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1898, the 45 meter 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. During the early stages of World War II the center of Rotterdam was bombed by the Germans, destroying many of the older buildings in the center of the city. After initial crisis re-construction the center of Rotterdam has become the site of ambitious new architecture. Rotterdam is also famous for its Kubuswoningen or cube houses built by architect Piet Blom in 1984. In addition to that there are many international well known architects based in Rotterdam like O.M.A (Rem Koolhaas), MVRDV, Neutelings & Riedijk and Erick van Egeraat to name a few. Rotterdam 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 metres (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 New Orleans Tower (158.35 metres (519.5 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.[23][24][25] The city also houses the 186 metres (610 ft) tall Euromast, which has long been a major tourist attraction. It was built in 1960, initially reaching a height of 101 metres (331 ft); in 1970, the Euromast was extended by 85 metres (279 ft) to its current height. Rotterdam has a reputation in 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 good exhibitions on architecture and urban planning issues. Rotterdam is standing in the best European SkylineTop together with Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Paris, Warsaw and Moscow. Over 30 new highrise projects are being developed at the moment. Two architectural landmarks are located in the Lloydkwartier: the STC college building and the Schiecentrale 4b. Sports Rotterdam calls itself Sportstad (City of Sports). The city annually organises several world renowned sporting events. Some examples are the Rotterdam Marathon, the World Port Tournament, and the Rotterdam World Tennis Tournament. Rotterdam also organises one race of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship and the car racing event Monaco aan de Maas (Monaco at the Meuse). The city is also the home of many sports clubs and some historic and iconic athletes. Football Robin van Persie, who now plays for Manchester United, began his career with Feyenoord De Kuip is the home stadium of Feyenoord Rotterdam is the home of three professional football clubs; two first tier clubs Feyenoord and Excelsior, and one second tier club Sparta. Feyenoord, founded in 1908 and the dominant of the three professional clubs, has won fourteen national titles since the introduction of professional football in the Netherlands. It won the European Cup (current Champions league) as the first Dutch club in 1970, and won the World Cup for club teams in the same year. In 1974, they were the first Dutch club to win the UEFA Cup and in 2002, Feyenoord won the UEFA Cup again. In 2008, the year of their 100-year-anniversary, Feyenoord won the KNVB-cup. Seating 51,480, its 1931 stadium, called Stadion Feyenoord but popularly known as De Kuip ('the Tub'), is the second largest in the country, after the Amsterdam ArenA. De Kuip, located in the southeast of the city, has hosted many international football games, including the final of Euro 2000 and has been awarded a FIFA 5 star ranking. There are concrete plans to build a new stadium with a capacity of at least 80,000 seats. Sparta, founded in 1888 and situated in the northwest of Rotterdam, won the national title six times; Excelsior (founded 1902), in the northeast, has never won any. Rotterdam also has three fourth tier clubs, SC Feijenoord (Feyenoord Amateurs), PVV DOTO and TOGR. Rotterdam is and has been the home to many great football players and coaches, among whom: Bert van Marwijk Coen Moulijn Dirk Kuyt Ernst Happel Faas Wilkes Giovanni van Bronckhorst Henrik Larsson Johan Cruyff John de Wolf Jon Dahl Tomasson Leo Beenhakker Ove Kindvall Pierre van Hooijdonk Pim Doesburg Puck van Heel Rinus Israël Robin van Persie Ronald Koeman Roy Makaay Ruud Gullit Sonny Silooy Willem van Hanegem Wim Jansen Winston Bogarde Włodzimierz Smolarek Marathon Runners during the marathon in Rotterdam Rotterdam has its own annual international marathon, which offers one of the fastest courses in the world. From 1985 until 1998, the world record was set in Rotterdam, first by Carlos Lopes and later in 1988 by Belayneh Densamo. In 1998, the world record for women was set by Tegla Loroupe, in a time of 2:20.47. Loroupe won the Rotterdam Marathon three consecutive times, from 1997 to 1999. The current track record for men is held by Duncan Kibet, who ran a time of 2:04.27 in 2009. The female record was set in 2012, when Tiki Gelana finished the race in 2:18.58. Gelana went on to become the 2012 Olympic champion in London, a few months later. The marathon starts and ends on the Coolsingel in the heart of Rotterdam. It attracts a total of 900.000 visitors. Tennis Arthur Ashe at the 1975 ABN World Tennis Tournament Since 1972, Rotterdam hosts the indoor hard court ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, part of the ATP Tour. The event was first organised in 1972, when it was won by Arthur Ashe. Ashe went on to win the tournament two more times, making him the singles title record holder. Former Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek became the tournament director after his retirement in 2000. The latest edition of the tournament attracted a total of 116.354 visitors.[26] Many great tennis players participated in the tournament, among whom: Arthur Ashe Tom Okker Jimmy Connors Björn Borg John McEnroe Ivan Lendl Stefan Edberg Boris Becker Michael Stich Richard Krajicek Goran Ivanišević Yevgeny Kafelnikov Tim Henman Roger Federer Lleyton Hewitt Juan Carlos Ferrero Rafael Nadal Andy Murray Juan Martín del Potro Tour De France 2010 In November 2008 Rotterdam was chosen as the host of the Grand Départ of the 2010 Tour de France. Rotterdam won the selection over the Dutch city of Utrecht. Germany's Düsseldorf had previously also expressed interest in hosting. The Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), organizer of the Tour de France, said in a statement on its web site that it chose Rotterdam because, in addition to it being another big city, like London, to showcase the use of bikes for urban transportation, it provided a location well positioned considering the rest of the route envisioned for the 2010 event. The start in Rotterdam was the fifth in the Netherlands. The prologue was a 7 km (4.35 mi) individual time trial crossing the centre of the city. The first regular stage left the Erasmusbrug and went south, towards Brussels. Rowing Members of the student rowing club Skadi were part of the 'Holland Acht', winning a gold medal at the Olympics in 1996.[citation needed] Field Hockey In field hockey, Rotterdam has the largest hockey club in the Netherlands, HC Rotterdam, with its own stadium in the north of the city and nearly 2,400 members. The first men's and women's teams both play on the highest level in the Dutch Hoofdklasse. Baseball Rotterdam is home to the most successful European baseball team, Neptunus Rotterdam, winning the most European Cups. Boxing Bep van Klaveren Rotterdam has a long boxing tradition starting with Bep van Klaveren (1907–1992), aka 'The Dutch Windmill', Gold medal winner of the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, followed by professional boxers like Regilio Tuur and Don Diego Poeder. Swimming Rotterdam's swimming tradition started with Marie Braun aka Zus (sister) Braun, who was coached to a Gold medal at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics by her mother Ma Braun, and 3 European titles 3 years later in Paris. In her career as 14 time national champ, she broke 6 world records. Ma Braun later also coached the Rotterdam born, three-times Olympic champion Rie Mastenbroek during the Berlin Olympics in 1936. In later years Inge de Bruijn became a Rotterdam sport icon as triple Olympic Gold medal winner in 2000 and triple European Gold medal winner in 2001. Motor cycle racing Motor cycle speedway was staged in the Feyenoord Stadium after the second world war. The team which raced in a Dutch league was known as the Feyenoord Tigers. The team included Dutch riders and some English and Australian riders. Sportsmen of the year election Since 1986, the city has selected its best sportsman, woman and team at the Rotterdam Sports Awards Election, held in December. Other famous Rotterdam athletes Francisco Elson Mia Audina, a retired Indonesia born badminton player, living in Rotterdam. Francisco Elson, a Rotterdam born basketball player who played in the NBA, won the NBA finals in 2007 with the San Antonio Spurs. Nelli Cooman, a Surinam born retired athlete who held the 60 meter dash world record, and was the world and European champion in that event. Robert Doornbos, a Rotterdam born race car driver, who competed in the Formula One. Robert Eenhoorn, a Rotterdam born retired MLB short stop, who competed for the New York Yankees, the Anaheim Angels and the New York Mets. Guillaume Elmont, a Rotterdam born judoka, who became world champion in 2005 in the 73 to 81 kg (161 to 179 lb) division. Dex Elmont, a Rotterdam born judoka, who finished second in the European championships in 2009 in the 65 to 73 kg (143 to 161 lb) division. Francis Hoenselaar, a Rotterdam born female darts player, generally recognised as the best Dutch female darts player ever. Robert Lathouwers, an athlete born in a Rotterdam suburb, specialised in the 800 meters. Lathouwers gained international notoriety when he got disqualified after shoving Irish athlete David McCarthy in the 2010 European Championships. Fatima Moreira de Melo, a Rotterdam born, three-times olympic champion in field hockey. Moreira de Melo currently is a professional poker player. Piet Roozenburg, a Rotterdam born draughts player, who was the world champion from 1948 to 1956 and the 8-time Dutch champion. Betty Stöve, a Rotterdam born retired female tennis double specialist and 10-time Grand Slam winner. Ingmar Vos, a Rotterdam born decathlete, with a personal best of 8224 points. Ignisious Gaisah, a Ghanaian born long jumper with a personal best of 8.43 metres, residing in Rotterdam since 2001. Gaisah is a multiple medal winner in several international events, both as a citizen of Ghana and the Netherlands. Yearly events Rotterdam hosts several annual events unique to the city. It hosts the Zomercarnaval (Summercarnaval), the second largest Caribbean carnival in Europe, originally called the Antillean carnival. Other events include: North Sea Jazz Festival, the largest Jazz festival in Europe, Bavaria City Race, a Formula 1 race inside the city center and a 3 day long maritime extravaganza called the World Port Days celebrating the Port of Rotterdam. January: "Zesdaagse van Rotterdam" "(six-day track-cycling race) - Ahoy Rotterdam January: International Film Festival Rotterdam[27] February: Rotterdam Open ABM AMRO ATP 500 Tennis Tournament - Ahoy Rotterdam April–June Rotterdam Marathon[28] KoninginnedagFestival[29] July North Sea Jazz Festival (second weekend of July) Summer Carnival[30] August: Bavaria City Race Pleinbioscoop[31] September: The World Port Days[32] Transport This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (June 2014) Rotterdam is well connected by international, national, regional and local public transport systems, as well as by the Dutch motorway network. Motorways There are several motorways which run to/from Rotterdam. The following four are part of its 'Ring' (ring road): A20 (Ring North): Hoek van Holland – Rotterdam – Gouda A16 (Ring East): Rotterdam – Breda (- Antwerp – Paris) A15 (Ring South): Europoort – Rotterdam – Nijmegen A4 (Ring West). The following two other motorways also serve Rotterdam: A13, (Amsterdam -) The Hague – Rotterdam A29, Bergen op Zoom – Rotterdam Airport Much smaller than the international hub Schiphol Airport, Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly known as Zestienhoven) is the third largest airport in the country, behind Schiphol Airport and Eindhoven Airport. Located north of the city, it has shown a very strong growth over the past five years, mostly caused by the growth of the low-cost carrier market. For business travelers Rotterdam The Hague Airport offers advantages due to rapid handling of passengers and baggage. Environmental regulations make further growth uncertain. Train Rotterdam's new Central Station reopened in March 2014, designed to handle up to 320,000 passengers daily. Rotterdam is well connected to the Dutch railway network, and has several international connections: South direction Dordrecht, Breda, Eindhoven, Flushing (Vlissingen) (also international trains to Belgium/France) West direction Hoek van Holland North-West direction The Hague, Leiden, Amsterdam North direction (high-speed rail) Schiphol, Amsterdam North-East direction Utrecht and further A fifth alternative train system to the Hague, the Hofplein Line was converted to the light rail system Randstadrail in 2006. The city is often publicised as the terminus of the Eurasian Land Bridge. Railway stations Rotterdam Centraal – Rotterdam's main station Rotterdam Alexander – Eastern part of Rotterdam Rotterdam Blaak – Close to the centre of Rotterdam Rotterdam Lombardijen – Most Southern part of Rotterdam Rotterdam Noord – Northern part of Rotterdam Rotterdam Zuid – Northern part of the Southern part of Rotterdam Rotterdam Stadion – A station near the De Kuip stadium, open in connection with football matches and music concerts The main connections: Direct international services to Belgium and France via high speed train system: Thalys Frequent international trains to Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium Frequent services within the Netherlands: Intercity line to The Hague, Leiden, Schiphol airport and Amsterdam (north) Intercity line to Utrecht and on to Deventer or Enschede (the east), Leeuwarden (north-west) or Groningen (north-east) Intercity line to Dordrecht, Roosendaal and on to Vlissingen (south west) Intercity line to Dordrecht, Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven and Venlo (south east) Night services every hour connecting every day of the week to Delft, The Hague, Leiden, Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, and, with a detour, Utrecht. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday night services (either direct or via a detour) to Den Bosch, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Roosendaal. Several semi-fast services and local trains originate or call at Rotterdam Centraal; semi-fast services Amsterdam-Breda. Detailed information available from the site of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways)[33] In Rotterdam, public transport services are provided by these companies: NS (Dutch Railways) ; Train services RET (Rotterdam Elektrische Tram); Tram, city-bus, metro, randstadrail and ferry-services in Rotterdam and surrounding cities. Arriva Netherlands ; Province bus services. Connexxion ; Province bus services. Veolia ; Province bus services. Metro Main article: Rotterdam Metro See also: List of Rotterdam metro stations In 1968 Rotterdam was the first Dutch city to open a metro system. Currently the metro system consists of three main lines, each of which has its own variants. The system has 78.3 km (48.7 mi) of railtracks and there are 62 stations. The system is operated by 5 lines; 3 lines (A, B and C) on the east-west line, and two (D and E) on the north-south line. Map of Rotterdam Metro Line Southern / western terminus Northern / eastern terminus Line A Schiedam Centrum Binnenhof Line B Schiedam Centrum Nesselande Line C De Akkers De Terp Line D De Akkers Rotterdam Centraal Line E Slinge Den Haag Centraal Rotterdam metro Tram Main article: Trams in Rotterdam The Rotterdam tramway network offers 9 regular tram lines and 4 "special" tram lines with a total length of 93.4 km (58.0 mi). Service Tramlines in Rotterdam as of 2013: 2: (Rotterdam) Charlois – Rotterdam Lombardijen NS – (Rotterdam) Groene Tuin (Drives only at the Southern part of the city) 4: (Rotterdam) Molenlaan - Rotterdam CS - (Rotterdam) Spangen 7: (Rotterdam) Woudestein – Rotterdam CS – (Rotterdam) Willemsplein 8: (Rotterdam) Spangen – Rotterdam CS – (Rotterdam) Kleiweg 20: Rotterdam CS – Rotterdam Lombardijen NS – (Rotterdam) Thialf 21: (Schiedam) Woudhoek – Station Schiedam Centrum – Rotterdam CS – (Rotterdam) De Esch 23: (Rotterdam) Marconiplein – Rotterdam CS – (Rotterdam) Beverwaard 24: (Vlaardingen) Holy - Station Schiedam Centrum - Rotterdam CS - (Rotterdam) De Esch 25: (Rotterdam) Schiebroek – Rotterdam CS – (Barendrecht) Carnisselande A Citadis tram outside the former Rotterdam Centraal, 2008 Special tram lines: 10: Historical tram line, only runs in summer and throughout the whole city for tourist information. Using historical Rotterdam Trams from the year 1928. 18: Tramline from Rotterdam Central Station towards Park, runs only at the Dunya Festival and during the Rotterdam World Port Days. 12: CS – De Kuip (English: The Tub, Feyenoord stadium) or CS – Het Kasteel (English:The Castle, Sparta Stadium). Football- tramline, only for big fixtures at De Kuip or Het Kasteel. Snert-tram: Historical tram, only in winter as a tourist tram through Rotterdam. Passengers are provided with a cup of "snert"; Rotterdam dialect for erwtensoep (English: Pea-soup). Rolling stock is a historical Rotterdam tram from 1968. IJsjes-tram: Summer version of the snert tram, providing tourists with ijsjes rather than snert (English: ice cream). Water Taxi in Rotterdam Bus Rotterdam offers 33 city bus lines with a total length of 432.7 km (268.9 mi). RET runs buses in the city of Rotterdam and surrounding places like Spijkenisse, Barendrecht, Ridderkerk, Rhoon, Poortugaal, Schiedam, Vlaardingen, Delft and Cappele a/d. IJssel. Buslines: 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48,50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80 96, 97, 98, 126, 137, 140, 143, 144, 145, 146, 170, 171, 173, 174, 182, 183, 184, 187, 188, 204 and 290. Arriva Netherlands, Connexxion and Veolia runs busses from other cities to Rotterdam. Water bus Every half hour a water bus (Waterbus route 1) goes from Rotterdam to Dordrecht and vice versa. The trip takes an hour, inclusive stops along the way. The ferry can carry about 130 passengers and there is space for 60 bicycles. The stops are: Rotterdam Willemskade – Krimpen aan den IJssel Stormpolder – Ridderkerk De Schans – Alblasserdam Kade – Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht Veerweg – Papendrecht Westeind – Dordrecht Merwekade. International relations Rotterdam has city and port connections throughout the world. In 2008, the city had 13 sister cities, 12 partner cities, and 4 sister ports.[34] Sister cities United States Baltimore (since 1985)[34][35] Bulgaria Burgas (since 1976)[34][35] Romania Constanța (since 1976)[34][35] Germany Dresden (since 1988)[34][35] Luxembourg Esch-sur-Alzette (since 1958)[34][35] Poland Gdańsk (since 1977)[34][35] Cuba Havana (since 1983)[34][35] Germany Cologne (since 1958)[34][35] France Lille (since 1958)[34][35] Belgium Liège (since 1958)[34][35] China Shanghai (since 1979)[34][35] Russia Saint Petersburg (since 1984)[34][35] Italy Turin (since 1958)[34][35] Partner cities Belgium Antwerp (since 1940)[34] Switzerland Basel (since 1945)[34] Slovakia Bratislava (since 1991)[34] Hungary Budapest (since 1991)[34] Germany Duisburg (since 1950)[34] South Africa Durban (since 1991)[34] United Kingdom Hull (since 1936)[34] Indonesia Jakarta (since 1983)[34] Germany Nuremberg (since 1961)[34] Japan Osaka Prefecture (since 1984)[34] Norway Oslo (since 1945)[34] Czech Republic Prague (since 1991)[34] Sister ports Japan Kobe (since 1967)[34] South Korea Busan (since 1987)[34] United States Seattle (since 1969)[34] Japan Tokyo (since 1989)[34] In popular culture Rotterdam features in Edgar Allan Poe's short story ‘The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall’ (1835), as well as J.T. Sheridan Le Fanu's 'Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter' (1839). Part of Jackie Chan's 1998 film 'Who am I?' is set in Rotterdam. Ender's Shadow, part of the series Ender's Game is partially set in Rotterdam. In season 1, episode 2 of The Golden Girls ("Guess Who's Coming to the Wedding?"), Dorothy reminisces how her ex-husband, Stan, would buy her tulips after they had a fight. "Towards the end, our house looked like Easter in Rotterdam." The British band The Beautiful South recorded a song named after this region. Notable residents Main article: List of people from Rotterdam Pierre Bayle, enlightenment philosopher. Leo Beenhakker, football coach. George Blake, former British spy and KGB double agent. Giovanni van Bronckhorst, former football player of Feyenoord. Martin van Creveld, Israeli military historian and theorist. Edsger Dijkstra, Computer Scientist. Francisco Elson, NBA player for the Utah Jazz. Desiderius Erasmus, philosopher and humanist. Pim Fortuyn, politician, assassinated in 2002. Piet Heyn, naval fleet officer. Leo Fuld, singer. Willem de Kooning, painter. Rem Koolhaas, internationally renowned architect. Christiaan Lindemans, double agent. Suzanna Lubrano, artist. Fatima Moreira de Melo, field hockey player. Coen Moulijn, football player of Feyenoord. Johan van Oldebarnevelt, statesman of the Dutch Revolt. Robin van Persie, Manchester United F.C. forward and Dutch international footballer. Bernard Mandeville, philosopher, political economist and satirist. Hendrik Martenszoon Sorgh, painter. Sacco van der Made, Dutch actor. best known as the Dutch voice of Scrooge McDuck. Iekeliene Stange, fashion model. Marten Toonder, comic writer. Abraham Icek Tuschinski, businessman and movie theatre owner. Ferry Corsten, Dj, producer, remixer electronic dance music. DJ Sun, Music producer, dj, radio host. Wim Mager, director of the Apenheul Primate Park. The Three Jacksons, Accordeontrio. |
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