Schiedam

Schiedam
	Schiedam
	Old City Hall
; Flag	; Coat of arms
	Nickname(s): Brandersstad
	Location of Schiedam within The Netherlands.
	Coordinates: 51°54′42″N 04°23′58″E / 51.91167°N 4.39944°E
Country	The Netherlands
Province	South Holland
	Government
- Mayor	W.M. (Wilma) Verver-Aartsen (VVD)
	Area
- Total	19.89 km2 (7.7 sq mi)
- Land	18.18 km2 (7 sq mi)
- Water	1.71 km2 (0.7 sq mi)
	Population (2005)
- Total	75,111
- Density	3,768/km2 (9,759.1/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CETDST (UTC+2)
Postcode	3111 - 3125
Website	http://www.schiedam.nl

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

View on Schiedam with the The Porters' Guild House

Windmill in Schiedam

Schiedam is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands and is part of the Rotterdam metropolitan area. It is known for jenever (gin), its historical center with its canals, and the tallest old windmills in the world.

In English, the word schiedam (usually without a capital s-) refers to the town's Holland gin, some with internationally-renowned brand names like Ketel One.

[edit] History

Around the year 1250 the river Schie was dammed to protect the polderland from the seawater. The dam attracted trade activities because goods for and from the hinterland had to be transhipped. A small town developed around the dam and its activities.

In the year 1275 Schiedam received city rights from Aleida van Avesnes, sister of William II, count of Holland.

[edit] Geography

The city of Schiedam lies in South Holland, The Netherlands.
It is enclosed between Rotterdam (east), Vlaardingen (west) and the river Nieuwe Maas (south).

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Population

2004 - 75,619
2006 - 75,111

[edit] Museums

Het Stedelijk Museum (website)
Het Gedistilleerd Museum (website)
Het Borrelmuseum (in 't Spul on Hoogstraat)
Museummolen De Nieuwe Palmboom (website)
Nationaal Coöperatie Museum Schiedam / 't Winkeltje
Artmuseum T'Walvisch

[edit] Monuments

The old city hall (Het Oude stadhuis) (photo)
The canals of Schiedam
The Wheat Exchange (De Korenbeurs)
Church of Saint John (Sint Jan)
The ruins of the castle Huis te Riviere (photo)
Saint Lidwina basilica (photo)
De Plantage
The Porters' Guild House (Het Zakkendragershuisje)
Het Proveniershuis
The six historical windmills of Schiedam, the tallest in the world (website). The tallest of them, De Noord, is in use as a restaurant. (More information and location map).

[edit] Sport

Cricket is not the most popular sport in Schiedam[1], but it is more popular than in the most other Dutch cities. The most popular sport in Schiedam is soccer, but also field hockey is popular.

[edit] Known people from Schiedam

Dmitri van den Bersselaer (born 1968) - historian
Willem den Broeder (born 1951) - Surrealist Artist
Ton van Duinhoven - Classic and comic actor, best known for his creations of Mijnheer Jamin and Feyenoordsuppoost Van Crooswijk
Willem "O" Duys - Television personality (started his career as a reporter for a local newspaper)
Rinus Gosens (born 1920) - footballer
Han van der Horst - author and historian
Luke van Jammer - former Dutch Cricket Captain.
Erik Jazet (born 1971) - hockey player and coach
Ali El Khattabi (born 1977) - footballer
Danny Koevermans (born 1978) - footballer
Saint Liduina (1380-1433) - Catholic saint
Robert Maaskant (born 1969) - footballer
Piet Paaltjes pen name of Francois Haverschmidt - protestant clergyman and romantic author
Patricia Paay - singer and now tv juror
Rien Poortvliet (1932-1995) - sketcher and painter
Andre van Troost (born 1972) - English County cricket player (Somerset)
Pieter van Vollenhoven (born 1939) - husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
Pauline van der Wildt (born 1944) - swimmer
Elizabeth Witmer (born 1946) - member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada
John de Wolf (born 1962) - footballer
Bob Offenberg a.k.a. "Zanger Bob" (born 1996) - singer