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• 
  

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  Alblasserdam
  Alblasserdam (population 19,003 in 2009) is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 9.96 square kilometres (3.85 sq mi), of which 1.18 square kilometres (0.46 sq mi) is water. Alblasserdam is officially a part of the Drechtsteden. A portion of the small village of Kinderdijk, which boasts the largest and most famous concentration of windmills in the Netherlands, is part of Alblasserdam.
  The name Alblasserdam is derived from its location near the creek Alblas where a dam was built. Inhabitants of Alblasserdam are called Alblasserdammers (singular: Alblasserdammer).
  The history of Alblasserdam goes back some 700 years. The name is first mentioned in the chronicles of Melis Stoke in 1299, but the municipality wasn't formed until 1447. Before that, it was part of Oud-Alblas.
  Because of its location on the Noord River, one of the busiest waterways in Western Europe, water has played a major role in Alblasserdam's history. The river was important for its development and makes it an advantageous location for industry. Alblasserdam's strategic location also brought it negative consequences: between 1350 and 1821, the Alblasserwaard polder has been flooded 32 times. It also suffered during the German raid on Rotterdam on May 11, 1940, when its town center was seriously hit. However, the historic Kerkstraat (Church Street) and the characteristic dike construction along the river were spared. The North Sea flood of 1953 also affected a portion of Alblasserdam.
  
  wn.com/Alblasserdam
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  Albrandswaard
  Albrandswaard ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 19,607 in 2004, and covers an area of 23.75 km² (9.17 mile²) of which 1.57 km² (0.61 mile²) is water.
  The municipality of Albrandswaard consists of the village of Poortugaal in the west and Rhoon in the east. Each has a metro station on Rotterdam Metro line D (Poortugaal station and Rhoon station), which connects in eastern direction to Rotterdam and to the main railway network at Rotterdam Centraal railway station, and in western direction to Hoogvliet and Spijkenisse.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Albrandswaard
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  Alphen aan den Rijn
  Alphen aan den Rijn (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑɫ.fə(n) aːn dɛn ˈrɛi̯n] ( listen)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, between Leiden and Utrecht. The town is situated on the banks of the river Oude Rijn (Old Rhine), where the river Gouwe branches off. The municipality had a population of 72,674 in 2010, and covers an area of 57.68 km² (22.27 sq mi) of which 2.61 km² (1.01 sq mi) is water. It also contains the remnants of a Roman castellum.
  The municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn also includes the communities of Aarlanderveen and Zwammerdam. The town is located in what is called the 'Green Heart' of the Netherlands, which is a somewhat less densely populated centre area of the Randstad.
  The name "Alphen" is probably derived from the name of the Roman castellum Albanianae, meaning "settlement at the white water".
  The area around Alphen aan den Rijn has been inhabited for 2000 years. In the Roman era, the Oude Rijn was the main branch of the Rhine River and formed the north border of the Roman Empire. Since the rule of Emperor Claudius (41–54 CE), divisions of the Roman army were stationed here. Consequently, several Roman fortifications were located along the Oude Rijn, including castellum Albanianae in the centre of Alphen. The Romans had also built the first bridge over the Oude Rijn. Alphen was therefore an important commercial site in the area until Germanic raids ended that in 240 CE.
  
  wn.com/Alphen_aan_den_Rijn
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  Amsterdam
  Amsterdam (English /ˈæmstərdæm/; Dutch: [ˌɑmstərˈdɑm] ( listen)) is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The city's status as the capital of the nation is governed by the constitution. Amsterdam has a population of 790,654 within city limits, an urban population of 1,209,419 and a metropolitan population of 2,289,762. The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. It comprises the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.
  Amsterdam's name is derived from Amstelredamme, indicative of the city's origin: a dam in the river Amstel. Settled as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age, a result of its innovative developments in trade. During that time, the city was the leading center for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were formed. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam (in Dutch: 'Grachtengordel'), located in the heart of Amsterdam, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2010.
  
  wn.com/Amsterdam
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  Barendrecht
  Barendrecht ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 43,104 in 2007, and covers an area of 21.72 km² (8.39 mile²) of which 1.45 km² (0.56 mile²) is water.
  The municipality of Barendrecht also includes the following communities: Barendrecht-Carnisselande, Smitshoek.
  There is a railway station in Barendrecht - Barendrecht railway station. Journey time to Rotterdam Centraal is 14 – 23 minutes.
  The current municipality of Barendrecht is located in the area of three former fiefdoms: East-Barendrecht, West-Barendrecht, and Carnisse. The oldest reference to East-Barendrecht is from 1264. These fiefdoms were in Riederwaard, an area reclaimed from water since the 12th century but had to deal with frequent dike breaches throughout the 13th and 14th centuries.
  During the French Period, the three fiefdoms were merged into one municipality Barendrecht. After the French Period, it was split into East and West-Barendrecht, but in 1836 it was again united as one municipality.
  
  wn.com/Barendrecht
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  Bergambacht
  Bergambacht ([bɛr.ˈχɑm.bɑχt] ( listen), population: 9,280 in 2004) is a village in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 38.05 km² (14.69 mile²) of which 2.96 km² (1.14 mile²) is water.
  The municipality of Bergambacht also includes the communities Ammerstol and Berkenwoude, which were former municipalities amalgamated with Bergambacht in 1985.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Bergambacht
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  Bernisse
  Bernisse ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 12,684 in 2004, and covers an area of 68.59 km² (26.48 mile²) of which 11.25 km² (4.34 mile²) is water.
  The municipality is named after the Bernisse River, which flows right through it from the Spui (river) to the Brielse meer and separates the estuary islands of Voorne and Putten.
  The municipality of Bernisse consists of the following communities: Abbenbroek, Biert, Geervliet, Heenvliet, Oudenhoorn, Simonshaven, Zuidland.
  The municipality of Bernisse was formed on January 1, 1980, through the amalgamation of the municipalities Abbenbroek, Oudenhoorn, Zuidland, and parts of the municipalities Geervliet (including Simonshaven) and Heenvliet.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Bernisse
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  Binnenmaas
  Binnenmaas ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 19,245 in 2004, and covers an area of 54.91 km² (21.20 mile²) of which 4.57 km² (1.76 mile²) is water. It is named after the lake of the same name.
  The municipality was formed on January 1, 1984, by the merger of the municipalities Puttershoek, Maasdam, Mijnsheerenland, Westmaas, and Heinenoord. On January 1, 2007, the municipality 's-Gravendeel was added to Binnenmaas.
  The municipality of Binnenmaas consists the following communities: Blaaksedijk, De Wacht, Goidschalxoord, 's-Gravendeel, Greup, Heinenoord, Kuipersveer, Maasdam, Maasdijk, Mijnsheerenland, Puttershoek, Reedijk, Schenkeldijk, Sint Anthoniepolder, Westdijk, Westmaas and Zwanegat.
  
  
  
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  Boskoop
  Boskoop ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 15,217 in 2008, and covers an area of 16.96 km² (6.55 mile²) of which 2.17 km² (0.84 mile²) is water. It's the world's biggest joined floriculture area.
  Boskoop is famous for its nurseries, particularly woody plant and perennial nurseries, of which some 774 are situated on long stretches of land, divided by narrow canals. Before World War II almost all transport was conducted using narrow boats. A few exceptionally high footbridges crossing some of the broader (main) canals remain from these days. Between the World Wars the transition was made from fruit culture to decorative garden plants and trees. As a source of technical knowledge about the art of growing decorative plants, Boskoop remains world renowned and unique.
  The name "Boskoop" has been given to an apple cultivar (Belle de Boskoop) which is widely distributed in the Low Countries, and to a grape variety (Boskoop Glory).
  
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  Brielle
  Brielle ( pronunciation (help·info)), also called Den Briel (Brill in English) is a town, municipality and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The municipality covers an area of 31.12 km² (12.02 mile²) of which 3.63 km² (1.40 mile²) is water. In 2004 its population was 15,948.
  The municipality of Brielle also includes the communities Vierpolders, and Zwartewaal.
  Brielle is twinned with:
  Brielle is a very old, fortified town. Its name is derived from the Celtic word brogilo (meaning "closed area" or "hunting grounds"). The oldest writings about Brielle indicate that the current location is the "new" Brielle. Den ouden Briel (Old Brill) must have been situated somewhere else on the Voorne-Putten Island. It received city rights in 1306. The city was for a long time the seat of the Count of Voorne, until this fiefdom was added to Holland in 1371. It had its own harbour and traded with the countries around the Baltic Sea. Brielle even had its own trading colony in Sweden.
  
  wn.com/Brielle
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  Brittenburg
  The Brittenburg, or Lugdunum Batavorum, is a Roman ruin west of Leiden that was visible on the beach between Katwijk aan Zee and Noordwijk aan Zee after storms in the years of 1520, 1552 and 1562. It was quite a large complex located at the mouth of the Oude Rijn (old river Rhine), which today is believed to be about a kilometer westwards (offshore in the North Sea) of the current location of the European Space Research and Technology Centre.
  The site, known as "Brittenburg", was still visible in the dunes in the fourteenth century, but the gradual advance of the sea made the ruins lie on the beach in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Today, they must be somewhere in the Rhine estuary, inaccessible for archaeological research. All that remains is a small set of finds, taken away in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, and a famous map by Ortelius. A copy of the old Roman map Tabula Peutingeriana shows Brittenburg as Lugduno on the coast with two towers. Eastwards from that point, two roads run towards Noviomagi (Nijmegen). Along the northern route, the following towns can be seen: Pretorium Agrippine (Valkenburg (South Holland)), Matilone (Leiden), Albanianis (Alphen aan den Rijn), Nigropullo (Zwammerdam), and Lauri (Woerden). All of these locations are situated on the Oude Rijn. The southern route begins with the town Forum Hadriani (Voorburg), shown directly south of Matilone. These towns were connected by the Fossa Corbulonis or Corbulo-canal.
  
  wn.com/Brittenburg
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  Cromstrijen
  Cromstrijen (Cromstrien in local dialect) is a municipality on the Hoeksche Waard Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 70.31 km² (27.15 mile²) of which 15.94 km² (6.15 mile²) is water. It was formed on January 1, 1984, when the municipalities on the Hoeksche Waard were realigned.
  The municipality of Cromstrijen consists of the communities Klaaswaal and Numansdorp (townhall).
  Its population was 13,027 in 2004.
  
  
  
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  Delft
  Delft ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland (Zuid-Holland), the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague. Delft is primarily known for its typically Dutch town centre (with canals); also for the painter Vermeer, Delft Blue pottery (Delftware), the Delft University of Technology, and its association with the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau.
  From a rural village in the early Middle Ages Delft developed to a city, that in the 13th century (1246) received its charter.
  (For some more information about the early development, see the article "Gracht", section "Delft as an example").
  The town's association with the House of Orange started when William of Orange (Willem van Oranje), nicknamed William the Silent (Willem de Zwijger), took up residence in 1572 At the time he was the leader of growing national Dutch resistance against Spanish occupation of the country, which struggle is known as the Eighty Years' War. By then Delft was one of the leading cities of Holland and it was equipped with the necessary city walls to serve as a headquarters.
  
  wn.com/Delft
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  Den Haag
  The Hague (Dutch: Den Haag pronounced [dɛnˈɦaˑχ] ( listen), officially 's-Gravenhage pronounced [ˈsχraˑvə(n)ˌɦaˑɣə] ( listen)) is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants (as of 1 September 2011), and more than one million inhabitants including the suburbs, it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation.
  The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which constitutionally is Amsterdam. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands and 150 international organisations are located in the city, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which makes The Hague one of the major cities hosting the United Nations, along with New York, Vienna and Geneva.
  
  wn.com/Den_Haag
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  Dirksland
  Dirksland ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town and municipality on Goeree-Overflakkee Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 8,269 in 2004, and covers an area of 74.15 km² (28.63 mile²) of which 18.59 km² (7.18 mile²) is water.
  The municipality of Dirksland also includes the communities Herkingen and Melissant.
  The North Sea flood of 1953 did not have as much of a destructive effect on Dirksland as the rest of the island, because Dirksland is somewhat higher. Dirksland is the largest of the three communities within the municipality and also has the only hospital on Goeree-Overflakkee island. The Van Weel-Bethesda Hospital is one the smallest in the country, but has an excellent reputation. Dirksland can be recognized from a distance by the tallest water tower in the country. The towns are agriculturally focused and have several campgrounds for people who prefer a bit of rest over the busy Ouddorp area but still want to be close to shore. Dirksland has an inland harbor with a newly restored gate complex.
  
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  Dordrecht
  Dordrecht (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɔr.trɛχt] ( listen)), colloquially Dordt [dɔrt], historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009. The municipality covers the entire Dordrecht Island, also often called Het Eiland van Dordt (the Island of Dordt), bordered by the rivers Oude Maas, Beneden Merwede, Nieuwe Merwede, Hollands Diep, and Dordtsche Kil. Dordrecht is the largest and most important city in the Drechtsteden and is also part of the Randstad, the main conurbation in the Netherlands. Dordrecht is the oldest city in Holland and has a rich history and culture.
  The name Dordrecht comes from Thyre, the name of a river, and Middle Dutch drecht "ford", thus meaning "Thure river crossing". Some documentation speaks of the river actually being called Thuredrith. Inhabitants of Dordrecht are Dordtenaren (singular: Dordtenaar). Dordrecht is informally called Dordt by its inhabitants. In earlier centuries, Dordrecht was a major trade port, well-known to British merchants, and was called Dort in English.
  
  wn.com/Dordrecht
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  Flanders
  Flanders (Dutch:  Vlaanderen (help·info)) is the (political) community of the Flemings, one of the communities of Belgium, and also a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
  "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp. Over the course of history, the geographical territory that was called "Flanders" has varied. In the second half of the twentieth century, there has been a gradual shift of political and economic power from French-speaking Wallonia (which was industrialized earlier) to the Flemish.
  To the English-speaking peoples, Flanders meant historically (from circa 1000 AD) the land situated along the North Sea from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. The southern borders were generally ill-defined. Over the last millennium, it was mostly the southern and western borders that receded to give the present day borders within northern Belgium.
  Flanders has figured prominently in European history. Between the early 17th century and 1945, the political outcomes of modern Spain, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria were often decided by battles on the plains of Flanders. Even earlier in British and Irish history, the Flemings (or Flemish) were important allies of the Normans in their conquest of England (1066) and invasion of Ireland (1169–71).
  
  wn.com/Flanders
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  Germany
  Germany (ⁱ/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km² and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
  A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
  
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  Giessenlanden
  Giessenlanden (population: 14,359 in 2004) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 65.12 km² (25.14 mile²) of which 1.55 km² (0.60 mile²) is water.
  The municipality of Giessenlanden consists the communities Arkel, Giessen-Oudekerk, Giessenburg, Hoogblokland, Hoornaar, Noordeloos, and Schelluinen.
  The Arkel railway station, on the Elst–Dordrecht railway, is situated in the municipality Giessenlanden.
  
  
  
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  Goedereede
  Goedereede [ˌɣu.də.ˈreɪ̯.də] ( listen) is a municipality and a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 11408 in 2010, and covers an area of 153.85 km² (59.40 mile²) of which 82.53 km² (31.87 mile²) is water. It consists of the west part of the island of Goeree-Overflakkee.
  The municipality of Goeree also includes the communities, from west to east, Ouddorp, Goedereede (with Havenhoofd), (Oostdijk) and Stellendam.
  The Brouwersdam is a dam, part of the Delta Works, from the island Goeree-Overflakkee to Schouwen-Duiveland, in Zeeland. The Haringvlietsluizen are floodgates, also part of the Delta Works, from Goedereede to the border of Westvoorne and Hellevoetsluis on the island of Voorne-Putten.
  Goedereede received city rights in 1312. From Sir Gereart van Voorne.
  Income consists mainly of tourism and fishery. Because of the extended beach close by, Ouddorp has a large number of camping grounds. Ouddorp, Goedereede and Stellendam have all an extended fishing fleet.
  
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  Gorinchem
  Gorinchem ( pronunciation (help·info)), also called Gorkum (pronun. (info)), is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 21.99 km² (8.49 mile²) of which 3.03 km² (1.17 mile²) is water. It had a population of 34,623 in 2004.
  The municipality of Gorinchem also includes the population centre of Dalem.
  It is assumed that Gorinchem was founded circa the year 1000 by fishermen and farmers on the raised land near the mouth of the river Linge at the Merwede. "Goriks Heem" is first mentioned in a document from 1224 in which Floris IV granted people from Gorinchem exemption of toll payments throughout Holland.
  Somewhere between 1247 and 1267, Gorinchem became property of the Lords of Arkel. At the end of the 13th century earthen mounts reinforced with palisades were built around the settlement to protect it from domination by the neighboring counties of Holland and Gelre. Half a century later real city walls were built complete with 7 gates and 23 watchtowers. Otto van Arkel granted it city rights on 11 November 1322.
  
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  Gouda
  Gouda (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣʌu̯daˑ] ( listen); population 70,828 in 2009) is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall.
  In the Middle Ages, a settlement was founded at the location of the current city by the Van der Goude family, who built a fortified castle alongside the banks of the Gouwe River, from which the family and the city took its name. The area, originally marshland, developed over the course of two centuries. By 1225, a canal was linked to the Gouwe and its estuary was transformed into a harbour. Gouda's array of historic churches and other buildings makes it a very popular day trip destination.
  Around the year 1100, the area where Gouda now is located was swampy and covered with a peat forest, crossed by small creeks such as the Gouwe. Along the shores of this stream near the current market and city hall, peat harvesting began in the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1139, the name Gouda is first mentioned in a statement from the Bishop of Utrecht.
  
  wn.com/Gouda
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  Graafstroom
  Graafstroom ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 9,697 in 2004, and covers an area of 69.32 km² (26.76 mile²) of which 2.21 km² (0.85 mile²) is water.
  The municipality of Graafstroom consists of the following population centres: Bleskensgraaf en Hofwegen, Brandwijk, Goudriaan, Molenaarsgraaf, Ottoland, Oud-Alblas, Wijngaarden.
  
  
  
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  Haarlem
  Haarlem (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦaːr.lɛm] ( listen), formerly referred to as Harlem in the English language) is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic. Haarlem lies in the northern part of the Randstad, one of the largest metropolitan areas in Europe.
  By the end of 2011 Haarlem had a total population of 151,853. The municipality of Haarlem also comprises part of the village of Spaarndam, a newer housing estate of this village forms part of the neighboring municipality of Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude.
  The city is located on the river Spaarne, about 20 km west of Amsterdam and near the coastal dunes. It has been the historical center of the tulip bulb-growing district for centuries and bears the nickname 'Bloemenstad' (flower city), for this reason.
  Haarlem has a rich history dating back to pre-medieval times, as it lies on a thin strip of land above sea level known as the strandwal (beach ridge), which connects Leiden to Alkmaar. The people on this narrow strip of land struggled against the waters of the North Sea from the west, and the waters of the IJ and the Haarlem Lake from the east. Haarlem was able to become wealthy with toll revenues that it collected from ships and travellers moving on this busy North-South route. However, as shipping became increasingly important economically, the city of Amsterdam became the main Dutch city of North Holland during the Dutch Golden Age. The town of Halfweg became a suburb, and Haarlem became a quiet bedroom community, and for this reason, Haarlem still has many of its central medieval buildings intact. Today many of them are on the Dutch Heritage register known as Rijksmonuments. The list of Rijksmonuments in Haarlem gives an overview of these per neighborhood, with the majority in the old city center.
  
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  Hellevoetsluis
  Hellevoetsluis ([ˌɦɛləvutˈslœy̆s] ( listen)) (population: 39,559 in November 2011, source CBS (Dutch)) is a small city and municipality on Voorne-Putten Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 46.14 km² (17.81 mile²) of which 14.57 km² (5.63 mile²) is water and it includes the population centres Nieuw-Helvoet, and Nieuwenhoorn, both former municipalities.
  Hellevoetsluis is located on the Haringvliet with the sea, beach and dunes close by, on the extreme southern edge of the Rijnmond and Europoort areas, close to the broad Zeeland landscape. The name translates as "lock at the foot of the Helle". The Helle was a small local river which disappeared over time.
  The history of Hellevoetsluis has always been connected with water. During the time of the United Provinces Hellevoetsluis was the naval port of the Admiralty of de Maze (Rotterdam) and could accommodate an entire fleet within a special land-enclosed fortress with harbour and dockyard facilities, accessible through a canal. Thanks to its strategic situation the town grew from the beginning of the 17th century to be the homeport for the Dutch war fleet. In later years the port was fortified more and more and Hellevoetsluis therefore became a unique combination of fortified town and naval port. The Admirals Maarten Tromp, Michiel de Ruyter and Piet Heyn had their home base here and in 1688 during the Glorious Revolution William III of Orange's invasion fleet departed from the port.
  
  wn.com/Hellevoetsluis
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  Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht
  Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht ( pronunciation (help·info)) (population: 25.120) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands. It is located in the Dutch province of South Holland, on the island of IJsselmonde, and borders with Zwijndrecht, Ridderkerk, and the Noord River. The jurisdiction of the municipality covers an area of 11.99 km² (4.63 mile²) of which 1.26 km² (0.49 mile²) is water. It comprises no other population centres.
  Until 1855, the town was known as Hendrik-Ido-Schildmanskinderen-Ambacht en de Oostendam. Then it merged with Sandelingen-Ambacht and its full name for a period of time was Hendrik-Ido-Oostendam-Schildmanskinderen-Groot-en-Klein-Sandelingen-Ambacht.
  The area has been populated from circa the year 1000 CE. Agriculture and animal husbandry were the only means of existence for many centuries. All lands were owned by or in control of the nobility of Dordrecht. Not until the Eighty Years' War some industrial activities began to appear along the river dike. Furthermore, horticulture and flax growing also developed.
  
  wn.com/Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht
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  Hillegom
  Hillegom ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 13.48 km² (8.38 mile²) of which 0.61 km² (0.38 mile²) is water.
  The name Hillegom is derived from the abbey named Hijlighem (Old Frankish for "Holy Home"). This abbey no longer exists.
  It is bordered by the municipalities of Bloemendaal, Bennebroek (to the north), Haarlemmermeer (to the east), Lisse (to the south), and Noordwijkerhout (to the west).
  Hillegom is part of an area called the Duin- en Bollenstreek ("Dune and Bulb Region"). As such, a large portion of the local economy was traditionally geared to the cultivation of bulb flowers.
  Hillegom was formed on the eastern edge of the coastal dunes where the old Leiden to Haarlem route crossed the Hillegommerbeek (Hillegom's Creek), not far from the shores of the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem's Lake). Places with the suffix "-heim" (or variant spellings) usually developed before the year 1000 and therefore it is assumed that this may apply to Hillegom as well. In 1150 the abbot of Egmond had the rights to naming priests in Hillegom, indicating that a church or chapel existed there. In 1248 the count Willem II gave the Chapel of Hijllinghem and all its buildings to the Abbot of Egmond.
  
  wn.com/Hillegom
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  Hooglandse Kerk
  Hooglandse Kerk is a Gothic church in Leiden dating from the fifteenth century. The brick church is dedicated to St. Pancras and today serves parishioners of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands.
  The Bishop of Utrecht ordered the construction of a wooden chapel on December 20, 1314. By 1377 the population and economic prosperity of Leiden called for a larger structure, and construction began on the current structure. The sanctuary was finished in 1391 and the ambulatory in 1415.
  Coordinates: 52°09′29″N 4°29′39″E / 52.15806°N 4.49417°E / 52.15806; 4.49417
  
  
  
  
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  Juigalpa
  Juigalpa is the capital city of the Chontales Department of Nicaragua. It is located within the municipality of Juigalpa, approximately 140 km east of Managua on Carretera Rama, in the central region of Nicaragua.
  Juigalpa has a population of 71,320 people (surrounding areas included) and extends for 1,037 km², with a population density of 50 /km² (La Prensa 2002).
  In 1659, mayor Jeronimo Villegas requested land from a Spanish government representative, Sebastian Alvarez, for the foundation of a town. This request was granted on April 24, 1668. On June 11, 1877, Juigalpa was declared the department capital for the second and last time after a 19 year dispute with Acoyapa. Juigalpa was elevated to the status of a city on January 27, 1879. The name Juigalpa means “land abundant of jicaro,” and “origin of black snails” in an Indian tongue. The city was used as a stop-over point for miners and farmers from the surrounding area.
  Juigalpa sits within a valley in the Amerrisque Mountains. The Carretera passes through the lowest parts of the city with the elevation rising on both sides. Higher points throughout the city provide clear views of the Amerrisque mountains.
  
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  Kagerplassen
  Coordinates: 52°12′19″N 4°32′18″E / 52.20528°N 4.53833°E / 52.20528; 4.53833
  The Kagerplassen (a Dutch term meaning "the Kaag Lakes") is a small lake system in South Holland located to the northeast of Leiden. The Kaag Lakes are a popular area for boating, watersports, fishing, camping and walking. Windmills, waterfront pasture land (weilanden) with grazing animals, quaint Dutch boats and buildings and (in season) flower fields are all part of the charm of boating and walking in this area.
  The Kaag Lakes are part of two municipalities: Kaag en Braassem and Teylingen. Three villages lie directly on the lakes: Warmond, De Kaag and Buitenkaag. A number of other villages and towns (including Leiden itself) are located on connecting waterways providing easy access to the lakes.
  The Kaag Lakes consist of an interconnected system of smaller lakes and waterways. The Kaag Lakes are fenland lakes (veenplassen) and part of the Holland-Utrecht wet fenland area (veenweidegebied). There are several islands, including the following:
  
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  Katwijk
  Katwijk ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a coastal municipality and town in the province of South Holland in the western Netherlands. It has a population of 61,292.^{[citation needed]}
  Katwijk is located on the North Sea, northwest of Leiden and 16 km north of The Hague. The municipality is essentially the area between Leiden and the North Sea. Katwijk lies along the Oude Rijn, which ends at the North Sea in Katwijk aan Zee. It shares its borders with the municipalities of Noordwijk, Teylingen, Oegstgeest, Leiden, and Wassenaar. Katwijk is by far the largest town in the Duin- en Bollenstreek ("Dune and Bulb Region"). The municipality covers an area of 31.06 km² (11.99 mile²), of which 6.41 km² (2.47 mile²) is water.
  The town consists of a number of districts, including namesakes Katwijk aan den Rijn and Katwijk aan Zee. On 1 January 2005 the various districts had the following populations:
  Lying on the coast, Katwijk aan Zee is (and has always been) the larger town. Katwijk aan den Rijn lies just slightly inland. Rijnsburg is east of Katwijk aan den Rijn and to the south is Valkenburg. Hoornes-Rijnsoever is north of Katwijk aan Zee.
  
  wn.com/Katwijk
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  Korendijk
  Korendijk (population: 11,019 in 2004) is a municipality on the Hoeksche Waard Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 100.48 km² (38.80 mile²) of which 22.57 km² (8.71 mile²) is water.
  With the municipal reorganization of the Hoeksche Waard on 1 January 1984, the municipality of Korendijk was formed out of the former municipalities of Goudswaard, Nieuw-Beijerland, Piershil (location of town hall), Zuid-Beijerland, and the island Tiengemeten. In addition to these villages, it also has the population centres Nieuwendijk and Zuidzijde.
  It is bordered on the southside by the Haringvliet estuary, on the westside by the Spui River, and by the municipalities Oud-Beijerland and Cromstrijen to the north and east.
  
  
  
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  Lansingerland
  Lansingerland is the name for the new municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It was formed on January 1, 2007, by the merger of the municipalities of Berkel en Rodenrijs, Bleiswijk and Bergschenhoek, collectively known as the "B-Triangle".
  The name was chosen from a competition and derived from the name Lansingh, the height-of-land between the Delfland and Schieland Water Boards, which runs between the "B-Triangle" villages. The choice of name is symbolic: the name of the border that formerly divided the area, will now unite it. The "h" in Lansingh was dropped to ease spelling.
  Lansingerland consists of the following communities:
  On 18 September 2007 Ewald van Vliet was installed as the first mayor of Lansingerland. Lansingerland council consists of 31 seats. They were last contested in March 2010 and the results were as follows:-
  
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  Leerdam
  Leerdam ([lɪːr.ˈdɑm] ( listen); population: 21,050 in 2004) is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland.
  The municipality covers an area of 34.32 km² (13.25 mile²) of which 0.53 km² (0.20 mile²) is water. It comprises the town of Leerdam, the rural villages Kedichem, Schoonrewoerd and Oosterwijk. The south border of the town is formed by the river Linge. Leerdam is the most eastern town of the province of South Holland and is situated almost exactly in the middle of the three highways A2, A15 and A27.
  Leerdam received city rights in 1407. The small river Linge, bordered by beautiful water meadows, defines the atmosphere and tone of the landscape. Several centuries ago Leerdam formed a part of the Vijfheerenlanden domain, before it was raised to the level of County in 1498. The rich history of Leerdam can be found in well-kept historic buildings such as the Grote Kerk (Great Church), the Hofje van mevrouw van Aerden (Mrs. Aerden Almshouses, now a museum), the remaining and restored city walls on the Zuidwal and the Oude Raadhuis (Old City Hall).
  
  wn.com/Leerdam
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  Leiden
  Leiden (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlɛi̯.də(n)] ( listen); in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland. The municipality of Leiden has a population of about 120,000, but the city forms one densely connected urban area with its suburbs Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten, Valkenburg, Rijnsburg and Katwijk, which have about 254,000 inhabitants combined. The larger Leiden agglomeration counts 332,000 inhabitants which makes it the sixth major agglomeration in the Netherlands. Leiden is located on the Old Rhine, at a distance of some 20 kilometers from The Hague to its south and some 40 kilometers from Amsterdam to its north. The recreational area of the Kaag Lakes (Kagerplassen) lies just to the northeast of Leiden.
  A university city since 1575, Leiden houses Leiden University and Leiden University Medical Centre. It is twinned with Oxford, the location of England's oldest university.
  It is true that Leiden is an old city, its connection with Roman Lugdunum Batavorum is true though it is actually near the close-by town of Katwijk, whereas the Roman settlement near modern Leiden was called Matilo. However, there was a Roman fortress in Leiden in the 4th century.^{[citation needed]}
  
  wn.com/Leiden
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  Leiden Observatory
  Leiden Observatory (Sterrewacht Leiden in Dutch) is an astronomical observatory in the city of Leiden, Netherlands. It was established by Leiden University in 1633, to house the quadrant of Snellius, and is the oldest operating University observatory in the world (before this, astronomy taught at medieval universities tended to be of a more theoretical nature, and any observations were usually done with private equipment rather than at University observatories —see this timeline).
  The original observatory used observing platforms on the roof of the main university building at the Rapenburg. In 1860 a large, modern observatory was erected at the Witte Singel. This building was the home of the astronomy department until it moved to the science campus north-west of the city centre in 1974. Although professional astronomical observations are no longer carried out from Leiden itself, the department still calls itself Leiden Observatory. Today's astronomers instead travel to the big observatories, e.g. ESO's VLT in Chile.
  
  wn.com/Leiden_Observatory
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  Leiden University
  Leiden University (Dutch: Universiteit Leiden), located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close relationship. The Queens Juliana and Beatrix and crown-prince Willem-Alexander studied at Leiden University. In 2005 Queen Beatrix received a rare honorary degree from Leiden University.
  Leiden University has six faculties, over 50 departments and more than 150 undergraduate programmes and enjoys an outstanding international reputation. Shanghai Jiao Tong University's 2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks Leiden University as the 65th best university worldwide. Times Higher Education World University Rankings consistently rank Leiden University as the best university in Continental Europe for Arts and Humanities. The University is associated with at least sixteen recipients of the Nobel Prize. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group, the Europaeum and the League of European Research Universities.
  
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  Leiderdorp
  Leiderdorp ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland near the city of Leiden. It had a population of 26,182 in 2004.
  The municipality covers an area of 12.29 km² (4.75 mile²) of which 0.56 km² (0.22 mile²) is water. Leiderdorp has now become a suburb of the city of Leiden, although the Oude Rijn (Old Rhine) river and the Zijl river separate the two. The HSL-Zuid high-speed rail line between Amsterdam and Brussels crosses Leiderdorp in a tunnel.
  It is one of the oldest towns in Zuid Holland province and was a base for the Spanish army in the Eighty Years' War.
  Šamorín, in Slovakia, is the twin town of Leiderdorp.
  Leiderdorp, map of 1867.
  Town centre on the Old Rhine.
  Listed farm in spring
  
  
  
  
  
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  Leidse Hout
  The Leidse Hout (English: Leiden Woods) is a public urban park in Leiden, the Netherlands. It is located between the border of Oegstgeest, approximately 1.5 kilometers northwest of the Leiden city center, and on the northern border of the Leiden Diaconessenhuis hospital.
  The park was opened on June 30, 1931 and was the product of a governmental program that provided work for the unemployed during the Great Depression. A tea house, deer park, and a music pavilion is incorporated into the park. Additionally, there is an adjacent sports park with tennis courts, soccer fields, a track, and a softball field.
  Coordinates: 52°10′28″N 4°28′52″E / 52.17444°N 4.48111°E / 52.17444; 4.48111
  
  wn.com/Leidse_Hout
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  Leyden, New York
  Leyden is a town in Lewis County, New York, United States. The population was 1,785 at the 2010 census.
  The Town of Leyden is in the south part of the county and is north of Rome.
  Settlement began around 1794.
  Leyden was formed from the Town of Steuben (in Oneida County, New York) in 1797. Leyden formed part of a tract called the "Inman Triangle."
  The Town of Leyden gave up much of its territory to form new towns such as the Towns of Watson (1851) and Lewis (1852). Leyden was also partitioned to form the Towns of Brownville (Jefferson County in 1802) and Boonville (Oneida County in 1805), and part of the Town of Wilna (Jefferson County in 1813). Port Leyden in the town was a port on the former Black River Canal. The city is named after the Dutch city Leiden.
  According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.5 square miles (87 km²), of which, 33.3 square miles (86 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (0.66%) is water.
  The Black River marks the eastern town line, and the south town line is the border of Oneida County.
  
  wn.com/Leyden,_New_York
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  Liesveld
  Liesveld ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 9,810 in 2006, and covers an area of 44.44 km² (17.16 mile²) of which 3.37 km² (1.30 mile²) is water.
  The municipality of Liesveld was formed on 1 January 1986 from the former municipalities of Groot-Ammers, Langerak, Nieuwpoort, and Streefkerk. It consists of the population centres Groot-Ammers, Langerak, Nieuwpoort, Streefkerk, and Waal.
  Its name is probably derived from a low-lying swampy area filled with reed grasses (Dutch: lies - Glyceria aquatica) near Gelkenes. Castle Liesvelt was built on such a reedy field, giving its name to the Lords of Liesvelt, who owned lands within the municipality.
  
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  Lisse
  Lisse ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 16.11 km² (10.01 mile²) of which 0.41 km² (0.25 mile²) is water. Its population is 21864 (1 November 2006, source: CBS). Located within the municipal boundary is also the community De Engel.
  The history of Lisse is closely related and similar to the neighboring towns of Hillegom and Sassenheim. Based on a document from 1198 which makes official mention of the town's name, Lisse celebrated its 800-year anniversary in 1998, although there is an indication that there was already a settlement there in the 10th century.
  In the Middle Ages, Lisse was a small settlement; there were only 50 houses in 1500. Because of prolonged warfare (particularly the wars of Charles the Bold and the Eighty Years' War), poverty was prevalent. Its population lived from agriculture, animal husbandry, and peat harvesting.
  In the 17th and 18th centuries, Lisse was, like Hillegom, home to many estates of rich merchants and nobility. The forests and gardens of the Keukenhof, Meerenburg, Wildlust, Zandvliet, Overduin en Akervoorde, Wassergeest, Grotenhof, Ter Specke, Dubbelhoven, Rosendaal, Veenenburg en Berkhout, Middelburg, Ter Beek, and Uytermeer estates all added to the town's beauty and glory.
  
  wn.com/Lisse
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  Maassluis
  Maassluis ([maˑˈslœy̆s] ( listen)) is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 32,847 in 2004, and covers an area of 10.11 km² (of which 1.51 km² water).
  It received city rights in 1811. It was also the setting for the Dutch cult classic, Spetters, filmed by noted director Paul Verhoeven there in 1980.
  Maassluis was founded circa 1340, as a settlement next to a lock (in Dutch: sluis) in the sea barrier between the North Sea and Rotterdam. Originally called Maeslandsluys, it was part of Maesland. In 1489 the settlement was sacked. During the Eighty Years' War, Philips of Marnix, lord of Sint-Aldegonde, started to build a defense wall but before its completion, it was captured by the Spanish in 1573 and Philips of Marnix was taken prisoner. A year later Maeslandsluys was looted by mutinous Spanish troops.
  On 16 May 1614, Maeslandsluys was separated from Maesland by the counts of Holland and renamed to Maassluis. This separation may have been religiously motivated: Maassluis was predominantly Protestant whereas Maasland catholic. In 1624 the defense wall was demolished to make way for the Great Church, for which construction started in 1629. The construction was stopped for 5 years because privateers from Dunkirk raided many fishing boats from Maassluis and would throw the crew overboard. In 1639 the Great Church was completed. On 4 December 1732, the famous Garrels Organ was inaugurated. Built from 1730 to 1732 by Rudolf Garrels, a pupil of Arp Schnitger, it was a gift by Govert van Wijn, ship-owner from Maassluis.
  
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  Middelharnis
  Middelharnis (population: about 18,000 in 2009) is a municipality and a village in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 86.79 km² (of which 25.63 km² water).
  The municipality consists of the following population centres:
  On 1 January 1966, the municipalities of Nieuwe-Tonge, Sommelsdijk, and Stad aan 't Haringvliet were added to Middelharnis.
  Middelharnis has a shopping area called D'n Diek. This shopping center settled itself on a dike which used to be the last barrier for the towns from the Haringvliet. The village hosts a public and Christian high school. Middelharnis has an inland harbor with connection to the Haringvliet. There is also a small beach which can get very crowded in the summertime. The old main street in both villagses are very pretty. Starting at the church and ending at the harbor, they are very identical. In Middelharnis the old main street has the old municipality building. Both towns have the church in the center and the rest of the towns sort of vane out from this center. In Sommelsdijk a sportcomplex with swimming pool is present called De Staver. Stad aan 't Haringvliet has a small harbor with beach. Like most of the towns on the island the old windmill has been preserved. Nieuwe Tonge's main entry roads are the two dikes that form the edges of the town. And of course a traditional windmill is present.
  
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  Midden-Delfland
  Midden-Delfland ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the Westland region in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It had a population of 17,072 in 2004, and covers an area of 49.38 km² of which 1.93 km² is water. Midden-Delfland is considered to be the main Cittaslow of The Netherlands.
  It was formed on January 1, 2004, through the merger of the former municipalities:
  The municipality comprises the population centres Hodenpijl, Den Hoorn, Gaag, Maasland, Negenhuizen, Schipluiden, 't Woudt, Zouteveen, and De Zweth.
  The green area that comprises the municipality of Midden-Delfland was named Midden-Delfland before 2004, and it referred to the green area surrounded by cities (such as The Hague and Rotterdam) and the horticulture area of Westland. The supporters of a continuous green area were lucky that the municipality of Midden-Delfland became a reality: the cities of Delft, Vlaardingen and Schiedam wanted to build new houses here, and the Westland gardeners also wanted to expand. Now, Midden-Delfland is designated as a recreation area for people from the surrounding cities.
  
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  Naturalis
  NCB Naturalis, the Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity (Dutch: NCB Naturalis, Nederlands Centrum voor Biodiversiteit) is a national museum of natural history and a research center on biodiversity in Leiden, Netherlands.
  Naturalis originated from the merger of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (abbreviated RMNH) and the Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie (abbreviated RGM) in 1984. In 1986 it was decided that the museum had to become a public museum and a new building was built. The new building cost about €60 million, making it the second most expensive museum building in the Netherlands.^{[citation needed]}
  The current museum is known for the numerous objects in its collections. It has approximately 10 million zoological and geological specimens.
  The collections will be fused with the collections of the Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam and expanded to approximately 37 million specimens. The fusion started in 2011 and is scheduled to be competed in 2012.
  The collections are stored in a 60-meter-high tower, a landmark in Leiden, opened in April 1998.
  
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  Nederlek
  Nederlek ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 14,831 in 2004, and covers an area of 31.44 km² (of which 3.60 km² is covered by water). It was formed on January 1, 1985, by the amalgamation of the municipalities Krimpen aan de Lek and Lekkerkerk. Its name means "Lower Lek", a reference to its location on the Lek River.
  There is no town called Nederlek but the municipality consists of the population centres Krimpen aan de Lek and Lekkerkerk. The last town gained notoriety in 1980 when a large amount of toxic waste was found underneath a residential area built in the 1970s. The cost of cleaning up the mess ran up to 188 million guilders (approximately 90 million US dollars).
  
  
  
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  Netherlands
  The Netherlands (ⁱ/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] ( listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
  
  wn.com/Netherlands
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  Nicaragua
  Nicaragua (ⁱ/ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/ nik-ə-RAH-gwə), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: Pacific lowlands; wet, cooler central highlands; and the Caribbean lowlands. On the Pacific side of the country are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.
  
  wn.com/Nicaragua
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  Nieuw-Lekkerland
  Nieuw-Lekkerland (population: 9,539 in 2004) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is situated on the southern shores of the Lek River, in the north-western part of the Alblasserwaard. The municipality covers an area of 12.77 km² (of which 2.37 km² is covered by water).
  The municipality includes the population centres of Nieuw-Lekkerland (divided into the two neighbourhoods Dorpslaan and Middelweg) and Kinderdijk.
  The town's name evolved slightly over time: in 1280 Leckerlant, in 1331 Niewe Leckerland, and in 1903 Nieuw Lekkerland. It means "land of or near the river Lek" with the addition of "nieuw" ("new") to distinguish it from Old Lekkerland (now Lekkerkerk) across the river.
  The name Nieue-Leckelant appears for the first time around 1325 and distinguishes it from Oudt-Leckelant (now Lekkerkerk). The most notable building used to be Castle Schoonenburg. Because of its elevated location on a mount, it served as a refuge for the people during floods before the reclamation of the Alblasserwaard. After 1456, the castle was abandoned and became a ruin. Its remains were thereafter probably used to rebuild a church tower. only the mount is still visible. The Reformed Church is from 1848.
  
  wn.com/Nieuw-Lekkerland
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  Nieuwkoop
  Nieuwkoop ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality was enlarged on January 1, 2007, through the amalgamation of Liemeer and Ter Aar.
  Before 2007, the municipality covered an area of 38.50 km² (14.86 mile²) of which 8.69 km² (3.36 mile²) is water. Its population was 11,092 in 2004.
  On May 3th, 2008, the Dutch newspaper het Algemeen Dagblad published an arcticle which stated that Nieuwkoop is the safest municipality of the Netherlands.
  
  The municipality of Nieuwkoop includes the following communities:
  The oldest part of Nieuwkoop are the buildings along the Nieuwkoopse Plassen (Nieuwkoop's Ponds), many of which are completely surrounded by water and accessible over individual bridges to the main road. The Nieuwkoopse Plassen are shallow lakes that were dug for peat harvesting in the 16th century and are now designated as a natural monument. New neighborhoods north-west of the main road are built after World War II.
  
  wn.com/Nieuwkoop
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  Noordwijk
  Noordwijk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnoːrtʋɛi̯k] ( listen)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 51.53 km² (of which 16.12 km² is water) and had a population of 24,707 in May 2006.
  The municipality of Noordwijk consists of the communities Noordwijk aan Zee and Noordwijk-Binnen, separated by a narrow green belt.
  Besides its beaches, Noordwijk is also known for its bulb flower fields. It is located in an area called the "Dune and Bulb Region" (Duin- en Bollenstreek).
  Noordwijk is also the location of the headquarters for the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), part of the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA's visitors' centre Space Expo is a permanent space exhibition.
  Noordwijk aan Zee was founded around 1200 as a fishing village. Until the beginning of the 19th century, fishing remained its primary business, but then began to be replaced by the growing tourism industry. Nowadays because of its long sandy beaches, it is a popular resort town with 1,000,000 overnight stays per year.
  
  wn.com/Noordwijk
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  Noordwijkerhout
  Noordwijkerhout ([ˌnoːrtʋɛi̯kərˈhʌu̯t] ( listen)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 23.40 km² (of which 0.80 km² water) and had a population of 15,121 in May 2006. The town is in the bulb growing region (the Duin- en Bollenstreek) of the Netherlands, famed for its tulips.
  The municipality of Noordwijkerhout also includes the following towns, villages and townships: De Zilk.
  The coastal dunes where Noordwijkerhout is located have been inhabited since prehistoric times. Archaeological digs in the area just north outside of town have found items and implements from before Christ. During the Roman era, this region was inhabited by a Germanic tribe, called Cananefates by the Roman writer Tacitus.
  Noordwijkerhout is about 5 kilometers from the North Sea and provides access to the beach and nearby hiking opportunities through the dunes. Just north of town is the Oosterduinse meer (Eastern Dune's Lake) which is used for swimming and windsurfing.
  
  wn.com/Noordwijkerhout
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  Oegstgeest
  Oegstgeest (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌuxstˈxeːst], locally [ˌuχstˈχeɪ̯st] ( listen)) is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the western Netherlands. Its population was 22,576 in 2008.
  The municipality of Oegstgeest covers an area of 7.75 km² (of which 0.54 km² is water). Oegstgeest lies just to the north of Leiden, with which it is conjoined in a conurbation. Oegstgeest is a separate municipality, but it is effectively a suburb of Leiden. The municipality of Katwijk is to the west, the municipality of Teylingen to the north, the Kaag Lakes (Kagerplassen) to the northeast and Leiderdorp to the east.
  Oegstgeest is one of the earliest inhabited places along the coast. Evidence of a Batavian settlement from the second century was found in 1946 in an extension of a coastal dune in the Elgeesterpolder, although it is not certain whether this location remained permanently inhabited in the centuries after that.
  By the 9th century there was already a little church in the same location as the current Little Green Church (Groen Kerkje) which, according to legend, was dedicated by Willibrord. The existence of this church is an indication that there may have been a community there.
  
  wn.com/Oegstgeest
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  Oostflakkee
  Oostflakkee [ˌoʊ̯st.flɑ.ˈkeɪ̯] ( listen), population: 10,126 in 2004) is a municipality on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 107.44 km² (of which 32.75 km² is covered by water).
  The municipality of Oostflakkee was formed by the amalgamation of the former municipalities of Den Bommel, Ooltgensplaat, and Oude Tonge in 1966. It consists of the communities Achthuizen, De Langstraat, Den Bommel (with Zuidzijde), Ooltgensplaat, Oude-Tonge, Zuidzijde.
  Oude Tonge is the main town of this municipality with a considerable industrial area. It also has a large busstation. Den Bommel is quite similar as Stad aan 't Haringvliet with a harbor and beach on the shores of the Haringvliet. A few kilometers east of Den Bommel there is Zuidzijde, a very small town with a neat looking watertower. Ooltgensplaat is the most eastward town on the island with a harbor on the Volkerak. The town has a very old and beautiful municipal building. This town is the yearly start and finish of De Omloop - a 100+ km walk around the island in a 24 hour period. This event attracts thousands every year either participants or bystanders. It is held yearly in the latter half of August. Achthuizen and Langstraat are other small towns nearby Ooltgensplaat.
  
  wn.com/Oostflakkee
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  Oud-Beijerland
  Oud-Beijerland ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. With a population of 23,797 in 2005, it is the most populated town on the Hoeksche Waard island, located on the Oude Maas and Spui Rivers.
  The municipality of Oud-Beijerland also includes the communities Vuurbaken and Zinkweg.
  After the St. Elizabeth's flood (1421), large parts of the islands Putten and Grote Waard were lost and became clay banks and salt marshes which would be inundated at high tide and be unsuitable for habitation. In subsequent centuries, portions of land would be reclaimed.
  Oud-Beijerland was formed in 1559 as "Beijerland" by Lamoral, Count of Egmont. He was granted the rights to this area in 1557 and had the land reclaimed. This new polder was named Beijerland, Moerkerken, Cromstrijen en de Greup. Circa 1624 the smaller polders Bosschenpolder and Nieuwlandpolder were added to it. Beijerland was named after Sabina of Bavaria (Dutch: Beijeren), wife of the Count of Egmont.
  
  wn.com/Oud-Beijerland
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  Ouderkerk
  Ouderkerk (population: 8,100 in 2005) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 28.53 km² (of which 1.42 km² water). It was formed on January 1, 1985, after a municipal reorganization.
  The municipality of Ouderkerk consists of the population centres Gouderak, Lageweg, Ouderkerk aan den IJssel, and IJssellaan, all situated along the Hollandse IJssel river.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Ouderkerk
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  Oxford
  Oxford ⁱ/ˈɒksfəd/ is a city in central southern England, the home of the University of Oxford. The city is the county town of Oxfordshire, and forms a district within the county. It has a population of just under 165,000, of whom 153,900 live within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles (80 km) north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames (also sometimes known as the Isis locally) run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre.
  Oxford has a diverse economic base. Its industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing and a large number of information technology and science-based businesses.
  Buildings in Oxford demonstrate an example of every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons, including the iconic, mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera. Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings. The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
  
  wn.com/Oxford
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  Papendrecht
  Papendrecht ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, at the crossing of the River Beneden Merwede and the Noord River. The municipality had a population of 30,914 in 2004, and covers an area of 10.77 km² (of which 1.30 km² water).
  Although Papendrecht is first mentioned in documents dating back to 1105, it remained a small settlement until the 1950s. In the 1960s its development accelerated and almost its entire area is now urbanized.
  Papendrecht has two Water taxi stops, one at the Beneden Merwede River, and one at the Noord River. The entire trajectory of the Water taxi is:
  Papendrecht also has a relatively high density of bus connections, mostly provided by Arriva.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Papendrecht
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  Pieterskerk, Leiden
  The Pieterskerk is a late-Gothic church in Leiden dedicated to Saint Peter. It is best known today as the church of the Pilgrim Fathers where John Robinson was buried.
  In around 1100 the site held the county chapel of the counts of Holland, rebuilt in 1121. The present building took approximately 180 years to build, starting in 1390. Famous Leiden dignitaries are buried there, including the painter Jan Steen and the Leiden professor Herman Boerhaave. The beautiful stained glass windows already took a terrible blow during the Beeldenstorm, but somewhat more than a century later were completely destroyed in the gunpowder explosion of January 12, 1807. The windows were boarded up, and it wasn't until 1880 that a large-scale restoration took place.
  The Pieterskerk used to have a church tower, the Westtoren (west tower) from 1290 on. It was nicknamed "Coningh der Zee" (king of the sea), and was completed in stages, eventually reaching 110 meters (including the 35 meters tall wooden spire). It collapsed in the night of 5 March 1512. The tower was not restored and the church remained towerless.
  
  wn.com/Pieterskerk,_Leiden
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  Pijnacker-Nootdorp
  Pijnacker-Nootdorp ([ˈpɛi̯nˌɑkər ˈnoʊ̯dɔrp] ( listen) population: 47,891 in 2010) is a suburban municipality in the Randstad conurbation in the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 38.60 km² (of which 0.95 km² water).
  The municipality of Pijnacker-Nootdorp comprises the following towns, villages and townships: Delfgauw, Nootdorp, Oude Leede, Pijnacker and (parts of) newly built Ypenburg. It is the result of merging the municipalities of Pijnacker and Nootdorp in 2002, with parts being annexed by neighbouring The Hague. It is part of the Haaglanden conurbation centred around The Hague, but it is also close to Delft and Rotterdam.
  Nootdorp is connected to The Hague through the Randstadrail public transport system, and also with a tram line.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Pijnacker-Nootdorp
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  Poland
  Poland ⁱ/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska; Kashubian: Pòlskô Repùblika; Silesian: Polsko Republika), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous post-communist member. Poland is a unitary state made up of 16 voivodeships. Poland is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle and Schengen Agreement.
  
  wn.com/Poland
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  Ridderkerk
  Ridderkerk ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 44,886 in 2010, and covers an area of 25.10 km² (of which 1.35 km² is covered by water).
  The municipality of Ridderkerk also includes the following towns, villages and townships: Bolnes, Oostendam, Rijsoord and Slikkerveer.
  
  wn.com/Ridderkerk
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  Rijnsburg
  Rijnsburg (population: 14,941 in 2004) is a community in the eastern part of the town of Katwijk, in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The name means Rhines Burg in Dutch.
  The history starts way before the 6th century when a town called ‘Rothulfuashem’ (Rudolfsheim). Later about 900 there was a stronghold, which could explain the current name of the village Rijnsburg, which means 'Rhine fortress'
  Rijnsburg used to be a separated municipality until 1 January 2006, when, together with Valkenburg, it was added to the municipality and city of Katwijk. Before that, the municipality covered an area of 6.07 km² (2.34 mile²) of which 0.21 km² (0.08 mile²) is water, and had a population of 14851 inhabitants on 1 June 2005.
  Rijnsburg's main claim to fame is that the philosopher Spinoza lived there from 1661 to 1663. The modest house in which he lived is still preserved, and can be visited.
  Rijnsburg is located in an area called the "Dune and Bulb Trek" (Duin- en Bollenstreek).
  
  wn.com/Rijnsburg
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  Rijnwoude
  Rijnwoude (population: 18,986 in 2004) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 57.85 km² (22.34 mile²) of which 1.17 km² (0.45 mile²) is water.
  Rijnwoude was formed in 1991 as Rijneveld through the merger of the former municipalities of Benthuizen, Hazerswoude, and Koudekerk aan den Rijn. In 1993 the municipality was renamed to its current name Rijnwoude.
  The municipality of Rijnwoude consists of the communities Benthorn, Benthuizen, Hazerswoude-Dorp, Groenendijk, Hazerswoude-Rijndijk (location of town hall), Hogeveen, and Koudekerk aan den Rijn.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Rijnwoude
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  Rijswijk
  Rijswijk [ˈrɛisʋɛik] ( listen) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is a suburb of The Hague (population: 47,693 in 2004) and covers an area of 14.48 km² (of which 0.43 km² is covered by water).
  The municipality of Rijswijk also includes the villages 't Haantje and Sion.
  Archeological excavations indicate that this area of the coastal dunes were already inhabited some 5500 years ago. The formation of the village Rijswijk took place in the 13th century, and its history was dominated by presence of mansions and estates of the nobility and affluent. Among the many country estates known to have been in Rijswijk are:
  The Treaty of Ryswick was signed at the Huis ter Nieuwburg in 1697, ending the Nine Years' War. A monument, the Needle of Rijswijk (1792), was erected to commemorate the treaty in the Rijswijk Forest.
  Until 1900 Rijswijk remained a relative small community but it became urbanized during the 20th century when it expanded rapidly. Today, Rijswijk's area has almost been completely built-up. The last major development is the new Ypenburg neighbourhood, built on the lands of the former Ypenburg Airfield but this part of Rijswijk was annexed by The Hague in 2002. Rijswijk is part of the Haaglanden conurbation. During the years its built-up area has grown to the point where it has effectively merged with The Hague, even though it is still a separate municipality.
  
  
  wn.com/Rijswijk
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  Rotterdam
  Rotterdam ( /ˈrɒtərdæm/; Dutch [ˌrɔ.tər.ˈdɑm] ( listen)) is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam constructed in 1270 on the Rotte River, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre. Its strategic location at the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta on the North Sea and at the heart of a massive rail, road, air and inland waterway distribution system extending throughout Europe is the reason that Rotterdam is often called the "Gateway to Europe".
  Located in the Province of South Holland, Rotterdam is found in the west of the Netherlands and at the south end of the Randstad. The population of the city proper was 616,250 on February 1st 2012. The population of the greater Rotterdam area, called "Rotterdam-Rijnmond" or just "Rijnmond", is around 1.3 million people. Rotterdam is one of Europe's most vibrant, multicultural cities. The city is known for its university (Erasmus), its cutting-edge architecture, its lively cultural life, its striking riverside setting, its maritime heritage and the Rotterdam Blitz.
  
  wn.com/Rotterdam
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  Schiedam
  Schiedam ([sχiˈdɑm] ( listen)) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area. The city is located west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south it is connected with the village of Pernis by the Beneluxtunnel.
  The city is known for its historical center with canals, and for having the tallest windmills in the world. Schiedam is also famous for the distilleries and malthouses and production of jenever (gin) - such as the internationally-renowned Ketel One - so much so that in French and English the word schiedam (usually without a capital s-) refers to the town's Holland gin. This was the town's main industry during the early Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th century, a dark period to which it owed its former nickname "Zwart Nazareth" or "Black Nazareth". Furthermore, the city is known for Saint Lidwina, one of the most famous Dutch saints (her relics are located in the Liduina Basilica in Schiedam).
  
  wn.com/Schiedam
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  Schoonhoven
  Schoonhoven (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsxoːnˌɦoːvə(n)], locally [ˈsχoʊ̯nˌɦoʊ̯və(n)] ( listen)) is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality has a population of 11,819 as of 2012^[update], and covers an area of 6.96 km² (of which 0.67 km² water). It is now the smallest municipality in the Netherlands in land area, following the merger of Rozenburg into Rotterdam.
  A historic map of Schoonhoven of 1652 shows the north and west town walls, which were common during medieval times in the Netherlands. The only remaining medieval entrance gate of Schoonhoven is the Veerpoort (Ferry Gate) next to the Lek River (see external link 4). This Veerpoort has protected Schoonhoven from the floods of the river Rhine and from the sea during the North Sea flood of 1953 and is still fully functional as a water barrier today.
  A ferry transporting both vehicles and pedestrians across the Lek River (see external link 5) connects Schoonhoven with Gelkenes in Liesveld.
  
  wn.com/Schoonhoven
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  Sliedrecht
  Sliedrecht (population: 23,837 in 2004) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 14 square kilometres (5.4 sq mi) (of which 1.22 square kilometres (0.47 sq mi) is covered by water).
  The first IKEA store in the Netherlands opened in Sliedrecht in 1978, but it closed in 2006. Sliedrecht is also the site of the Nationaal Baggermuseum (National Dredging Museum) - featuring dredging and salvage.
  Sliedrecht railway station and Sliedrecht Baanhoek railway station are situated on the Elst–Dordrecht railway.
  Waterbus route 2:
  
  
  
  wn.com/Sliedrecht
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  South Holland
  South Holland (Dutch: Zuid-Holland [ˈzœy̆t ˈɦɔlɐnt] ( listen) is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.
  South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world. With a population of 3,502,595 (30 November 2009) and an area of 3,403 km², the province has the highest population density in the Netherlands.
  For more on the history of South Holland in the context of Dutch history, see the article on the "History of the Netherlands". The history of this province can also be found in the articles on its constituent elements (e.g. Rotterdam, The Hague, etc.) The information here pertains just to South Holland itself.
  For most of its history, the modern-day province of South Holland was an integral part of Holland.
  From the 9th century to the 16th century, Holland was a county of the Holy Roman Empire, and was ruled by the counts of Holland. Some of the counts were powerful magnates who also ruled many other territories, culminating in a period of rule by the House of Habsburg which was terminated by the Dutch Revolt.
  
  wn.com/South_Holland
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  Spijkenisse
  Spijkenisse ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 74,482 in 2006, and covers an area of 30.23 km² (of which 4.07 km² water). It is part of the Rotterdam Metropolitan Area.
  The municipality also includes the communities of Hekelingen, Den Hoek and Beerenplaat.
  Spijkenisse is twinned with Thetford, United Kingdom, and Hürth, Germany.
  Archeological research has shown that the area around Spijkenisse has been inhabited for many thousands of years. The people then depended on fishing on the Meuse and hunting in the swamps.
  The oldest reference to the name Spickenisse is from a source from 1231. This name comes from the words spieke (Spit (landform)) and nesse (nose) meaning "pointy nose" in reference to a spit of land protruding along the river.
  Spijkenisse formed as a farmers and fishing village at a creek along the Oude Maas. Initially it belonged to the Lord of Putten (whose coat of arms is now used by the city) but in 1459 the fiefdom Putten, including Spijkenisse, was transferred to Philip III, Duke of Burgundy. In 1581 the area came under the control of the Count of Holland.
  
  wn.com/Spijkenisse
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  Strijen
  Strijen (population: 9,312 in 2004) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality, covering an area of 57.72 km² (of which 6.50 km² is water), is located on the Hoeksche Waard island along the Hollands Diep estuary.
  Strijen hosts a public library, swimming pool, a small shopping centre and a local museum.
  Furthermore, Strijen is home to an important and welcome resting stop for migrating birds, especially geese. During winter, the endangered Eurasian Spoonbill uses this area as a foraging ground.
  The municipality of Strijen also includes the population centres of Cillaarshoek, De Klem, Mookhoek, Oudendijk, and Strijensas.
  
  wn.com/Strijen
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  Teylingen
  Teylingen ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It was created on January 1, 2006, through the amalgamation of Sassenheim, Voorhout, and Warmond. It is named after Castle Teylingen, located on the northern edge of Sassenheim, in Voorhout.
  The municipality is bordered by Noordwijkerhout and Lisse to the north, Haarlemmermeer and Alkemade to the east, Leiderdorp and Leiden to the south, and Oegstgeest and Katwijk to the west. It is located in an area called the "Dune and Bulb Region" (Duin- en Bollenstreek). The Kaag Lakes (Kagerplassen) lie just to the east of Sassenheim.
  
  
  
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  The Hague
  The Hague (Dutch: Den Haag pronounced [dɛnˈɦaˑχ] ( listen), officially 's-Gravenhage pronounced [ˈsχraˑvə(n)ˌɦaˑɣə] ( listen)) is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants (as of 1 September 2011), and more than one million inhabitants including the suburbs, it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation.
  The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government and parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which constitutionally is Amsterdam. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands and 150 international organisations are located in the city, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which makes The Hague one of the major cities hosting the United Nations, along with New York, Vienna and Geneva.
  
  wn.com/The_Hague
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  Toruń
  Toruń [ˈtɔruɲ] ( listen) (German: Thorn ( listen), Kashubian: Torń, Latin: Thorunium, see also: other names) is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
  In 1997 the medieval part of the city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2007 the Old Town in Toruń was added to the list of Seven Wonders of Poland. National Geographic Polska rated the old town market and the Gothic town hall as one of the "30 Most Beautiful Places in the World." In 2010 Forbes magazine ranked Toruń as number one of the "Polish Cities Attractive for Business".^{[citation needed]} In 2009 it was listed as one of the "Best Cities to Live in Poland", in a ranking published by Przekrój.^{[citation needed]}
  Previously it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–98) and the Pomeranian Voivodeship (1921–45). Since 1999, Toruń has been a seat of the self-government of the Kujawy-Pomerania Province and, as such, is one of its two capitals (together with Bydgoszcz). The cities and neighboring counties form the Bydgoszcz-Toruń bi-polar metropolitan area. In September 2004, Bydgoszcz Medical School joined Toruń's Nicolaus Copernicus University as its Collegium Medicum.
  
  wn.com/Toruń
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  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
  The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
  
  wn.com/United_Kingdom
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  University of Leiden
  Leiden University (Dutch: Universiteit Leiden), located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close relationship. The Queens Juliana and Beatrix and crown-prince Willem-Alexander studied at Leiden University. In 2005 Queen Beatrix received a rare honorary degree from Leiden University.
  Leiden University has six faculties, over 50 departments and more than 150 undergraduate programmes and enjoys an outstanding international reputation. Shanghai Jiao Tong University's 2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks Leiden University as the 65th best university worldwide. Times Higher Education World University Rankings consistently rank Leiden University as the best university in Continental Europe for Arts and Humanities. The University is associated with at least sixteen recipients of the Nobel Prize. The university is a member of the distinguished Coimbra Group, the Europaeum and the League of European Research Universities.
  
  wn.com/University_of_Leiden
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  University of Oxford
  Coordinates: 51°45′40″N 1°15′12″W / 51.7611°N 1.2534°W / 51.7611; -1.2534
  The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University or Oxford) is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096. The University grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. In post-nominals, the University of Oxford was historically abbreviated as Oxon. (from the Latin Oxoniensis), although Oxf is now used in official university publications.
  After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge, where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two ancient English universities have many common features and are often jointly referred to as Oxbridge. In addition to their cultural and practical associations, as a historic part of British society, they have a long history of rivalry with each other.
  
  wn.com/University_of_Oxford
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  Vlaardingen
  Vlaardingen ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of 26.71 square kilometres (10.31 sq mi), of which 23.81 square kilometres (9.19 sq mi) is land, with 71,938 residents (in May 2006).
  The town is divided into a northern (locally known as the "Holy") and a southern part by the A20 motorway. On the east the town is (currently in part) separated from Schiedam by the A4 motorway. Other places nearby are Maassluis to the west, Schipluiden and Delft to the north, and Spijkenisse in the south-west, on the other side of the Nieuwe Waterweg. The A20 connects Rotterdam to Hoek van Holland. The Beneluxtunnel (the tunnel that runs under the Nieuwe Waterweg) connects the A20 to the A15.
  The centre of the city is on the west side of the old harbour, which is a widened section of the canal (Vlaardingse Vaart) which runs from Vlaardingen to Schipluiden.
  
  wn.com/Vlaardingen
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  Vlist
  Vlist ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a village and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 56.52 km² (of which 2.73 km² is water) and had a population of 9,803 in 2004.
  On January 1, 1985, the municipalities of Haastrecht, Stolwijk, and Vlist were merged and the new municipality was named after the little river Vlist.
  The municipality of Vlist includes the population centres of Haastrecht, Stolwijk, and Vlist.
  The Vlist is a river in South Holland which runs from Schoonhoven to Haastrecht where it empties into the Hollandsche IJssel. It passes Schoonhoven, Bonrepas, Vlist Haastrecht, it crosses the communities Schoonhoven and Vlist. The river stretches from the crow flies about ten kilometers. The Vlist is a bog river and was formerly used as a basin for polders around the river; there were a lot of windmills for pumping water on the banks of the river. Previously, the Vlist used for transportation of goods, particularly from Schoonhoven to Utrecht. Today the river has a tourist function. In particular cyclists and pedestrians use the area for their tours. In the summer the roads beside the Vlist filled with cyclists and hikers. The river itself is often navigated with canoes which can be hired in Haastrecht. In the winter when the river is frozen, the Two Provinces trip is organized for the ice-skate enthusiasts. Along this river (at Bonrepas) Wilhelmina of Prussia, wife of William V, was stopped on June 28, 1787 by patriots from Gouda and then brought to a farm on the Goejanverwelle Lock.
  
  wn.com/Vlist
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  Voorschoten
  Voorschoten ([ˈvɔːrˌsxoʊ̯tə(n)] ( listen); population: 22,505 in 2004) is a village and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is a smaller town in the Randstad, enclosed by the cities of Leiden, Wassenaar and The Hague. The municipality covers an area of 11.59 km² (of which 0.38 km² is covered by water). Recently, plans to merge into one village with Wassenaar have been introduced.
  The old Castle Duivenvoorde, the British School in the Netherlands and the Manor Vredenhof - rebuilt from Diederik Jansz. Graeff, and until the 18th century in the hands from the De Graeff family - are located in or near Voorschoten.
  The population in 2012 is nearly 30,000. There's a sport park in Voorschoten with a golf court (nine par three holes) a baseball club, a hockey club, a handball club and a football club. There's a swimming pool near there too. There're two big churches: the main church and the Laurentius Church. There goes one main road through Voorschoten pass the centre called the Leidscheweg.
  
  wn.com/Voorschoten
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  Waddinxveen
  Waddinxveen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌʋɑdɪŋksˈfeːn], locally [ˌʋɑdɪŋksˈfeɪ̯n] ( listen)) is a town and municipality along the Gouwe river in the western Netherlands in the province of South Holland near Gouda. The municipality had a population of 26,304 in 2004, 25.328 on New Year's Eve of 2010. and covers an area of 29.39 km² (of which 1.52 km² is water).
  In Waddinxveen, there's the so-called 'Vergeten Plek' (Dutch for 'Forgotten Place'). This is the lowest place in the Dutch polders. It's 7.01 meters below Amsterdam Ordnance Datum
  Partner city of Waddinxveen is Pelhřimov in the Czech Republic.
  The first reference to the area is from 1233, when on April 20, Floris IV, Count of Holland, sold an area of peat lands along the Gouwe River for 200 Dutch pounds to Nicolas of Gnepwijk, Lord of Aalsmeer and Woubrecht. The area was given the name "Waddinxvene". Because of this event, Waddinxveen celebrated its 750-year anniversary in 1983.
  Between 1817 and 1870, Waddinxveen was dissolved and its area split into the municipalities of Noord-Waddinxveen and Zuid-Waddinxveen. Due to further expanding, those two municipalities reunited into one.
  
  wn.com/Waddinxveen
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  Wassenaar
  Wassenaar  pronunciation (help·info) (population: 25,651 as of June 1, 2007) is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland.
  A fairly affluent suburb of The Hague, Wassenaar lies 10 km (6 mi) north of that city on the N44 highway near the North Sea coast. It is part of the Haaglanden region. The municipality covers an area of 62.50 km², of which 11.65 km² is covered by water. Inhabitants of Wassenaar are called Wassenaarders.
  It is known^{[citation needed]} that a 12th century Romanesque church in Wassenaar lies on the spot where the Northumbrian missionary Willibrord once landed in the Netherlands; the high dunes to the west were not formed until later.
  Wassenaar long remained an unremarkable little town, known only as the home of the House of Wassenaer. It only began to gain notoriety in the 19th century when Louis Bonaparte ordered the construction of the Heerweg ("Army Road") between The Hague and Leiden, which forms the current Rijksstraatweg. In approximately 1840, Prince Frederik had the De Paauw (Peacock) palace built, where he lived for many years; it now serves as the city hall of Wassenaar.
  
  wn.com/Wassenaar
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  Weigh House (Leiden)
  The Leiden Weigh House (De Waag in Dutch) is a Rijksmonument located on Aalmarkt street (nr. 21).
  It was designed by Pieter Post around 1657 and opened in 1659. For centuries, merchants came here to weigh and trade a variety of goods. In addition to being a weigh house, the Leiden Weigh House has hosted a variety of engagements and stately celebrations over the centuries. Notably, Govert Bidloo converted an attic room into an autopsy room to study the human body.
  The weigh house was in use as an actual weigh house until 1972, when the last unit of cheese was sold. Nowadays, the building serves as a cultural monument, houses a gallery, is used as a concert hall, and can even host matrimonial ceremonies.
  Coordinates: 52°09′34″N 4°29′25″E / 52.1594°N 4.4904°E / 52.1594; 4.4904
  
  wn.com/Weigh_House_(Leiden)
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  Westvoorne
  Coordinates: 51°53′24″N 4°03′59″E / 51.89°N 4.06639°E / 51.89; 4.06639
  Westvoorne ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality on the island Voorne-Putten in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 97.52 km² (of which 44.06 km² water). It had a population of 14,265 in 2004.
  The municipality of Westvoorne was formed on January 1, 1980, through the merger of the former municipalities of Oostvoorne and Rockanje. It consists the population centres of Oostvoorne, Rockanje, Tinte and Helhoek.
  Rockanje, windmill
  Tinte, chapel
  
  
  
  wn.com/Westvoorne
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  Zederik
  Zederik ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 76.49 km² (of which 2.72 km² water). It had a population of 13,546 in 2004.
  The municipality of Zederik was formed on January 1, 1986, through the merger of the former municipalities of Ameide, Hei- en Boeicop, Leerbroek, Lexmond, Meerkerk, Nieuwland, and Tienhoven. The municipality is named after the Old Zederik, a small canal running through its area.
  The population centres of Zederik consist of Ameide, Hei- en Boeicop, Leerbroek, Lexmond, Meerkerk, Nieuwland, and Tienhoven.
  
  wn.com/Zederik
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  Zijlpoort (Leiden)
  Zijlpoort is a city gate in Leiden, The Netherlands. The gate was built in 1667 in the classical style according to a design by the Leiden architect Willem van der Helm and with sculpture by Rombout Verhulst. Because the gates have to connect with the city wall as well as with a bridge, the building is in the form of a parallelogram. Together with the Morspoort, the Zijlpoort is the only one of the original eight gates that survive. The name refers to the nearby river, the Zijl. The predecessor of the Zijlpoort stood at the end of the Haarlemmerstraat that is now called the Havenplein.
  In the course of time, the Zijlpoort has, together with the hall above the passage, fulfilled different purposes over time: for example, at the beginning of the 18th century, a shipping company was based there, and from 1736 there was a school for poor children.
  In the last quarter of the 20th century, the Zijlpoort was renovated twice on a large scale. During the last renovation, in the 1990s, supporting constructions were put up on both sides of the gate. Since 1999, a catering shop has been established in one of them.
  
  wn.com/Zijlpoort_(Leiden)
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  Zoetermeer
  Coordinates: 52°03′40″N 4°29′36″E / 52.06111°N 4.49333°E / 52.06111; 4.49333
  Zoetermeer (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌzu.tər.ˈmɪːr] ( listen)) is a city in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 37.06 km² (of which 2.15 km² is water). A small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950. By 1 January 2010 this had grown to 121.580, making it the third largest population centre in the province of South Holland, after Rotterdam and The Hague. It is part of the Haaglanden conurbation.
  The name "Zoetermeer" (Dutch for "Sweet Lake") refers to the former fresh lake north of the town (reclaimed in 1614).
  In the tenth century Zoetermeer was a small village, primarily home to farmers and fishermen. In the 13th century a village centre was formed, which still exists as the historic Dorpsstraat. Until the 17th century there was a lake, called the Zoetermeer. A reminder of this is the "Noord Aa" at the northern edge of town, an artificial lake was created when tons of sand were needed as building material for the foundations for new housing development, and the area north of Zoetermeer provided a good source.
  
  wn.com/Zoetermeer
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  Zoeterwoude
  Zoeterwoude ([ˌzutərˈʋʌudə] ( listen)) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers 21.91 km² (of which 0.67 km² is water). It had a population of 8,526 in 2004.
  The municipality of Zoeterwoude consists of Zoeterwoude-Dorp, Zoeterwoude-Rijndijk, Gelderswoude, Weipoort, Westeinde, and Zuidbuurt. The main brewery of Heineken International is located there.
  The name Zoeterwoude is first mentioned in a document from 1205, which references a certain "Florentius van Sotrewold". It is uncertain if this is a reference to the village. The first confirmed existence is from 1276 when Dirk van Santhorst received the "Soetrewold" fiefdom from Floris V, Count of Holland.
  Its municipal boundaries were set circa 1300. At that time it was one of the largest municipalities in the Netherlands, but later much land was annexed by surrounding cities, notably Leiden. In 1450, the first bridge between Leiderdorp and Zoeterwoude was built. In 1574, Zoeterwoude was burnt to the ground and its polders inundated by Leideners in order to increase the range of the city's cannons. Almost no inhabitants remained in Zoeterwoude.
  
  wn.com/Zoeterwoude
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  Zuidplas
  Zuidplas is a new municipality by 1 january 2010. Joining of Moordrecht, Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel and Zevenhuizen-Moerkapelle.
  
  wn.com/Zuidplas

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  Armin Van Buuren
  Armin van Buuren (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑr.mɪn vɑn ˈby.rə(n)]), OON (born 25 December 1976 in Leiden, Netherlands) is a Dutch trance producer and DJ. Between 2007 and 2010, he was voted number one in DJ Magazine's annual top 100 list of the most popular DJs. In the 2011 list, he ranked in second place. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance, which claims to have around 15 million weekly listeners in 26 countries, which would make it one of the most listened-to radio shows in the world. His 2008 studio album, Imagine, entered the Dutch album chart at #1, a first for a dance music artist in Dutch music history.
  Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, Netherlands on 25 December 1976, but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buuren started making music when he was 14.^{[citation needed]} He was inspired by French electronic music composer, Jean Michel Jarre, and wished to become a great electronic music composer like Jarre.^{[citation needed]}
  He finished high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and left for college to study law at Leiden University. While studying law, Van Buuren's interest for making music blossomed, and he began working as a DJ in a local club called Nexus. As his musical career began to take off, he put his law degree on hold, although he did return to finish law school in 2003.
  
  wn.com/Armin_Van_Buuren
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  Christoffel Plantijn
  Christophe Plantin (in Dutch Christoffel Plantijn) (c. 1520 – 1 July 1589) was an influential Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher.
  Plantin was born in France, probably in Touraine or Saint-Avertin, near the city of Tours. He learned bookbinding and bookselling in Caen. He married someone from Antwerp, and settled there in 1549 as a bookbinder.
  In 1555, he opened his own printing establishment and soon became a leader of that trade. The first book he is known to have printed was La Institutione di una fanciulla nata nobilmente, by Giovanni Michele Bruto, with a French translation. This was soon followed by many other works in French and Latin, which in point of execution rivalled the best printing of his time. The art of engraving then flourished in the Netherlands, and Dutch engravers illustrated many of his editions. Around 1555, an arm wound appears to have led him to apply himself to typography.
  In 1562, while Plantin was absent in Paris, his workmen printed a heretical pamphlet, which resulted in his goods being seized and sold. It seems, however, that he eventually recovered much of the value that was taken from him. In 1563, he associated himself with some friends to carry on his business on a larger scale. Among these friends were two grand-nephews of Daniel Bomberg, who furnished him with the fine Hebrew typefaces of that renowned Venetian printer.
  
  wn.com/Christoffel_Plantijn
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  Frans Post
  Frans Janszoon Post (1612—1680) was a Dutch painter. He was the first European artist to paint landscapes of America. In 1636 he traveled to Dutch Brazil at the invitation of Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen.
  Post was born in Haarlem and was the son of Jan Janszoon Post (who was a highly regarded glass painter trained in Leiden), and Francijntje Verbraken of Haarlem. His older brother was Pieter Post, one of the most important architects of Dutch classicism. Little is known of his life before his trip to Brazil.
  He was born in Haarlem, circa 1612 and he most likely received his early training from his father and his older brother. He was a contemporary of Frans Hals, who painted his portrait, and prominent Haarlem landscape painters such as the brothers Jacob & Salomon van Ruysdael, Adriaen & Isaac van Ostade, and in particular Pieter de Molijn. It is likely that a Dutch master also taught him before he left for Brazil, though he was not registered in the guild until after his return. Although not universally accepted, Post scholar Erik Larsen believes De Molijn was the master under whom Post studied, because Molyn is mentioned in Houbraken as the teacher of several other landscape painters, such as Allart van Everdingen.
  
  wn.com/Frans_Post
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  Gabriel Metsu
  Gabriël Metsu (January 1629 – buried 24 October 1667) was a Dutch painter of history paintings, genre works and portraits.
  Metsu was the son of the Flemish painter Jacques Metsu (c.1588-1629), who lived most of his days at Leiden, and Jacomijntje Garniers, his third wife, whom he married in 1625. Jacomijntje was the widow of a painter with three children of her own. Two months after Gabriël's birth, his father died.
  According to Jacobus Houbraken, Metsu was taught by Gerard Dou, though his early works do not lend colour to this assertion. He was influenced by painters of Leiden such as Jan Steen, and later by Frans van Mieris the Elder.
  Metsu was registered among the first members of the painters' corporation at Leiden; and the books of the guild also tell us that he remained a member in 1649. In Leiden, it was alleged that Metsu left a brothel at six in the morning and took a prostitute to the Academy. In 1650 he ceased to subscribe, and works bearing his name and the date of 1653 support the belief that he had moved. Metsu was trained in Utrecht by Jan Baptist Weenix and Nicolaus Knüpfer.
  
  wn.com/Gabriel_Metsu
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  Gegard Mousasi
  Geghard Movsesian (Armenian: Գեղարդ Մովսեսյան, August 1, 1985 - ), better known as Gegard Mousasi, is an Armenian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He is fighting out of Team Jurojin in Leiden, Netherlands and is a member of Russian Red Devil Sport Club and Netherlands' Golden Glory. He is the current Dream Light Heavyweight champion, former Dream Middleweight Champion, Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion and the former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion. Mousasi is currently ranked as the #8 light heavyweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.
  In February 2010, Mousasi left M-1 Global Management. Mousasi was quoted as saying "After careful consideration, I have decided that it is in my best interest to part ways with M-1 Global," Mousasi wrote in the e-mail. "During the time I spent under their wing, M-1 Global, as a promoter and management company, allowed me to achieve many great things. I appreciate all they have done for me. My management is being taken care of by someone close to me."
  
  wn.com/Gegard_Mousasi
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  Gerard Dou
  Gerrit Dou (April 7, 1613 – February 9, 1675), also known as Gerard and Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly-polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for his trompe l'oeil "niche" paintings and candlelit night-scenes with strong chiaroscuro.
  His first instructor in drawing and design was Bartholomew Dolendo, an engraver; and he afterwards learned the art of glass-painting under Peter Kouwhoorn. At the age of 15 he became a pupil of Rembrandt, with whom he continued for three years. From the great master of the Dutch school he acquired his skill in coloring, and in the more subtle effects of chiaroscuro; and the style of Rembrandt is reflected in several of his earlier pictures, notably in a portrait of himself at the age of 22, in the Bridgewater Collection, and in the "Blind Tobit going to meet his Son", at Wardour Castle [locations may be outdated].
  At a comparatively early point in his career, however, he had formed a manner of his own distinct from, and indeed in some respects antagonistic to, that of his master. Gifted with unusual clearness of vision and precision of manipulation, he cultivated a minute and elaborate style of treatment; and probably few painters ever spent more time and pains on all the details of their pictures down to the most trivial. He is said to have spent five days in painting a hand; and his work was so fine that he found it necessary to manufacture his own brushes.
  
  wn.com/Gerard_Dou
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  Hendrik Casimir
  Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir FRS (July 15, 1909 in The Hague, Netherlands – May 4, 2000 in Heeze) was a Dutch physicist best known for his research on the two-fluid model of superconductors (together with C. J. Gorter) in 1934 and the Casimir effect (together with D. Polder) in 1948.
  He studied theoretical physics at the University of Leiden under Paul Ehrenfest, where he received his Ph.D. in 1931. His Ph.D. thesis dealt with the quantum mechanics of a rigid spinning body and the group theory of the rotations of molecules. During that time he also spent some time in Copenhagen with Niels Bohr. After receiving his Ph.D. he worked as an assistant to Wolfgang Pauli at Zürich. In 1938, he became a physics professor at Leiden University. At that time, he was actively studying both heat conduction and electrical conduction, and contributed to the attainment of millikelvin temperatures.
  In 1942, during World War II, Casimir moved to the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium (Philips Physics Laboratory, NatLab) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He remained an active scientist and in 1945 wrote a well-known paper on Lars Onsager's principle of microscopic reversibility. He became a co-director of Philips NatLab in 1946 and a member of the board of directors of the company in 1956. He retired from Philips in 1972.
  
  wn.com/Hendrik_Casimir
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  Hendrik Lorentz
  Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (Arnhem, 18 July 1853 – Haarlem, 4 February 1928) was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for the discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He also derived the transformation equations subsequently used by Albert Einstein to describe space and time.
  Hendrik Lorentz was born in Arnhem, Gelderland (The Netherlands), the son of Gerrit Frederik Lorentz (1822 – 1893), a well-off nurseryman, and Geertruida van Ginkel (1826 – 1861). In 1862, after his mother's death, his father married Luberta Hupkes. Despite being raised as a Protestant, he was a freethinker in religious matters. From 1866-1869 he attended the newly established high school in Arnhem, and in 1870 he passed the exams in classical languages which were then required for admission to University.
  Lorentz studied physics and mathematics at the University of Leiden, where he was strongly influenced by the teaching of astronomy professor Frederik Kaiser; it was his influence that led him to become a physicist. After earning a bachelor's degree, he returned to Arnhem in 1872 to teach high school classes in mathematics, but he continued his studies in Leiden in addition to his teaching position. In 1875 Lorentz earned a doctoral degree under Pieter Rijke on a thesis entitled "Over de theorie der terugkaatsing en breking van het licht" (On the theory of reflection and refraction of light), in which he refined the electromagnetic theory of James Clerk Maxwell.
  In 1881 Hendrik married Aletta Catharina Kaiser, niece of Frederik Kaiser. She was the daughter of Johann Wilhelm Kaiser, director of the Amsterdam's Engraving School and professor of Fine Arts, and designer of the first Dutch postage stamps (1852). Later Kaiser was the Director of the National Gallery of Amsterdam. Hendrik and Aletta's eldest daughter Geertruida Luberta Lorentz was to become a physicist as well.
  
  wn.com/Hendrik_Lorentz
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  Herman Boerhaave
  Herman Boerhaave (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦɛrmɑn ˌburˈɦaːvə], Voorhout, 31 December 1668 – Leiden, 23 September 1738) was a Dutch botanist, humanist and physician of European fame. He is regarded as the founder of clinical teaching and of the modern academic hospital. His main achievement was to demonstrate the relation of symptoms to lesions. In addition, he was the first to isolate the chemical urea from urine. His motto was Simplex sigillum veri; Simplicity is the sign of truth.
  From 1950 to 1970, Boerhaave's image was printed on Dutch 25-guilder banknotes. The Leiden University Medical Centre organises medical trainings called Boerhaave-courses.
  He was born at Voorhout near Leiden. Entering the University of Leiden he took his degree in philosophy in 1689, with a dissertation De distinctione mentis a corpore (on the difference of the mind from the body), in which he attacked the doctrines of Epicurus, Thomas Hobbes and Spinoza. He then turned to the study of medicine, in which he graduated in 1693 at Harderwijk in present-day Gelderland.
  
  wn.com/Herman_Boerhaave
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  House of Elzevir
  Elzevir is the name of a celebrated family of Dutch booksellers, publishers, and printers of the 17th and early 18th centuries. The duodecimo series of "Elzevirs" became very famous and very desirable among bibliophiles, who sought to obtain the tallest and freshest copies of these tiny books.
  Although it appears the family was involved with the book trade as early as the 16th century, it is only known for its work in some detail beginning with Lodewijk Elzevir (also called Louis). The family ceased printing in 1712, but a contemporary publisher Elsevier takes its name from this early modern business.
  In an age of non-standardized spelling, the name of the family was most often spelled Elsevier, or Elzevier, and their French editions mostly retain this name; but the name was gradually corrupted in English into Elzevir as a generic term for their books. The family originally came from Leuven, where Louis was born circa 1546. Although he worked in the book trade throughout his life, Louis seems to have worked mostly as a bookbinder in his early decades. He relocated with his family several times, including a stint at Antwerp, and in 1565 his name can be found on the payroll of the great printer-publisher Plantin. In 1580, he made a final move to Leiden, where he seems to have worked first as a bookbinder, and later as a bookseller and publisher.
  
  wn.com/House_of_Elzevir
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  Jacob van Campen
  Jacob van Campen (February 2, 1596 - September 13, 1657), was a Dutch artist and architect of the Golden Age.
  He was born into a wealthy family at Haarlem, and spent his youth in his home town. Being of noble birth and with time on his hands, he took up painting mainly as a pastime. In 1614, he became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke (in Haarlem the architects and painters were both in the same guild, and many were both, such as Pieter Saenredam and Salomon de Bray), and studied painting under Frans de Grebber - a number of Van Campen's oils survive. About 1616 to 1624 he is thought to have lived in Italy. On his return to the Netherlands, Van Campen turned to architecture, applying ideas borrowed from Andrea Palladio, Vincenzo Scamozzi and classical influences from Vitruvius. He was primarily responsible for introducing the classical revival style into Dutch Baroque architecture, combining the native, Dutch brick style with the Vitruvian principles he had learnt to produce "Dutch Classicism", an internationally influential style.
  
  wn.com/Jacob_van_Campen
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  Jan Steen
  Jan Havickszoon Steen (c. 1626 – buried February 3, 1679) was a Dutch genre painter of the 17th century (also known as the Dutch Golden Age). Psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour are marks of his trade.
  Steen was born in Leiden, where his well-to-do, Catholic family were brewers and ran the tavern The Red Halbert for two generations. Like his even more famous contemporary Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen attended the Latin school and became a student in Leiden. He received his painterly education from Nicolaes Knupfer (1603–1660), a German painter of historical and figurative scenes in Utrecht. Influences of Knupfer can be found in Steen's use of composition and colour. Another source of inspiration were Adriaen van Ostade and Isaac van Ostade, painters of rural scenes, who lived in Haarlem. Whether Steen actually studied with Ostade is not known.
  In 1648 Jan Steen and Gabriel Metsu founded the painters' Guild of Saint Luke at Leiden. Soon after he became an assistant to the renowned landscape painter Jan van Goyen and moved into his house on the Bierkade in The Hague. On Oct 3, 1649 he married van Goyen's daughter Margriet, with whom he would have eight children. Steen worked with his father-in-law until 1654, when he moved to Delft, where he ran brewery De Roscam (The Curry Comb) (or De Slang (The Snake)) without much success. After the explosion in Delft in 1654 the art market was depressed, but Steen painted his famous A Burgomaster of Delft and his daughter. It does not seem to be clear if this painting should be called a portrait or a genre work.
  
  wn.com/Jan_Steen
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  Jan van Goyen
  Jan Josephszoon van Goyen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈjɑn vɑn ˈɣoˑjən]; 13 January 1596 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch landscape painter. Van Goyen was an extremely prolific artist; approximately twelve hundred paintings and more than one thousand drawings by him are known.
  Jan van Goyen was the son of a shoemaker and started as an apprentice in Leiden, the town of his birth. Like many Dutch painters of his time, Jan van Goyen studied art in the town of Haarlem with Esaias van de Velde. At age 35, he established a permanent studio at Den Haag (The Hague). Crenshaw tells (and mentions the sources) that Van Goyen's landscape paintings rarely fetched high prices, but he made up for the modest value of individual pieces by increasing his production, painting thinly and quickly with a limited palette of inexpensive pigments. Despite his market innovations, he always sought more income, not only through related work as an art dealer and auctioneer but also by speculating in tulips and real estate. Although the latter was usually a safe avenue of investing money, in Van Goyen's experience it led to enormous debts. Paulus Potter rented one of his houses. Though he seems to have kept a workshop, his only registered pupils were Nicolaes van Berchem, Jan Steen, and Adriaen van der Kabel. The list of painters he influenced is much longer.
  
  wn.com/Jan_van_Goyen
• Johann Bachstrom
  Jan Fryderyk or Johann Friedrich Bachstrom (24 December 1688, near Rawitsch, now Rawicz, Poland - June 1742, Nieswiez, now Nyasvizh, Belarus) was a writer, scientist and Lutheran theologian who spent the last decade of his life in Leiden. His surname is sometimes spelt Bachstroem or Bachstrohm. He mostly wrote in Latin, German, and French (with his given names adjusted to Joannis Friderici and Jean-Frédéric as appropriate), while in English biographies he can appear as John Frederic Bachstrom. Since he is best known for his publications while he was in the Netherlands, he is often mistakenly described as a Dutch physician and writer.
  Bachstrom was born in 1688 the son of a barber near Rawicz, Poland. By 1708 he studied theology in Halle and since March 1710 in Jena in Germany. He moved to Stroppen in Silesia to become a preacher, but was refused based on doubts about his orthodoxy. In 1717 he became a professor at the gymnasium of Toruń. He was expelled from this city after a heterodox sermon had resulted in much disorder. He moved to Wengrow, then a centre for Reformation movements in Poland, where he combined the offices of physician and pastor. By 1729 he, somehow, was in Constantinople where he established a printing shop and undertook to translate the Bible into Turkish. This led to much consternation and he was once more compelled to flee a city.
  
  wn.com/Johann_Bachstrom
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  John of Leiden
  John of Leiden (Dutch: Jan van Leiden, Jan Beukelsz or Jan Beukelszoon; aka John Bockold or John Bockelson) (1509? – January 22, 1536), was an Anabaptist leader from the Dutch city of Leiden. He was the illegitimate son of a Dutch mayor, and a tailor's apprentice by trade.
  Raised in poverty, young John became a charismatic leader who was widely revered by his followers. According to his own testimony, he went to the German city of Münster, arriving in 1533, because he had heard there were inspired preachers there. He sent for Jan Matthys, who had baptized him, to come. After his arrival Matthys – recognized as a prophet – became the principal leader in the city. Following a failed military attempt on Easter Sunday 1534, in which Matthys died, John of Leiden became King of Münster until its fall in June 1535.
  The army of Münster was defeated in 1535 by the prince bishop Franz von Waldeck, and John of Leiden was captured. He was found in the cellar of a house, from where he was taken to a dungeon in Dülmen, then brought back to Münster. On January 22, 1536, along with Bernhard Krechting and Bernhard Knipperdolling, he was tortured and then executed. Each of the three was attached to a pole by an iron spiked collar and his body ripped with red-hot tongs for the space of an hour. After Knipperdolling saw the process of torturing John of Leiden, he attempted to kill himself with the collar, using it to choke himself. After that the executioner tied him to the stake to make it impossible for him to kill himself. After the burning, their tongues were pulled out with tongs before each was killed with a burning dagger thrust through the heart. The bodies were placed in three cages and hung from the steeple of St. Lambert's Church and the remains left to rot. About fifty years later the bones were removed, but the cages have remained into the 21st century.
  
  wn.com/John_of_Leiden
• Jouke de Vries
  Jouke de Vries (born 26 September 1960, Dearsum) is a professor at Leiden University in Leiden.
  De Vries grew up in the village of Balk in Friesland and in 1979 started his studies in political science at the University of Amsterdam. He has been working at the group Leaderships Art at the University of Leiden since 1984. De Vries obtained his PhD in 1989 from H. Daudt and H. Daalder on the article he wrote on "Ground Politics" (later made into a novel by the same name) and the educational essay "Cabinet Crisis in the Netherlands".
  In 2002 he was a candidate for the leadership of the Partij van de Arbeid, but got only two percent of the votes of the party members against sixty percent for the chosen leader Wouter Bos. He teaches students at Leiden University in his role as a Professor of political science (Dutch:Hoogleraar). He regularly speaks to international groups of students, especially exchange students. He is currently a columnist for a Dutch language website, where he writes his own blog each week. Here he writes on recent news from the worlds of politics and economics.
  
  wn.com/Jouke_de_Vries
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  Lieven de Key
  Lieven de Key (1560 Ghent — July 17, 1627, Haarlem) was a famous Dutch renaissance architect in the Netherlands, mostly known today for his works in Haarlem.
  He was born in Ghent, and was already a well known architect when the Haarlem council asked him to become city architect in 1592 to succeed Wouter den Abt. He brought to Haarlem the same Dutch renaissance style that Hendrick de Keyser brought to Amsterdam. Everything attributed to him or his followers, whether a building, a doorway, or merely a gable stone, is considered a rijksmonument today.
  The reason so many buildings in Haarlem can be attributed to him is because Haarlem had suffered a severe fire in 1576 that destroyed a third of the city, and plans were underway for large city projects when he was appointed city architect. Before working in Haarlem and Leiden, De Key had worked in London from 1580-1591.
  
  wn.com/Lieven_de_Key
• Lodewijk Elzevir
  Lodewijk Elzevir (c. 1540, Leuven — 4 February 1617, Leiden), originally Lodewijk or Louis Elsevier or Elzevier, was a Dutch printer. He was the founder of the House of Elzevir, which printed, for example, the work of Galileo, at a time when his work was suppressed for religious reasons. Although the House of Elzevir ceased publishing in 1712, the modern Dutch Elsevier company was founded in 1880 and took its name from the historic Dutch publishing house.
  Elzevir, son of Hans Helschevier, started his career as a bookbinder at the printing shop of Christoffel Plantijn in Antwerp. In 1563 he married Maijke de Verdeijen Verbois in Antwerp, where his first two sons were born. He moved to Wesel before 1570, to Douai before 1575 and settled in Leiden before 1580.
  He produced his first book at Leiden in 1583 and under his descendants the business continued until 1791. The printing house was instrumental in the publication of important work in science. Atypical of other printers of the era, Elzevir books focused on sturdiness rather than elegance and legibility over ornate characters. His books were usually smaller with narrow margins. Christopher van Dyck was one of the type designers. Most of the work was published in Latin.
  
  wn.com/Lodewijk_Elzevir
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  Louis Bonaparte
  Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Français, Comte de Saint-Leu (2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846), King of Holland (1806–10), was the fifth surviving child and the fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino. His brother was the first Emperor of the French, Napoleon I, and his son was the last, Napoleon III.
  Louis was born Luigi Buonaparte in Ajaccio, Corsica. He was a younger brother of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon I of France, Lucien Bonaparte, and Elisa Bonaparte, and the older brother of Pauline Bonaparte, Caroline Bonaparte, and Jérôme Bonaparte.
  Louis Bonaparte's early career was spent in the Army, and he served with Napoleon in Egypt. Thanks to his older brother, Napoleon, Louis was given a commission in the French Military, and was promoted to Lieutenant in the 4th Artillery Regiment, and from there he was made Aide de Camp on Napoleon's staff. Napoleon, during his Italian Campaign, recommended Louis to Carnot, and Louis was consequently made a Captain. He later became a General by the age of 25, although he himself felt that he had risen too high in too short a time.
  
  wn.com/Louis_Bonaparte
• Love Brewster
  Elder Love Brewster (born ca. 1595) was an early American settler, the son of Elder William Brewster and his wife, Mary Brewster. He traveled with his father, mother and brother, Wrestling, on the Mayflower reaching what became the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts in 1620. Brewster had two sisters, Patience and Fear, and two brothers, Jonathan and Wrestling, along with an unnamed sister who died young. He was a founder of the town of Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
  Love Brewster was born probably at Leiden, Holland, circa 1595, although no birth records have been found, and died at Duxbury, Massachusetts, sometime between October 6, 1650, and the "last day" of January 1651. This latter date is based on the date of his will and when the inventory of his estate was taken. He was the son of Elder William Brewster, (ca. 1567 – April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim colonist leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony and his wife, Mary. At the age of about 25, he traveled with his father, mother and brother, Wrestling, on the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts.
  
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  Lucas van Leyden
  Lucas van Leyden (Leiden, 1494 – 8 August 1533 in Leiden), also named either Lucas Hugensz or Lucas Jacobsz, was a Dutch engraver and painter, born and mainly active in Leiden. van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and is generally regarded as one of the finest engravers in the history of art.
  In basic painting technique van Leyden was the pupil of his father, from whose hand no works are known, and of Cornelis Engelbrechtsz, but his precocious originality was paramount. Where he learnt engraving is unknown, but he took advantage of the works of Marcantonio Raimondi, whose motifs are reworked in Lucas' engravings and paintings, and became highly skilled in that art at a very early age: the earliest known print by him (Mohammed and the Murdered Monk) dates from 1508, when he was perhaps only 14, yet reveals no trace of immaturity in inspiration or technique.
  Seventeen paintings surely by Lucas survive, and a further twenty-seven are known from descriptions by Carel van Mander, from contemporary copies or from drawings of them made by Jan de Bisschop in the later 17th century.Max Friedländer descried no clear pattern of stylistic development, in large part because Lucas' oeuvre was swelled and obscured by attributions since found unsustainable.
  
  wn.com/Lucas_van_Leyden
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  Ludolph van Ceulen
  Ludolph van Ceulen (28 January 1540 – 31 December 1610) was a German / Dutch mathematician from Hildesheim. He emigrated to the Netherlands.
  Ceulen moved to Delft to teach fencing and mathematics. In 1594 he opened a fencing school in Leiden. In 1600 he was appointed the first professor of mathematics at Leiden University. He died in Leiden.
  Ludolph van Ceulen spent a major part of his life calculating the numerical value of the mathematical constant π, using essentially the same methods as those employed by Archimedes some seventeen hundred years earlier. He published a 20-decimal value in his 1596 book Van den Circkel ("On the Circle"), later expanding this to 35 decimals. After his death, the "Ludolphine number",
  was engraved on his tombstone in Leiden. The tombstone was later lost but was restored in 2000.
  
  wn.com/Ludolph_van_Ceulen
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  Nina Foch
  Nina Foch (April 20, 1924 – December 5, 2008) was a Dutch-born American actress and leading lady in many 1940s and 1950s films.
  Nina Foch was born Nina Consuelo Maud Fock in Leiden, Holland. Her mother was the American actress and singer Consuelo Flowerton, who returned to the U.S. after her marriage to Foch's father, Dutch classical music conductor Dirk Fock ended. They divorced when Nina was a toddler. As Foch grew up in New York, her mother encouraged her artistic talents. She played the piano and enjoyed art but was more interested in acting.
  Foch lived in Beverly Hills, California for 40 years. She married three times. Her first marriage was to James Lipton, the future host of Inside the Actors Studio. She later married Dennis de Brito in 1959. The couple had one child before divorcing in 1963. Her final marriage, to Michael Dewell, began in 1967 but ended in divorce in 1993.
  Foch died December 5, 2008, of complications from the blood disorder myelodysplasia at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Her only son, Dr. Dirk de Brito, told the Los Angeles Times that "She had become ill while teaching at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts."
  
  wn.com/Nina_Foch
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  Otto van Veen
  Otto van Veen, also known by his Latinized name Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius, (c.1556 – 6 May 1629) was a painter, draughtsman, and humanist active primarily in Antwerp and Brussels in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. He is known for running a large studio in Antwerp, producing several emblem books, and for being, from 1594 or 1595 until 1598, Peter Paul Rubens's teacher. His role as a classically educated humanist artist (a pictor doctus) was influential on the young Rubens, who would take on that role himself.
  Van Veen was born in Leiden around 1556, where his father had been Burgomaster. He probably was a pupil of Isaac Claesz van Swanenburg until October 1572, when the Catholic family moved to Antwerp, and then to Liège. He studied for a time under Dominicus Lampsonius and Jean Ramey, before traveling to Rome around 1574 or 1575. He stayed there for about five years, perhaps studying with Federico Zuccari. Carel van Mander relates that van Veen then worked at the courts of Rudolf II in Prague and William V of Bavaria in Munich, before returning to the Low Countries. In Brussels, he was court painter to the governor of the Southern Netherlands, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma until 1592, and then active in Antwerp.
  
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  Pancras of Rome
  Saint Pancras was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity, and was beheaded for his faith at the age of just 14 around the year 304. His name is Greek and literally means "the one that holds everything".
  From 1595 (25 years after Pope Pius V promulgated the Tridentine Missal) until 1969, Saint Pancras was venerated together with Saints Nereus and Achilleus and Saint Domitilla in a shared feastday and Mass formula on 12 May.
  Saint Pancras is now venerated separately, still on 12 May. He is, traditionally, the second of the Ice Saints.
  Since he was said to have been martyred at the age of fourteen during the persecution under Diocletian, Pancras would have been born around 289, at a place designated as near Synnada, a city of Phrygia Salutaris, to parents of Roman citizenship. His mother Cyriada died during childbirth, while his father Cleonius died when Pancras was eight years old. Pancras was entrusted to his uncle Dionysius’ care. They both moved to Rome to live in a villa on the Caelian Hill. They converted to Christianity, and Pancras became a zealous adherent of the religion.
  
  wn.com/Pancras_of_Rome
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  Paul Ehrenfest
  Paul Ehrenfest (January 18, 1880 – September 25, 1933) was an Austrian and Dutch physicist, who made major contributions to the field of statistical mechanics and its relations with quantum mechanics, including the theory of phase transition and the Ehrenfest theorem.
  Paul Ehrenfest was born and grew up in Vienna in a Jewish family from Loštice in Moravia. His parents, Sigmund Ehrenfest and Johanna Jellinek, ran a grocery store. Although the family was not overly religious, Paul studied Hebrew and the history of the Jewish people. Later he always emphasized his Jewish roots. Ehrenfest excelled in grade school but did not do well at the Akademisches Gymnasium, his best subject being mathematics. After transferring to the Franz Josef Gymnasium, his marks improved. In 1899 he successfully passed the final exams.
  He majored in chemistry at the Technische Hochschule, but took courses at the University of Vienna, in particular from Ludwig Boltzmann on his kinetic theory of thermodynamics. These lectures had a profound influence: they were instrumental in stimulating Ehrenfest’s interest in theoretical physics, defined his main area of research for years to come, and provided an example of inspired teaching. At the time it was customary in the German-speaking world to study at more than one university and in 1901 Ehrenfest transferred to Göttingen, which until 1933 was an important centre for mathematics and theoretical physics. There he met his future wife Tatyana A. Afanasyeva, a young mathematician born in Ukraine and educated in Russia. In the spring of 1903 he met H.A. Lorentz during a short trip to Leiden. In the meantime he prepared a dissertation on Die Bewegung starrer Körper in Flüssigkeiten und die Mechanik von Hertz (The motion of rigid bodies in fluids and the mechanics of Hertz). He obtained his Ph.D. degree on June 23, 1904 in Vienna, where he stayed from 1904 to 1905.
  
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  Pieter de Ring
  Pieter de Ring, or Ryng (1615/1620 – 22 September 1660, Leiden) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of still lifes. became famous for his opulent, flashy still lifes or banquet pieces with fruit, a lobster, a goblet, shrimps, oysters, a rug and Chinese porcelain. His signature is often a painted ring or with the Latinised form of his name, P.Ab.Annulo.
  De Ring was born either in Leiden, or in Ypres in Flanders, but there is no trace of his birth in the Leiden archives, and the Ypres Archives were destroyed in August 1914. Pieter de Ring started as a mason and painted still lifes in the evening. When the hall was filled with paintings he became a pupil of Jan Davidsz. de Heem , until 1635 living in Leiden. His father Daniel died in 1648; in 1657 his mother lived in Amsterdam. De Ring himself lived in a house at Hogewoerd.
  There are no records in the Leiden Archive on his marriage or children. He appears not to have bought a house there nor wrote a will. What is known is that he became one of the founders a member and of the Guild of St. Luke in 1648, De Ring was buried in the Pieterskerk, Leiden on 22 September 1660 and taken to church from a house in the Nonnensteeg. If he had his studio there he probably had a view on the Leiden Academy building. If he lived on the east side of the alley he had a beautiful view on the Hortus Botanicus of Leiden, the work of Clusius.
  
  wn.com/Pieter_de_Ring
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  Pieter Post
  Pieter Jansz Post (baptised in Haarlem, May 1, 1608 – buried May 8, 1669 in The Hague) was a Dutch Golden Age architect, painter and printmaker.
  Post was the son of a stained-glass painter and the older brother of painter Frans Post. He is credited with the creation of the Dutch baroque style of architecture, along with his longtime collaborator Jacob van Campen. Together they designed the Mauritshuis in the Hague. According to Houbraken he was a famous architect who introduced his brother Frans to Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange while he was working on plans for the Mauritshuis.
  According to the RKD he became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke in 1623, and became painter and architect for Stadhouder Frederik Hendrik. He was the overseer from 1640 for the new additions to Paleis Noordeinde in The Hague. From 1645 he was the architect for Frederik Hendrik for Huis ten Bosch, where he worked together with Jacob van Campen. His son Maurits became an architect, and his son Johan Post became a painter, and his daughter married the anatomist and collector Frederik Ruysch. His granddaughter Rachel Ruysch became a famous flower painter.
  
  wn.com/Pieter_Post
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  Pieter Zeeman
  Pieter Zeeman (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzeːmɑn]) (25 May 1865 – 9 October 1943) was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Hendrik Lorentz for his discovery of the Zeeman effect.
  Pieter Zeeman was born in Zonnemaire, a small town on the island of Schouwen-Duiveland, Netherlands, to Catharinus Forandinus Zeeman, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, and Willemina Worst.
  He became interested in physics at an early age. In 1883 the Aurora borealis happened to be visible in the Netherlands. Zeeman, then a student at the high school in Zierikzee, made a drawing and description of the phenomenon and submitted it to Nature, where it was published. The editor praised "the careful observations of Professor Zeeman from his observatory in Zonnemaire".
  After finishing high school in 1883 he went to Delft for supplementary education in classical languages, then a requirement for admission to University. He stayed at the home of Dr J.W. Lely, co-principal of the gymnasium and brother of Cornelis Lely, who was responsible for the concept and realization of the Zuiderzee Works. While in Delft, he first met Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, who was to become his thesis adviser.
  
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  Pilgrims
  A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system. In the spiritual literature of Christianity, the concept of pilgrim and pilgrimage may refer to the experience of life in the world (considered as a period of exile) or to the inner path of the spiritual aspirant from a state of wretchedness to a state of beatitude.
  Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions, including the faiths in ancient Egypt, Persia in the Mithraic period, India, China, and Japan. The Greek and Roman customs of consulting the gods at local oracles, such as those at Dodona or Delphi, both in Greece, are widely known. In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored.
  In the early period of Hebrew history, pilgrims traveled to Shiloh, Dan, Bethel, and eventually Jerusalem, see also Three Pilgrimage Festivals, a practice followed by other Abrahamic religions. While many religious pilgrims travel toward a specific destination, a physical location is not a necessity. One group of pilgrims in early Celtic Christianity were the Peregrinari Pro Christ, (Pilgrims for Christ), or "white martyrs". They left their homes to wander in the world. This sort of pilgrimage was an ascetic religious practice, as the pilgrim left the security of home and the clan for an unknown destination, in complete trust of Divine Providence. These travels often resulted in the founding of new abbeys and spreading Christianity among the pagan population in Britain as well as in continental Europe.
  
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  Rembrandt
  Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɛmbrɑnt ˈɦɑrmə(n)soːn vɑn ˈrɛin], 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch Golden Age painting, although in many ways antithetical to the Baroque style that dominated Europe, was extremely prolific and innovative.
  Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt's later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters. Rembrandt's greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.
  
  wn.com/Rembrandt
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  St Peter
  Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader and one of the twelve apostles of Jesus who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and who is venerated as a saint. The son of John or of Jonah, he was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee or Gaulanitis. His brother Andrew was also an apostle. Peter is venerated in multiple churches and is regarded as the first Pope by the Catholic Church. After working to establish the church of Antioch, presiding for seven years as the leader of the city's Christian community, he preached to scattered communities of believers, Jews, Hebrew Christians and the gentiles, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor and Bithynia.^{[citation needed]} He then went to Rome, where in the second year of Claudius, it is claimed, he overthrew Simon Magus and held the Sacerdotal Chair for 25 years.^{[citation needed]} He is said to have been put to death at the hand of Emperor Nero.
  Peter wrote two General epistles. The Gospel of Mark is also ascribed to him (as Mark was his disciple and interpreter). On the other hand, several books bearing his name—the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Revelation of Peter, and Judgement of Peter—are rejected by the Catholic Church as Apocryphal.
  
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  Theo van Doesburg
  Theo van Doesburg (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈteɪɔ vɑn ˈdusbʏrx], 30 August 1883 – 7 March 1931) was a Dutch artist, who practised painting, writing, poetry and architecture. He is best known as the founder and leader of De Stijl.
  
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  Willebrord Snell
  Willebrord Snellius (born Willebrord Snel van Royen) (1580 – 30 October 1626, Leiden) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician. In the west, especially the English speaking countries, his name has been attached to the law of refraction of light for several centuries, but it is now known that this law was first discovered by Ibn Sahl in 984. The same law was also investigated by Ptolemy and in the Middle Ages by Witelo, but due to lack of adequate mathematical instruments (trigonometric functions) their results were saved as tables, not functions.
  The lunar crater Snellius is named after Willebrord Snellius.
  
  Willebrord Snellius was born in Leiden, Netherlands. In 1613 he succeeded his father, Rudolph Snel van Royen (1546–1613) as professor of mathematics at the University of Leiden. In 1615 he planned and carried into practice a new method of finding the radius of the earth, by determining the distance of one point on its surface from the parallel of latitude of another, by means of triangulation. His work Eratosthenes Batavus ("The Dutch Eratosthenes"), published in 1617, describes the method and gives as the result of his operations between Alkmaar and Bergen op Zoom—two towns separated by one degree of the meridian—which he measured to be equal to 117,449 yards (107.395 km). The actual distance is approximately 111 km. Snellius was also a distinguished mathematician, producing a new method for calculating π—the first such improvement since ancient times. He rediscovered the law of refraction in 1621.
  
  wn.com/Willebrord_Snell
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  Willebrord Snellius
  Willebrord Snellius (born Willebrord Snel van Royen) (1580 – 30 October 1626, Leiden) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician. In the west, especially the English speaking countries, his name has been attached to the law of refraction of light for several centuries, but it is now known that this law was first discovered by Ibn Sahl in 984. The same law was also investigated by Ptolemy and in the Middle Ages by Witelo, but due to lack of adequate mathematical instruments (trigonometric functions) their results were saved as tables, not functions.
  The lunar crater Snellius is named after Willebrord Snellius.
  
  Willebrord Snellius was born in Leiden, Netherlands. In 1613 he succeeded his father, Rudolph Snel van Royen (1546–1613) as professor of mathematics at the University of Leiden. In 1615 he planned and carried into practice a new method of finding the radius of the earth, by determining the distance of one point on its surface from the parallel of latitude of another, by means of triangulation. His work Eratosthenes Batavus ("The Dutch Eratosthenes"), published in 1617, describes the method and gives as the result of his operations between Alkmaar and Bergen op Zoom—two towns separated by one degree of the meridian—which he measured to be equal to 117,449 yards (107.395 km). The actual distance is approximately 111 km. Snellius was also a distinguished mathematician, producing a new method for calculating π—the first such improvement since ancient times. He rediscovered the law of refraction in 1621.
  
  wn.com/Willebrord_Snellius
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  Willem Einthoven
  Willem Einthoven (Semarang, 21 May 1860 – Leiden, 29 September 1927) was a Dutch doctor and physiologist. He invented the first practical electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) in 1903 and received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1924 for it.
  Einthoven was born in Semarang on Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). His father, a doctor, died when Einthoven was a child. His mother returned to the Netherlands with her children in 1870 and settled in Utrecht. His parents ancestry was Dutch, his mother's ancestry was Dutch and Swiss In 1885, Einthoven received a medical degree from the University of Utrecht. He became a professor at the University of Leiden in 1886.
  Before Einthoven's time, it was known that the beating of the heart produced electrical currents, but the instruments of the time could not accurately measure this phenomenon without placing electrodes directly on the heart. Beginning in 1901, Einthoven completed a series of prototypes of a string galvanometer. This device used a very thin filament of conductive wire passing between very strong electromagnets. When a current passed through the filament, the electromagnetic field would cause the string to move. A light shining on the string would cast a shadow on a moving roll of photographic paper, thus forming a continuous curve showing the movement of the string. The original machine required water cooling for the powerful electromagnets, required 5 people to operate it and weighed some 600 lb. This device increased the sensitivity of the standard galvanometer so that the electrical activity of the heart could be measured despite the insulation of flesh and bones.
  
  wn.com/Willem_Einthoven
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  William I of Orange
  William I, Prince of Orange (24 April 1533 – 10 July 1584), also widely known as William the Silent (Dutch: Willem de Zwijger), or simply William of Orange (Dutch: Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of Nassau as Count of Nassau-Dillenburg. He became Prince of Orange in 1544 and is thereby the founder of the branch House of Orange-Nassau.
  A wealthy nobleman, William originally served the Habsburgs as a member of the court of Margaret of Parma, governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Unhappy with the centralisation of political power away from the local estates and with the Spanish persecution of Dutch Protestants, William joined the Dutch uprising and turned against his former masters. The most influential and politically capable of the rebels, he led the Dutch to several successes in the fight against the Spanish. Declared an outlaw by the Spanish king in 1580, he was assassinated by Balthasar Gérard (also written as 'Gerardts') in Delft four years later.
  
  wn.com/William_I_of_Orange
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  Wouter Bos
  Wouter Jacob Bos (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋʌutər ˈbɔs]; (born July 14, 1963) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and management consultant. He served as a Member of the House of Representatives from May 19, 1998 until March 24, 2000 when he became State Secretary for Finance in the Cabinet Kok II following the resignation of Willem Vermeend who became Minister of Social Affairs and Employment. He returned to the House of Representatives on May 23, 2002 following the Dutch general election of 2002. The Labour Party suffered a landslide defeat in the election losing 23 seats, then Party leader Ad Melkert was blamed for the defeat and resigned. Bos announced his candidacy for the Labour Party leadership election and won by a landslide with 60% of the votes. Bos became the Labour Party party leader on November 19, 2002 and the Parliamentary leader of Labour Party in the House of Representatives on November 19, 2002 and became the lijsttrekker for the Dutch general election of 2003. The Labour Party was the largest winner of the election, gaining 19 seats (from 23 to 42) and became the second largest party in the House of Representatives. After a failed cabinet formation a new cabinet was formed with out the Labour Party. Bos served as opposition leader during the parliamentary period of the Cabinets Balkenende II and III. For the Dutch general election of 2006 Bos again as lijsttrekker lost 9 seats but the Labour Party remained the second largest party with 33 seats. The following cabinet formation resulted in a coalition agreement which formed the Cabinet Balkenende IV, comprising the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), Labour Party (PvdA) and the ChristianUnion (CU). Bos became Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister, the cabinet took office on February 22, 2007. The cabinet fell on February 20, 2010 as the result of disagreement between CDA and Labour Party over the extension of ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Bos resigned his position as Party leader and retired from active politics.
  
  wn.com/Wouter_Bos