Rotterdam has branded itself “World Port, World City”, and rightly so. Home to Europe’s largest port, the Netherlands’ second largest city is a multi-cultural melting pot. Add to that Rotterdam’s modern architecture and you have a city that is poised to make its mark on the 21st century.
Rotterdam’s port is an important point of transit for bulk and other goods between the European continent and other parts of the world. Rotterdam is also the point from which goods are transported by ship, river barge, train or road. When former President Bill Clinton asked Rotterdam to become part of the Clinton Climate Initiative, the city pledged to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2025 and hopes that its efforts towards greater sustainability will have an impact on how its strategically situated port does business.
Learn more about Rotterdam's port and shipping history at the Maritiem Museum Rotterdam. The museum has a number of permanent and temporary exhibitions which bring to life the history of the water and the port not only as it relates to Rotterdam, but its impact on the Netherlands as a whole.
All of Europe has seen its population swell with people from the middle east and Africa and Rotterdam is no exception. According to recent statistics, 25% of Rotterdam’s population is Muslim and 50% are non-Dutch or have only one Dutch parent. There is also a large presence of people from North Africa, Turkey, and the former Dutch colonies: Suriname, the Dutch Antilles and Indonesia. It is predicted that more than half of the city’s 600,000 residents will have immigrant origins by 2020. Rotterdam’s mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb is known as “Obama on the Maas”. A practicing Muslim of Turkish descent, Aboutaleb is Holland’s first immigrant mayor and the perfect ambassador for this multi-cultural city.
Rotterdam's Zomercarnaval or summer carnival is a great way to experience the city's multi-cultural vibe. July 30-31 the annual 3-day caribbean carnival makes its way through the streets of Rotterdam. Reminiscent of the carnival in Rio, the event brings close to one million visitors from around Europe to see the vibrant and colorful costumes and floats in the street parade and to dance in the streets to the Latin rhythms. There is also the crowning of the Zomercarnaval queen and the battle of the drums, where more than 100 percussionists and trumpeters battle it out to determine who's the best.
While most of the Netherlands is known for its renaissance homes with their stepped, neck or bell-shaped gables, Rotterdam’s functionalistic 20th century architecture is uniquely modern. After bombs destroyed its city center during World War II, Rotterdam city officials decided against rebuilding the city in the old Dutch style and instead ushered in a wave of modern architecture that is revered the world over. World-famous Dutch and international architechts have given the city one of the most recognizable skylines in Europe featuring the Erasmus Bridge, Euromast and the Maastoren, Holland’s tallest office building.
The Cube houses and the Kuntshal are two more architectural treasures Rotterdam is known for. Piet Bloom designed the Cube Houses at the request of the city of Rotterdam. There are 38 attached cubes that rest on hexagon-shaped columns. One of the houses is fully furnished and open to the public. The Kunsthal is an exhibition space in Rotterdam. The building itself is an architectural design dream and as much a draw as the art and exhibitions it houses.
For more information on Rotterdam and the city's museums and attractions visit the Rotterdam Tourism Board website.
Monique also writes about her life in the Netherlands at her personal alter ego Ms. Wooden Shoes and about traveling abroad with children for the blog Traveling Mom.
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