Dutch Fun Facts: Buildings & Places
Holland fun facts and trivia specifically about buildings, landmarks and other structures (churches, museums, schools, roads, bridges, windmills) in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht…
The longest church in the Netherlands is the St Janskerk (Gouda) at 123 meters (1.2 times the length of an American football field).
The tallest church bell tower in the Netherlands is the Domtoren (Utrecht) at 112.5 meters (34 stories). Originally part of the Dom Cathedral, the tower became free-standing when a 1674 windstorm caused the collapse of the cathedral’s central nave (which was never rebuilt).
The oldest building in Rotterdam is the Laurenkerk (built in the 15th century). Due to significant damage sustained during a WWII German bombing raid in May 1940, it was slated to be demolished. Only after Queen Wilhelmina intervened was the church spared from the wrecking ball. A massive 15-year restoration was completed in 1968.
The oldest windmill still standing in the Netherlands is the Grafelijke Korenmolen (Zeddam, Gelderland), a brick tower mill dating back to 1441.
The tallest working windmill in the Netherlands (and Europe) is the Noordmolen (Schiedam, South Holland) at 33.3 meters (109.2 feet).
The largest atrium in the Netherlands is located in The Hague’s new Stadhuis (City Hall). At the time of its completion in 1995, it was also the largest atrium in Europe.
The top museum in the Netherlands is the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) which had over 2.7 million visitors in 2019.
The top attraction (average weekly visitors) in the Netherlands is the Keukenhof tulip garden in Lisse (South Holland). In 2018 it had 1.4 million visitors during the 7 weeks it was open (an average of 200,000 visitors per week).
The top attraction (total annual visitors) in the Netherlands is the Efteling theme park in Kaatsheuvel (North Brabant). In 2017 it had over 5 million visitors (an average of 96,000 weekly visitors).
The first Ferris wheel built over water is the Skyview on De Pier in Scheveningen (The Hague). It is 45 meters tall, has 36 enclosed cabins and sits on a platform 8 meters above the water surface.
The highest swing in Europe is the A’DAM Lookout at the top of A’DAM Tower (Amsterdam Noord). The swing is 100 meters (328 feet) above the ground.
The largest urban park in the Netherlands is Zuiderpark (Rotterdam) at 215 hectares (equivalent to 430 football fields).
The oldest university in the Netherlands is Leiden Universiteit (founded 1575).
The largest university in the Netherlands is the University of Amsterdam (with over 32,000 registered students).
The busiest train station in the Netherlands is Utrecht Centraal with 177,000 daily commuters.
The longest street in the Netherlands is the Laan van Meerdervoort (The Hague) at 5.8 km.
The longest motorway in the Netherlands is the A7 at 236 km. It runs from Zaandam (near Amsterdam) to the German border.
The largest shipping port in Europe is the Port of Rotterdam which handled 469 million tons of throughput in 2019. It spans 42 kilometers from the city center to the North Sea.
The 5 tallest buildings in the Netherlands are all in the city of Rotterdam: De Zalmhaven (215 m.), Maastoren (165 m.), New Orleans (158 m.), Delftse Poort (151 m.), De Rotterdam (149 m.)
The tallest man-made structure in the Netherlands is the Gerbrandytoren (broadcast tower) in Ijsselstein at 367 meters (just 14 meters shorter than the Empire State Building).
The tallest weather tower in the Netherlands is the KNMI Mast in Cabauw (Utrecht) at 213 meters.
The largest stadium in the Netherlands is the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam. It has a capacity of 55,000 spectators.
The largest lake in the Netherlands is the IJsselmeer (formerly part of the Zuiderzee) at 1,100 km2. It has an average depth of just 4 meters.
The longest bridge in the Netherlands is the Zeelandbrug (5,022 meters or 3 miles) which connects the islands of Noord-Beveland and Schouwen-Duiveland. At the time of its completion in 1965, it was also the longest bridge in Europe.
The city with most bridges in the Netherlands is Amsterdam. Its 1500+ bridges is the second highest among all European cities after Hamburg (Germany).
One of the ‘7 Wonders of the Modern World‘ (according to a major survey of international architects and engineers) is the Delta Works. The Dutch flood-protection project took 40 years to complete and involved the construction of dams, dikes, locks, storm barriers and water drainage systems.
The Maeslant Barrier (near Rotterdam) was the final segment of the Delta Works to be built. The barrier’s two walls are among the largest movable man-made objects in the world. Each is 240 meters in length and weighs 4 times as much as the Eiffel Tower.
The largest ship in the world is the Pioneering Spirit owned by Dutch-Swiss company Allseas. The double-hulled construction ship is 382 meters long by 124 meters wide and is used for lifting decommissioned oil rigs out of the water in one piece and for laying deep water cables.
The largest bonfire in the world was created on the beach in Scheveningen (The Hague) in 2015. It was 8,695 cubic meters.
The largest bicycle garage in the world is the Utrecht Stationstalling (at the Utrecht train station) which has spaces for 12,500 bicycles.
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