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Rotterdam City Information
When Rotterdam was caught in the crossfire between Hitler's forces and the Allies during World War II, the city and its port were leveled. The postwar rebuilding made possible streamlining of the port facilities based on technological advances. Today, Rotterdam's Europoort is the world's largest port, a massive complex of piers, warehouses, and refineries stretching for 48 km (30 mi), an awe-inspiring sight from a boat after dark.
Art lovers appreciate Rotterdam for its extensive art; philosophers recall it as the city of Erasmus. Representative of the city's adventuresome modern architecture is the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge), an extraordinary, single-span pylon bridge over the Maas River, nicknamed "the swan." This forms the main link with the Kop van Zuid, Rotterdam's phenomenal ongoing development project in former docklands on the south bank.
Postmodern architecture is only one of the city's attractions: the regular traveler will also find much else to satisfy. Visit the urban waterfront along the River Meuse and admire the regeneration under way. Discover what the Museum Park has to offer, the city's cultural axis running straight down the Westersingel, from Centraal Station to Kop van Zuid. Shop in designer boutiques, or explore Chinese department stores on Westkruiskade. Take a look at avant-garde galleries on Witte de Withstraat, Binnenweg, and Delfshaven. Rotterdam has a young, urban culture, with some of the hottest nightlife in Europe.
Like Amsterdam's, Rotterdam's name is taken from a river -- in this case the Rotte, which empties into the Maas at this point. The city's birth extends back to the 10th century, when, despite the constant threat from the sea, a small group of early Rotterdammers settled on the Rotte banks along a small stream running through the boggy, peaty area. The settlement flourished, but it was not until the Golden Age (1550-1650), when Holland was a world power, that the city became a center of trade, home to both the United East India Company and the West India Company. The city's really spectacular growth dates from 1870 when the Nieuwe Waterweg was completed, a 17-km-long (11-mi-long) artificial channel leading directly to the sea. Today, it is once again a city on the rise.
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