Discount Hotels Rotterdam
Historical interest: Rotterdam
    
The city of Rotterdam has been officially in existence since 1328, when Count
Willem III granted city rights for the town that had been growing around a dam
in the river Rotte. Initially it was just a small, quiet fishing harbour in a
bend in the Rotte and remained a town of very little significance until nearby
Dordrecht suffered severe damage from the St Elisabeth flood of 1421. While Delft
failed to excavate a larger harbour, it still needed to support trade.
Rotterdam had no such problems; its position near to deep water was much better
than that of its competitors, and it had a readily accessible harbour. Trade
flourished, and many goods started to pass through Rotterdam on their way to
and from the ships that frequented its harbour.
In 1488, the bands of Frans van Breederoode did severe damage to the city;
and in 1563 a large part of the city burned down completely. In the 1570s, during
the war with Spain, Rotterdam managed to strengthen its position as a port of
trade when it became one of the few ports open to the sea, while Antwerp and
Amsterdam were being blocked because of the war. Explosive growth followed and
new harbours were excavated, especially during the 17th century.
Rotterdam embraced the industrial revolution of the 19th century. Steam power
and mechanization boosted the capacity of the port enormously. The Nieuwe Waterweg
(New Waterway) was completed in 1872, and gave Rotterdam a direct, high-capacity
connection to the North Sea.
The heart of the city was almost completely destroyed during the bombing of
WWII, which Ossip Zadkine later expressed strikingly with his statue Stad zonder
hart (City without a heart). The statue is located near the Leuvehaven, not
far from the Erasmusbrug in the north of the city.
From the 1950s through to the 1970s the city was rebuilt, resulting in a more
liveable city centre with a new skyline. The process of construction and improvement
still continues, though some do not consider it an improvement at all. Sadly,
the fact remains that Rotterdam as it was before 1940 is gone forever, and post-war
Rotterdam will never be the same.
http://www.rotterdam.com
Selection of hotels in this region:
Bilderberg Park Hotel | | Holiday Inn Rotterdam City Centre | | Euro Hotel | | Milano Hotel | | Tulip Inn Rotterdam | | The Westin Rotterdam | | Savoy Hotel Rotterdam | | Hilton Rotterdam | | NH Atlanta Rotterdam | | Inntel Rotterdam - Centre | |
Click below for a
full list of hotels and online booking
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