Rotterdam

Rotterdam lies close to Amsterdam and can be reached within an hour by train. The city of Rotterdam is almost as well known as the city of Amsterdam. Rotterdam is the second largest city in the Netherlands and home to the second biggest harbour in the world and the biggest harbour in Europe. The port of Rotterdam is seen as the gateway to Europe this is due to the favourable position on the banks of the river Nieuwe Maas ("New Meuse"), one of the streams in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse rivers.

Short history Rotterdam

Rotterdam is first mentioned in several books as Rotta in 1028. At this time Rotterdam wasn´t protected by dikes which caused it to flud in 1164. The city dissapeared completely under water and the inhabitants coudn´t return to the city untill dikes were built. It is already 1250 when the first inhabitants re-establish in front of the dam by Rotta. By 1340 the city grew so big that Willem IV gave Rotterdam city rights. Because Rotterdam had a natural harbour it started playing a big role in trade.
 
Architecture and skyline

Rotterdam is also well known for its innovative architectural buildings and its striking skyline. Rotterdam was one of the first cities in Europe to build modern style buildings. Some notable buildings for example are the Van Nelle factory and Feyenoords football stadium ¨de Kuip¨. Another nice piece of Rotterdam architecture are the cube houses built by the architect Piet Blom in 1984.

The north and south parts of Rotterdam are linked together by the famous Erasmus Bridge, which is also called the swan because of it´s 138-meter tall pylon with its characteristic bend.

Rotterdam is also home to the Berlage Institute which is a postgraduate laboratory of architecture and the Netherlands Architecture Institute.