wit (c1690)

The settlement at the lower end of the fen stream Rotte (or Rotta, as it was then known, from rot, "muddy" and a, "water", thus "muddy water") dates from at least the year 950.[16] Around 1150, large floods in the area ended development, leading to the construction of protective dikes and dams, including Schielands Hoge Zeedijk ("Schieland's High Sea Dike") along the northern banks of the present-day Nieuwe Maas river. A dam on the Rotte was built in the 1260s and was located at the present-day Hoogstraat ("High Street").

On 7 July 1340, Count Willem IV of Holland granted city rights to Rotterdam, whose population then was only a few thousand.[17] Around the year 1350, a shipping canal (the Rotterdamse Schie) was completed, which provided Rotterdam access to the larger towns in the north, allowing it to become a local trans-shipment centre between the Netherlands, England and Germany, and to urbanize.[18]

The Delftsevaart, c. 1890–1905

Nieuwe Markt, 1915

The port of Rotterdam grew slowly but steadily into a port of importance, becoming the seat of one of the six "chambers" of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), the Dutch East India Company and one of the five "chambers" of the West-Indische Compagnie (WIC), the Dutch West India Company.

The greatest spurt of growth, both in port activity and population, followed the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872. The city and harbour started to expand on the south bank of the river. The Witte Huis or White House skyscraper,[19] inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the French Art Nouveau style, is evidence of Rotterdam's rapid growth and success. When completed, it was the tallest office building in Europe, with a height of 45 m (147.64 ft).

20th century

Rotterdam centre after the 1940 bombing of Rotterdam. The ruined St. Lawrence' Church has been restored.

Tower blocks in the Kop van Zuid neighbourhood

During World War I, the city was the world's largest spy centre because of Dutch neutrality and its strategic location between Britain, Germany and German-occupied Belgium. Many spies who were arrested and executed in Britain were led by German secret agents operating from Rotterdam. MI6 had its main European office on de Boompjes. From there the British coordinated espionage in Germany and occupied Belgium. During World War I, an average of 25,000 Belgian refugees lived in the city, as well as hundreds of German deserters and escaped Allied prisoners of war.[20]

During World War II, the German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940.[21] Adolf Hitler had hoped to conquer the country in just one day, but his forces met unexpectedly fierce resistance. The Dutch army was forced to capitulate on 15 May 1940, following the bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May and the threat of bombing other Dutch cities.[22][23][24][25] The heart of Rotterdam was almost completely destroyed by the Luftwaffe. Some 80,000 civilians were made homeless and 900 were killed; a relatively low number since many had fled the city because of the warfare and bombing going on in Rotterdam since the start of the invasion three days earlier. The City Hall survived the bombing. Ossip Zadkine later attempted to capture the event with his statue De Verwoeste Stad ('The Destroyed City'). The statue stands near the Leuvehaven, not far from the Erasmusbrug in the centre of the city, on the north shore of the river Nieuwe Maas. In 1941, 11,000 Jews still lived in Rotterdam. Before the war there were 13,000. Between 30 July 1942, and 22 April 1943, 6,790 people were deported in 8 transports via Loods 24. The vast majority of the Jews who were deported via Loods 24 were murdered in Sobibór and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Research in 2000 showed that 144 people survived the deportations. In 2013 the Jewish Children's Monument was unveiled.

In January 1948, Queen Wilhelmina presented the motto 'Sterker door strijd' (Stronger through effort) as part of the coat of arms of Rotterdam to the city government:

...as a reminder also for posterity of the courage and strength with which the people of Rotterdam bore all the trials of the war and the important part they took in the liberation of the fatherland.... —Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

Rotterdam was gradually rebuilt from the 1950s through to the 1970s. Because the city centre was largely destroyed, new spatial infrastructure could be built, making it an open and modern city. In 1953 the Lijnbaan was opened, the first car-free shopping street in Europe. The progressive design attracted a lot of international attention. The new Central Station was completed in 1957, with the Groothandelsgebouw from 1953 next to it. The Euromast was erected in 1960 on the occasion of the Floriade. From the 1980s onwards the city councils began developing an active architectural policy. The harbours were moving westwards and the old environment had to be reshaped. Daring and new styles of apartments, office buildings and recreation facilities resulted in a more 'livable' city centre with a new skyline. In the 1990s, the Kop van Zuid was built on the south bank of the river as a new business centre. Rotterdam was voted 2015 European City of the Year by the Academy of Urbanism.[12] A profile of Rem Koolhaas in The Guardian begins "If you put the last 50 years of architecture in a blender, and spat it out in building-sized chunks across the skyline, you would probably end up with something that looked a bit like Rotterdam".[26]

Geography

Topographic map image of Rotterdam (city), as of September 2014

Rotterdam is divided into a northern and a southern part by the river Nieuwe Maas, connected by (from west to east): the Beneluxtunnel; the Maastunnel; the Erasmusbrug; a subway tunnel; the Willemsspoortunnel ('Willems railway tunnel'); the Willemsbrug ('Willems Bridge') together with the Koninginnebrug ('Queen's Bridge'); and the Van Brienenoordbrug ('Van Brienenoord Bridge'). The former railway lift bridge De Hef ('the Lift') is preserved as a Rijksmonument (national heritage site) in lifted position between the Noordereiland ('North Island') and the south of Rotterdam.

View of Rotterdam from the Euromast, Rotterdam-Centrum, Rotterdam (2023) by Donald Trung Quoc Don (Chữ Hán: 徵國單)

The city centre is located on the northern bank of the Nieuwe Maas, although recent urban development has extended the centre to parts of southern Rotterdam known as Kop van Zuid ('the Head of South', i.e. the northern part of southern Rotterdam). From its inland core, Rotterdam reaches the North Sea by a swathe of predominantly harbour area.

Built mostly behind dikes, large parts of the Rotterdam are below sea level. For instance, the Prins Alexander Polder in the northeast of Rotterdam extends 6 m (20 ft) below sea level, or rather below Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP) or 'Amsterdam Ordnance Datum'. The lowest point in the Netherlands (6.76 m (22.2 ft) below NAP) is situated just to the east of Rotterdam, in the municipality of Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel.

Satellite image of Rotterdam and its port

The Rotte river no longer joins the Nieuwe Maas directly. Since the early 1980s, when the construction of Rotterdam's second underground line interfered with the Rotte's course, its waters have been pumped through a pipe into the Nieuwe Maas via the Boerengat.

The 24 municipalities of the Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area

Between the summers of 2003 and 2008, an artificial beach was created at the Boompjeskade along the Nieuwe Maas, between the Erasmus Bridge and the Willems Bridge. Swimming was not possible, digging pits was limited to the height of the layer of sand, about 50 cm (20 in). Alternatively, people go to the beach of Hook of Holland (which is a Rotterdam district) or one of the beaches in Zeeland: Renesse or the Zuid Hollandse Eilanden: Ouddorp, Oostvoorne.

Rotterdam forms the centre of the Rijnmond conurbation, bordering the conurbation surrounding The Hague to the north-west. The two conurbations are close enough to be a single conurbation. They share the Rotterdam The Hague Airport and a light rail system called RandstadRail. Consideration is being given to creating an official Metropolitan region Rotterdam The Hague (Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag), which would have a combined population approaching 2.5 million.

On its turn, the Rijnmond conurbation is part of the southern wing (the Zuidvleugel) of the Randstad, which is one of the most important economic and densely populated areas in the north-west of Europe. Having a population of 7.1 million, the Randstad is the sixth-largest urban area in Europe (after Moscow, London, Paris, Istanbul, and the Rhein-Ruhr Area). The Zuidvleugel, situated in the province of South Holland, has a population of around 3 million.

Climate

Rotterdam experiences a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to all of the coastal areas in the Netherlands. Located near to the coast, its climate is slightly milder than locations further inland. Winters are cool with frequent cold days, while the summers are mild to warm, with occasional hot temperatures. Temperature rises above 30 °C on average 4 days each summer, while (night) temperatures can drop below -5 °C during winter for short periods of time, mostly during periods of sustained easterly (continental) winds. Precipitation is generally moderate throughout the year, although spring and summer (particularly before August) are relatively drier and sunnier, while autumn and winter are cloudier with more frequent rain (or snow). The following climate data is from the airport, which is slightly cooler than the city, being surrounded by water canals which make the climate milder and with a higher relative humidity. The city has an urban heat island, especially inside the city centre.[27]

Climate data for Rotterdam (1991–2020 normals)

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Record high °C (°F) 14.2

(57.6) 18.7

(65.7) 23.8

(74.8) 28.7

(83.7) 32.7

(90.9) 33.8

(92.8) 38.9

(102.0) 34.9

(94.8) 32.5

(90.5) 26.0

(78.8) 19.3

(66.7) 15.6

(60.1) 38.9

(102.0)

Mean maximum °C (°F) 11.9

(53.4) 12.7

(54.9) 16.9

(62.4) 22.4

(72.3) 26.2

(79.2) 29.2

(84.6) 30.7

(87.3) 30.1

(86.2) 25.4

(77.7) 20.9

(69.6) 15.6

(60.1) 12.5

(54.5) 32.6

(90.7)

Average high °C (°F) 6.4

(43.5) 7.1

(44.8) 10.3

(50.5) 14.3

(57.7) 17.9

(64.2) 20.6

(69.1) 22.7

(72.9) 22.6

(72.7) 19.3

(66.7) 14.9

(58.8) 10.2

(50.4) 7.0

(44.6) 14.4

(57.9)

Daily mean °C (°F) 4.0

(39.2) 4.4

(39.9) 6.7

(44.1) 9.7

(49.5) 13.2

(55.8) 16.0

(60.8) 18.2

(64.8) 18.0

(64.4) 14.8

(58.6) 10.9

(51.6) 7.0

(44.6) 4.1

(39.4) 10.7

(51.3)

Average low °C (°F) 1.3

(34.3) 1.1

(34.0) 2.4

(36.3) 4.8

(40.6) 8.1

(46.6) 11.0

(51.8) 13.2

(55.8) 12.9

(55.2) 10.5

(50.9) 7.2

(45.0) 3.9

(39.0) 1.4

(34.5) 6.7

(44.1)

Mean minimum °C (°F) −6.5

(20.3) −5.8

(21.6) −3.6

(25.5) −1.7

(28.9) 1.7

(35.1) 5.5

(41.9) 8.6

(47.5) 8.4

(47.1) 5.4

(41.7) 1.0

(33.8) −2.3

(27.9) −5.4

(22.3) −9.0

(15.8)

Record low °C (°F) −17.1

(1.2) −16.5

(2.3) −13.4

(7.9) −6.0

(21.2) −1.4

(29.5) 0.5

(32.9) 3.6

(38.5) 4.6

(40.3) 0.4

(32.7) −5.1

(22.8) −9.0

(15.8) −13.3

(8.1) −17.1

(1.2)

Average precipitation mm (inches) 71

(2.8) 66

(2.6) 57

(2.2) 42

(1.7) 56

(2.2) 69

(2.7) 79

(3.1) 92

(3.6) 90

(3.5) 87

(3.4) 88

(3.5) 86

(3.4) 882

(34.7)

Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 12 10 12 9 9 10 10 10 12 12 13 13 131

Average snowy days 6 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 22

Average relative humidity (%) 88 85 83 78 77 79 79 80 84 86 89 89 83

Mean monthly sunshine hours 69.6 89.9 143.4 192.9 226.2 216.0 221.2 202.5 152.9 115.1 66.8 55.5 1,752

Source 1: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (1991–2020 normals, snowy days normals for 1971–2000)[28]

Source 2: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (1971–2000 extremes)[29] Infoclimat [30]

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a.

1398 2,500 —    

1477 5,738 +1.06%

1494 4,374 −1.58%

1514 5,116 +0.79%

1622 19,532 +1.25%

1632 29,500 +4.21%

1665 40,000 +0.93%

1732 56,000 +0.50%

1795 53,212 −0.08%

1830 72,300 +0.88%

1849 90,100 +1.17%

1879 148,100 +1.67%

Year Pop. ±% p.a.

1899 318,500 +3.90%

1925 547,900 +2.11%

1965 731,000 +0.72%

1984 555,000 −1.44%

2005 596,407 +0.34%

2006 588,576 −1.31%

2007 584,046 −0.77%

2010 603,425 +1.09%

2011 612,502 +1.50%

2012 617,347 +0.79%

2014 624,799 +0.60%

2020 651,446 +0.70%

Source: Lourens & Lucassen 1997, pp. 116–117 (1398–1795)

Rotterdam population pyramid in 2022

Population by country of birth of parents of residents in 2018. Residents with a mixed background are counted in the non-Dutch groupings.[31]

Country/Territory Population

Netherlands Netherlands 313,861 (46.1%)

Suriname Suriname 52,620 (8.2%)

Turkey Turkey 47,712 (7.5%)

Morocco Morocco 44,164 (6.9%)

Netherlands Dutch Caribbean 24,836 (3.9%)

Cape Verde Cape Verde 15,411 (2.4%)

Indonesia Indonesia 11,952 (1.9%)

Poland Poland 9,714 (1.5%)

Germany Germany 9,565 (1.5%)

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ex-Yugoslavia 9,369 (1.5%)

China Mainland China 7,218 (1.1%)

Other 92,290 (14.5%)

Rotterdam is diverse, with the demographics differing by neighbourhood. The city centre has a disproportionately high number of single people when compared to other cities, with 70% of the population between the ages of 20 and 40 identifying as single.[32] Those with higher education and higher income live disproportionately in the city centre, as do foreign-born citizens.

Composition

See also: Districts and neighbourhoods of Rotterdam

The municipality of Rotterdam is part of the Rotterdam-The Hague Metropolitan Area which, as of 2015, covers an area of 1,130 km2, of which 990 km km2 is land, and has a population of approximately 2,563,197. As of 2019, the municipality itself occupies an area of 325.79 km2, 208.80 km2 of which is land, and is home to 638,751 inhabitants.[33] Its population peaked at 731,564 in 1965, but the dual processes of suburbanization and counterurbanization saw this number steadily decline over the next 2 decades, reaching 560,000 by 1985.[34][35] Although Rotterdam has experienced population growth since then, it has done so at a slower pace than comparable cities in the Netherlands, like Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.[35]

Rotterdam consists of 14 submunicipalities: Centrum, Charlois (including Heijplaat), Delfshaven, Feijenoord, Hillegersberg-Schiebroek, Hook of Holland, Hoogvliet, IJsselmonde, Kralingen-Crooswijk, Noord, Overschie, Pernis, and Prins Alexander (the most populous submunicipality with around 85,000 inhabitants). One other area, Rozenburg, does have an official submunicipality status since 18 March 2010. Since the status of a submunicipality was lifted on 19 March 2014, it became an integral part of the municipality of Rotterdam .

The size of the municipality of Rotterdam is the result of the amalgamation of the following former municipalities,[36] some of which were a submunicipality prior to 19 March 2014:

Delfshaven (added on 30 January 1886)

Charlois (added on 28 February 1895)

Kralingen (added on 28 February 1895)

Hoogvliet (added on 1 May 1934)

Pernis (added on 1 May 1934)

Hillegersberg (added on 1 August 1941)

IJsselmonde (added on 1 August 1941)

Overschie (added on 1 August 1941)

Schiebroek (added on 1 August 1941)

Rozenburg (added on 18 March 2010)

Origin background makeup

In the Netherlands, Rotterdam has the highest percentage of residents with a recent migration background from non-industrialised nations. They form a large part of Rotterdam's multi-ethnic and multicultural diversity. 52.9% of the population have at least one parent born outside the country. There are 80,000 Muslims, constituting 13% of the population in 2010.[37] The mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, is of Moroccan descent and is a practicing Muslim. The city is home to the largest Dutch Antillean community. The city also has its own China Town at the West-Kruiskade, close to Rotterdam Centraal.

Origin

Background groups 1996[38] 2000[38] 2005[38] 2010[38] 2015[38] 2020[38]

Numbers % Numbers % Numbers % Numbers % Numbers % Numbers %

Both parents born in NL 381 926 64.4% 355 631 60% 327 730 55% 310 190 52.3% 316 085 50.7% 310,526 47.69%

Western migration background 55 722 9.4% 56 399 9.5% 59 267 9.9% 63 833 10.8% 74 438 11.9% 87,132 13.38%

Non-Western migration background 155 097 26.2% 180 643 30.5% 209 410 35.1% 219 026 36.9% 233 129 37.4% 253,499 38.93%

Suriname 52,691 8.09%

Turkey 47,933 7.36%

Morocco 45,601 7%

Netherlands Antilles and Aruba 26,390 4.05%

Indonesia 11,677 1.79%

Total 592 745 100% 592 673 100% 596 407 100% 593 049 100% 623 652 100% 651,157 100%

Religion

Religions in Rotterdam (2013)[39]

  Irreligion (46.7%)

  Catholic Church (18.7%)

  Islam (13.1%)

  Protestant Church in the Netherlands (10.5%)

  Other Christian denominations (7.1%)

  Hinduism (3.3%)

  Buddhism (0.5%)

  Judaism (0.1%)

Christianity is the largest religion in Rotterdam, with 36.3% of the population identifying. The second and third largest religions are Islam (13.1%) and Hinduism (3.3%), while about half of the population has no religious affiliation.

Since 1795 Rotterdam has hosted the chief congregation of the liberal Protestant brotherhood of Remonstrants. From 1955 it has been the seat of the Catholic bishop of Rotterdam when the Rotterdam diocese was split from the Haarlem diocese. Since 2010 the city is home to the largest mosque in the Netherlands, the Essalam mosque (capacity 1,500).

Politics

The municipal council consists of 45 members, the largest party is Livable Rotterdam. The municipal executive consists of mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb and nine elderman, belonging to four parties.

Further information: Government of Rotterdam

Economy

Gebouw Delftse Poort, one of the tallest office buildings in the Netherlands

Rotterdam has always been one of the main centres of the shipping industry in the Netherlands. From the Rotterdam Chamber of the VOC, the world's first multinational, established in 1602, to the merchant shipping leader Royal Nedlloyd established in 1970, with its corporate headquarters located in the landmark building the 'Willemswerf' in 1988.[40] In 1997, Nedlloyd merged with the British shipping industry leader P&O forming the third largest merchant shipping company in the world. The Anglo-Dutch P&O Nedlloyd was bought by the Danish giant corporation 'AP Moller Maersk' in 2005 and its Dutch operations are still headquartered in the 'Willemswerf'. Nowadays, well-known companies with headquarters in Rotterdam are consumer goods company Unilever (since 2020 London), asset management firm Robeco, energy company Eneco, dredging company Van Oord, oil company Royal Dutch Shell (since 2021 London), terminal operator Vopak, commodity trading company Vitol and architecture firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

It is also home to the regional headquarters of chemical company LyondellBasell, commodities trading company Glencore, pharmaceutical company Pfizer, logistics companies Stolt-Nielsen, electrical equipment company ABB and consumer goods company Procter & Gamble. Furthermore, Rotterdam has the Dutch headquarters of Allianz, Maersk, Petrobras, Samskip, Louis Dreyfus Group, Aon and MP Objects. The City of Rotterdam makes use of the services of semi-government companies Roteb (to take care of sanitation, waste management and assorted services) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority (to maintain the Port of Rotterdam). Both these companies were once municipal bodies; now they are autonomous entities, owned by the city.

Unmanned vehicles handle containers at Europe Container Terminals (ECT), the largest container terminal operator in Europe.

The Waalhaven

Being the largest port and one of the largest cities of the country, Rotterdam attracts many people seeking jobs, especially in the cheap labour segment. The city's unemployment rate is 12%, almost twice the national average.[41] Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, with the rivers Maas and Rhine providing excellent access to the hinterland upstream reaching to Basel, Switzerland and into France. In 2004 Shanghai took over as the world's busiest container port. In 2006, Rotterdam was the world's seventh largest container port in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) handled.[42] The port's main activities are petrochemical industries and general cargo handling and transshipment. The harbour functions as an important transit point for bulk materials between the European continent and overseas. From Rotterdam, goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. In 2007, the Betuweroute, a new fast freight railway from Rotterdam to Germany, was completed.

Well-known streets in Rotterdam are the Lijnbaan (the first set of pedestrian streets of the country, opened in 1953), the Hoogstraat, the Coolsingel with the city hall, which was renovated between 2018 and 2021 giving cyclists and pedestrians more space, car traffic was reduced from 4 lanes (2 in each direction) to 2 lanes (1 in each direction). Another mainstreet is the Weena, which runs from the Central Station to the Hofplein (square). A modern shopping venue is the Beurstraverse ("Stock Exchange Traverse"), better known by its informal name 'Koopgoot' ('Buying/Shopping Gutter', after its subterranean position), which crosses the Coolsingel below street level). The Kruiskade is a more upscale shopping street, with retailers like Michael Kors, 7 For All Mankind, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger and the Dutch well-known men's clothier Oger. Another upscale shopping venue is a flagship store of department store De Bijenkorf. Located a little more to the east is the Markthal, with lots of small retailers inside. This hall is also one of Rotterdam's famous architectural landmarks. The main shopping venue in the south of Rotterdam is Zuidplein, which lies close to Rotterdam Ahoy, an accommodation centre for shows, exhibitions, sporting events, concerts and congresses. Another prominent shopping centre called Alexandrium lies in the east of Rotterdam. It includes a large kitchen and furniture centre.

Education

Bronze statue of Erasmus, created by Hendrick de Keyser in 1622

Rotterdam has one major university, the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), named after one of the city's famous former inhabitants, Desiderius Erasmus. The Woudestein campus houses (among others) Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. In Financial Times' 2005 rankings it placed 29th globally and 7th in Europe. In the 2009 rankings of Masters of Management, the school reached first place with the CEMS Master in Management and the tenth place with its RSM Master in Management.[43] The university is also home to Europe's largest student association, STAR Study Association Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the world's largest student association, AIESEC, has its international office in the city.

The Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam's main art school, which is part of the Hogeschool Rotterdam. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious art schools in the Netherlands and the number 1 in Advertising and Copywriting. Part of the Willem de Kooning Academy is the Piet Zwart Institute for postgraduate studies and research in Fine Art, Media Design and Retail Design. The Piet Zwart Institute boasts a selective roster of emerging international artists.

The Hoboken campus of EUR houses the Dijkzigt (general) hospital, the Sophia Hospital (for children), Daniel den Hoed clinic (cancer institute) and the medical department of the university. They are known collectively as the Erasmus Medical Center. This center is ranked third in Europe by CSIC[44] as a hospital, and is also ranked within top 50 universities of the world in the field of medicine (clinical, pre-clinical & health, 2017).[45]

Three Hogescholen (Universities of applied sciences) exist in Rotterdam. These schools award their students a professional Bachelor's degree and postgraduate or Master's degree. The three Hogescholen are Hogeschool Rotterdam, Hogeschool Inholland and Codarts University for the Arts (Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten), a vocational university that teaches music, dance and circus.

Unique to the city is the Shipping & Transport College which offers masters, bachelors and vocational diplomas on all levels.

Culture

Rotterdam waterfront, with spotlights shining into the air to commemorate the Rotterdam Blitz

Alongside Porto, Rotterdam was European Capital of Culture in 2001. The city has its own orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, with its well-regarded young music director Lahav Shani which plays at a large congress and concert building called De Doelen.[citation needed] There are several theatres and cinemas, including Cinerama.[46] The Ahoy complex in the south of the city is used for pop concerts, exhibitions, tennis tournaments and other activities. A major zoo called Diergaarde Blijdorp is situated on the northwest side of Rotterdam, complete with a walkthrough sea aquarium called the Oceanium.

Rotterdam features some urban architecture projects, nightlife, and many summer festivals celebrating the city's multicultural population and identity, such as the Caribbean-inspired "Summer Carnival", the Dance Parade, Rotterdam 666, the Metropolis pop festival and the World Port Days. In the years 2005–2011 the city struggled with venues for pop music.[citation needed] Many of the venues suffered severe financial problems. This resulted in the disappearance of the major music venues Nighttown and WATT and smaller stages such as Waterfront, Exit, and Heidegger. The city has a few venues for pop music like Rotown, Poortgebouw and Annabel. The venue WORM focuses on experimental music and related subcultural music.

There are also the International Film Festival in January, the Poetry International Festival in June, the North Sea Jazz Festival in July, the Valery Gergiev Festival in September, September in Rotterdam and the World of the Witte de With. In June 1970, The Kralingen Music Festival (which featured Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Canned Heat, It's a Beautiful Day, and Santana) was held and filmed in Rotterdam.

There is a healthy competition with Amsterdam, which is often viewed as the cultural capital of the Netherlands. This rivalry is most common amongst the city's football supporters, Feyenoord (Rotterdam) and Ajax (Amsterdam). There is a saying: "Amsterdam to party, Den Haag (The Hague) to live, Rotterdam to work". Another one, more popular by Rotterdammers, is "Money is earned in Rotterdam, distributed in The Hague and spent in Amsterdam".[47] Another saying that reflects both the rivalry between Rotterdam and Amsterdam is "Amsterdam has it, Rotterdam doesn't need it". Bright magazine editor Erwin van der Zande notes that this phrase is on T-shirts in Rotterdam.[48]

In terms of alternative culture, Rotterdam had from the 1960s until the 2000s a thriving squatters movement which as well as housing thousands of people, occupied venues, social centres and so on.[49] From this movement came clubs like Boogjes, Eksit, Nighttown, Vlerk and Waterfront. The Poortgebouw was squatted in the 1980s and quickly legalised.

Rotterdam is also the home of Gabber, a type of hardcore electronic music popular in the mid-1990s, with hard beats and samples. Groups like Neophyte and Rotterdam Terror Corps (RTC) started in Rotterdam, playing at clubs like Parkzicht.

City decor for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

On 30 August 2019, it was announced by the European Broadcasting Union and Dutch television broadcasters AVROTROS, NOS and NPO, that Rotterdam would host the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, following the Dutch victory at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel with the song "Arcade", performed by Duncan Laurence.[50] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the 2020 contest was cancelled, and Rotterdam was later retained as host of the 2021 contest.[51][52] The contest took place at Rotterdam Ahoy, with the semi-finals taking place on 18 and 20 May 2021, and the final taking place on 22 May 2021.[53] This was the first time that Rotterdam hosted the contest, and the first time that the Netherlands hosted the contest since 1980, when it was held in The Hague.

Museums, libraries and archives

Rotterdam has many museums. Well known museums are the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Het Nieuwe Instituut, the Wereldmuseum, the Kunsthal, Kunstinstituut Melly[54] and the Maritime Museum Rotterdam.[55] The Historical Museum Rotterdam has changed into Museum Rotterdam which aims to exhibit Rotterdam as a contemporary transnational city, and not a past city.[56] Other museums include the tax & customs museum, the Netherlands Marine Corps Museum and the natural history museum.

The Municipal Library of Rotterdam was founded in 1604.

Green parts of Rotterdam

Windmill Kralingse Bos

Arboretum Trompenburg

A number of well-known parks in Rotterdam are:

Arboretum Trompenburg in Kralingen. The park dates back to 1820, but it was only after it was opened to the public in 1958 that the park, which was managed by the (Van Hoey) Smith family for generations, gained wider attention. The park, approximately 20 acres in size, contains approximately 4,000 different types of trees, shrubs and perennials, amongst others the national plant collections of conifers, Quercus, Fagus, Rhododendron, Ligustrum, Rodgersia and Hosta.

The Park (70 acres) on the Maas south of the Westzeedijk at the Euromast. The eastern half was constructed between 1852 and 1863 to a design by the firm Jan David Zocher. The western part was added in 1866 with some modifications. The first Floriade in 1960 was held in Het Park with the Euromast observation tower being erected to mark the event. National Heritage site since 2011.

Park Schoonoord (3 acres) is located in the Scheepvaartkwartier and was designed in its current form in 1860 by Jan David Zocher.

The Kralingse Bos (500 acres) with the Kralingse Plas (250 acres) is located in the Kralingen district and has been based on a design by Marinus Jan Granpré Molière since 1928. In 1953 the Kralingse Bos is finally officially opened.

The Vroesenpark in the district Rotterdam-Noord was laid out from 1929 to a plan by city architect W.G. Witteveen.

The Zuiderpark (780 acres) is located in the district of Charlois. The park was laid out as a utility park from 1952 and not as an ornamental park.

Park Rozenburg

Park Rozenburg is a 7.41 acres (3.00 ha) city park in the Rotterdam neighbourhood Kralingen. The park is a protected municipality monument (Dutch: Gemeentelijk monument).[57][58]

Since 28 May 1994, Rotterdam has had the phenomenon Opzoomeren. 15% of Rotterdam residents (about 100,000 residents) say they participate in this phenomenon.[59] At the end of 2020, the city has a record number of 2,503 Opzoomer streets,[60] which is mainly reflected in the construction of facade gardens.

Dakpark Rotterdam

The municipality of Rotterdam is encouraging the construction of green roofs. There is an attractive subsidy for roof owners and the city has now provided a number of municipal buildings with a green roof. As of 1 January 2020, the water storage capacity requirement has been increased to 30 liters of water storage capacity per square metre. This reduces the burden on the sewer system during heavy rainfall and reduces the risk of flooding on the street.[61]

The city's largest green roof is located on top of the Groothandelsgebouw next to Central Station.

The Dakakker is the largest roof farm in Europe on top of the Schieblok.

The Dakpark is an elongated, narrow park in the district Bospolder-Tussendijken in Rotterdam-West. It has been built at a height of about nine meters, is about 85 meters wide and extends for about a kilometer from Hudson Square to near Marconi Square.[62]

The municipality of Rotterdam will provide the flat roof of the conference and concert building De Doelen with greenery and water storage. The design for the roof was made by Kraijvanger Architects.[63]

Architecture

See also: List of tallest buildings in Rotterdam

The Wilhelmina pier at the Kop van Zuid in the distance. A part of Rotterdam with many skyscrapers and high-rises. On the left the Erasmus Bridge can be seen.

Rotterdam has become world famous because of its modern and groundbreaking architecture. Throughout the years the city has been nicknamed Manhattan at the Meuse[64][65][66][67][68][69] and The architectural capital of the Netherlands[70][71][72] both for its skyline and because it is home to internationally leading architectural firms involved in the design of famous buildings and bridges in other big cities. Examples include OMA (Rem Koolhaas), MVRDV, Neutelings & Riedijk and Erick van Egeraat.[73][74] It has the reputation in being a platform for architectural development and education through the NAi (Netherlands Architecture Institute), which is open to the public and has a variety of exhibitions on architecture and urban planning issues and prior the Berlage Institute, a postgraduate laboratory of architecture. The city has 38 skyscrapers and 352 high-rises and has many skyscrapers planned or under construction.[75][76] The top 5 of highest buildings in the Netherlands consists entirely of buildings in Rotterdam.[77] It is home to the tallest building in the Netherlands, the Maastoren with a height of 165 meters. In 2021, the Zalmhaven Tower is completed with a height of 215 meters, and is now the new tallest building in the Netherlands.

History

In 1898, the 45 m (148 ft) high-rise office building the White House (in Dutch Witte Huis) was completed, at that time the tallest office building in Europe. In the first decades of the 20th century, some influential architecture in the modern style was built in Rotterdam. Notable are the Van Nelle fabriek (1929) a monument of modern factory design by Brinkman en Van der Vlugt, the Jugendstil clubhouse of the Royal Maas Yacht Club designed by Hooijkaas jr. en Brinkman (1909), and Feyenoord's football stadium De Kuip (1936) also by Brinkman en Van der Vlugt. The architect J. J. P. Oud was a famous Rotterdammer in those days. The Van Nelle Factory obtained the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. During the early stages of World War II the centre of Rotterdam was bombed by the German Luftwaffe, destroying many of the older buildings in the centre of the city. After an initial crisis re-construction, the centre of Rotterdam has become the site of the ambitious new architecture.

The Cube Houses, popularly known as the Blaak-forest in 2014

The Markthal at night as seen from the Binnenrotte, Rotterdam center

The Euromast in 2005

Rotterdam is also famous for its Lijnbaan 1952 by architects Broek en Bakema, Peperklip by architect Carel Weeber, Kubuswoningen or cube houses designed by architect Piet Blom 1984.

The newest landmark in Rotterdam is the Markthal, designed by architect firm MVRDV. In addition to that, there are many international well-known architects based in Rotterdam like O.M.A (Rem Koolhaas), Neutelings & Riedijk and Erick van Egeraat to name a few. Two architectural landmarks are located in the Lloydkwartier: the STC college building and the Schiecentrale 4b. The construction of the Depot of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen was started in 2003 and was officially opened by king Willem-Alexander on 5 November 2021. It is the world's first fully accessible art depot.[78]

Rotterdam also houses several of the tallest structures in the Netherlands.

The Erasmusbrug (1996) is a 790-meter (2,600 ft) cable-stayed bridge linking the north and south of Rotterdam. It is held up by a 138 m (453 ft) tall pylon with a characteristic bend, earning the bridge its nickname 'De Zwaan' ('the Swan').

Rotterdam has the tallest residential building in the Netherlands: the De Zalmhaven Tower (215 m (705.4 ft)).

Rotterdam is also home to the tallest office building 'Maastoren' (164.75 m or 540.5 ft) which houses Deloitte. This office tower surpassed the 'Delftse Poort' (160 m or 520 ft) which houses Nationale-Nederlanden insurance company, part of ING Group as tallest office tower in 2009.[79][80]

The skyline of Rotterdam also houses the 185 m (607 ft) tall Euromast, which is a major tourist attraction. It was built in 1960, initially reaching a height of 101 m (331 ft); in 1970, the Euromast was extended by 85 m (279 ft).

Rotterdam has a reputation for being a platform for architectural development and education through the Berlage Institute, a postgraduate laboratory of architecture, and the NAi (Netherlands Architecture Institute), which is open to the public and has a variety of exhibitions on architecture and urban planning issues.

Over 30 new highrise projects are being developed. A Guardian journalist wrote in 2013 that "All this is the consequence of the city suffering a bombardment of two things: bombs and architects."[26]