Holland Wind Mills
Hallo!groeten uit Holland of Nederland
Greetings from Holland or The Netherlands (?)
When I first received this postcard, I was sure Holland was a country separate from The Netherlands. And then I thought twice.
A little googling and here is what I discovered.
Holland is the western region of The Netherlands.
According to the Wikipedia, Holland is a name in common usage given to a region in the western part of the Netherlands. The term Holland is frequently used to refer to the whole of the Netherlands. This usage is generally accepted but nevertheless unofficial.
Undoubtedly a not-so reliable source, it proved to be true for according to holland.com and I quote
" The Netherlands is often called Holland, because of the role the two western provinces North and South Holland played in its history. This region encompasses Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and other well-known Dutch cities such as Delft, Leiden and Haarlem. However, officially, it is the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of three parts: the Netherlands itself in Western Europe, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean."
There you go a whole chunk of information.
Let's get to the intriguing facts.
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. A fact that I just discovered.
We're so engrossed with Kate and William tying the knot that we forget that there are other monarchies in the world worth knowing.
The Dutch Head of State is Queen Beatrix. And the next in line would be her eldest son, Prince Willem-Alexander. And yes, he is married.
Did you know...
Holland still has around a thousand old-fashioned working windmills?
(I admire this about Holland. They are progressive and forward-thinking yet they are headstrong in preserving their culture, heritage and nature.)
The Dutch are the tallest people in Europe? (Seriously? Let me be the judge of that. SO bring me a Dutch will ya?!)
The highest point in Holland is 323 metres above sea level, and is referred to as a ‘mountain’?
(I found this amusing because in Singapore we have Bukit Timah Hill which stands at an altitude of 163.63 metres, the highest point and its half the height of a 'mountain' in Holland. If we had known the Dutch would refer to its highest point as a mountain, we should have done that eons ago. We would be the only country in the world with a shortest mountain)
Greetings from Holland or The Netherlands (?)
When I first received this postcard, I was sure Holland was a country separate from The Netherlands. And then I thought twice.
A little googling and here is what I discovered.
Holland is the western region of The Netherlands.
According to the Wikipedia, Holland is a name in common usage given to a region in the western part of the Netherlands. The term Holland is frequently used to refer to the whole of the Netherlands. This usage is generally accepted but nevertheless unofficial.
Undoubtedly a not-so reliable source, it proved to be true for according to holland.com and I quote
" The Netherlands is often called Holland, because of the role the two western provinces North and South Holland played in its history. This region encompasses Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and other well-known Dutch cities such as Delft, Leiden and Haarlem. However, officially, it is the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of three parts: the Netherlands itself in Western Europe, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean."
There you go a whole chunk of information.
Let's get to the intriguing facts.
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. A fact that I just discovered.
We're so engrossed with Kate and William tying the knot that we forget that there are other monarchies in the world worth knowing.
The Dutch Head of State is Queen Beatrix. And the next in line would be her eldest son, Prince Willem-Alexander. And yes, he is married.
Did you know...
Holland still has around a thousand old-fashioned working windmills?
(I admire this about Holland. They are progressive and forward-thinking yet they are headstrong in preserving their culture, heritage and nature.)
The Dutch are the tallest people in Europe? (Seriously? Let me be the judge of that. SO bring me a Dutch will ya?!)
The highest point in Holland is 323 metres above sea level, and is referred to as a ‘mountain’?
(I found this amusing because in Singapore we have Bukit Timah Hill which stands at an altitude of 163.63 metres, the highest point and its half the height of a 'mountain' in Holland. If we had known the Dutch would refer to its highest point as a mountain, we should have done that eons ago. We would be the only country in the world with a shortest mountain)
To Lars, thank you for the postcard! :)
~Salam~
~Salam~
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