Holland is a region in the Central-western part of the Netherlands. It is best known for its beautiful mills and nostalgic tulip gardens.

Holland was initially a county of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Count of Holland. It is part of the Seven United Provinces of Netherlands. However, Holland’s strong image projected as the image of the whole Republic and later Hollandic cultural expansion took place, making Holland as the dominant province of the entire Netherlands.

Holland Geography

Popular but incorrect etymology claims that Holland was derived from the word hol land.

Hol land which means hollow land inspired by the low-lying geography of Holland. Aside from coastal dunes, most of the surface consist of polder landscape, lying well below sea-level, and only kept from flooding by continuous drainage, for which in the earlier centuries, a typical Dutch windmills were used.

When one of the peat plateaus which protect the land from the sea was carelessly cultivated, a catastrophic storm floods destroyed and washed out the regions of Zealand and Frisia shocking the entire Holland. Since then, its government imposes death penalties to those who commit careless decisions regarding water management.

Holland’s history

In the 13th to 15th centuries, parts of Holland were conquered.

This conquest resulted in the creation of two divisions of Holland: the South Holland and the North Holland.

In 1432, it became part of the Burgundian Netherlands. In the 16th century, the region became densely urbanized and the majority of its populace lived in the city.

In the 17th century, Holland became a part of the larger Dutch Federation and became the center of the rebellion, politics, economy and culture of the United Provinces, making it the wealthiest nation in the world.

Sightseeing Holland

Since the largest cities of the Dutch republic such as Amsterdam (capital of Netherlands), Rotterdam (Europe’s largest harbor) and The Hague (the seat of the government) are located within the province of Holland, merchants from all over Europe gathered to trade in the warehouse of Amsterdam and other trading cities of Holland.

Today, Holland is popularly known for its highly intensive agriculture especially in the cultivation of tulips and other botanical gardens as its main source of income.

Holland is one of the world’s favorite tourist destinations. One of its major attractions is its gardens that exhibit different variety of plant species. People who love gardens will enjoy garden events throughout Holland at any time of the year.

Holland’s magnificent gardens include: Theme gardens, Castle Gardens, Model Gardens, Botanical Gardens and Tree Gardens. Furthermore, guests can ride horses and carriages while watching beautiful sceneries.

Amsterdam, as the most colorful cities in the world, has a lot to offer for visitors. Its castles are open to those who want to be acquainted with the life of the Royal families of Holland. Its museums and galleries exhibit the masterpieces of their artists. Holland was the home of world renowned painter, Vincent van Gogh.

See also

• Holland and the Netherlands
• Holland facts
• Top tourist attractions

After going through several hands, in the 16th century Holland came under Spanish rule. It joined the European Economic Community in 1958. In 1999 it adopted the single European currency, the euro.

Holland has extremely liberal social policies where prostitution along with same-sex marriages and euthanasia is legalized.

Holland is a region of The Netherlands with a population of 6 million people.

The Netherlands have a population of 16 million people.

Amsterdam

The city is rightly called one of the most colorful cities in the world. It is a quaint mixture of old and the new with bicycles weaving around BMWs. Yet even with tourists thronging the city the place remains quintessentially Dutch.

Hoge Veluwe

This is Holland’s largest national park spread over more than 5500 hectares and is home to Red deer, wild boar and mouflon, a kind of Mediterranean sheep.

Keukenhof Gardens

This is the world’s largest garden. The flowers, however, bloom for only two months every year. The garden has millions of tulips; daffodils and hyacinths. The garden also has greenhouses which house more delicate varieties of flowers other than the tulips.

Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum is one of the best Impressionist galleries in the world. It has about 200 paintings, mostly by Van Gogh although there are some paintings by his friends and peers such as Gauguin and Monet. The museum also has Van Gogh’s brother Theo’s Japanese prints which influenced Van Gogh.