- published: 23 Dec 2014
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Aalsmeer ( pronunciation ) is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its name is derived from the Dutch for eel (aal) and lake (meer). Aalsmeer is bordered by the Westeinderplassen lake, the largest open water of the Randstad, and the Ringvaart Canal. The town is located 13 km (8 mi) southwest of Amsterdam.
The town is sometimes referred to as the flower capital of the world, as the largest flower auction in the world is based in Aalsmeer, along with numerous nurseries and an experimental stations for floriculture
The municipality of Aalsmeer consists of the following cities, towns, and villages: Aalsmeer, Kudelstaart, Oosteinde, as well as the hamlet Calslagen.
Aalsmeer is located on the border of the former Haarlem Lake. The older portion of town is built on peat, and is surrounded by polders. The polders consist of loamy soil and are 9–15 feet (2.7–4.6 m) below sea level.
Aalsmeer is first referenced in a document from 1133 in which it is called "Alsmar" and is granted to the Abbey of Rijnsburg. Diederik VII van Kleef confirmed this grant in an act in 1199. The area was then a wilderness with alders and willow forests.
Coordinates: 52°15′27″N 4°47′12″E / 52.25750°N 4.78667°E / 52.25750; 4.78667
Aalsmeer Flower Auction (Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer) is a flower auction that takes place in Aalsmeer, Netherlands. It is the largest flower auction in the world. The Aalsmeer Flower Auction building is the largest building by footprint in the world, covering 518,000m² (10.6 million sq ft; 243 acres). Flowers from all over the world – Europe, Ecuador, Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya and other countries – are traded every day in this gigantic building. Around 20 million flowers are sold daily. This increases by around 15 percent around special days such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Their flowers are subjected to around 30 quality checks so that they can be graded on a scale (A1, A2 and B).
The auction is set up as a Dutch auction in which the price starts high and works its way down. Bidders get only a few seconds to bid on the flowers before they are sold and passed on to the new owner. On January 1, 2008 the auction company merged with its biggest competitor FloraHolland.