1) Eaten by millions of people around the world on a daily basis, only a small percent of them realize this cheese got its name from the South Holland city that it was first produced in! During the summer months, you can still visit the traditional Gouda cheese market in the town center.

2) South Holland’s ‘Dune & Bulb’ (Duin- en Bollenstreek) region produces the greatest number of tulips each year. ‘Keukenhof’, Holland’s top tourist attraction (the number of visitors it averages per week during its 8-week season, is higher than any other attraction in the country) is located in Lisse, in the Dune & Bulb & Dune region. People from around the world flock to the flower garden to see those vibrantly colored Dutch tulips up close.

3) The highly recognizable blue and white porcelain products referred to as ‘Delftware’ or branded as ‘Royal Delft’ can be found in homes around the world. But few consumers abroad would be aware that Delft is the name of a city in the South Holland, Netherlands. During the Dutch Golden Age, hand painted porcelain objects were manufactured at numerous factories in and around Delft.

4) Founded in Rotterdam, the company has grown into one of the largest and most recognized cruise lines and shipping companies in the world. In 1989 the company relocated it headquarters from Rotterdam to Seattle, but its presence lives on. Its former headquarters building on Wilhelminapier now houses the well-known Hotel New York.

5) Those delicious caramel syrup-filled waffle cookies were introduced in the city of Gouda (South Holland, Netherlands) in the early 1800’s. A variation of the stroopwafel, called the ‘stroopkoekje’ (syrup cookie) was also introduced in Gouda in 1945 by the Punselie Cookie Factory, which is still in existence.

6) One of the world’s most famous painters was born in the city of Leiden (South Holland, Netherlands) in 1606. Rembrandt House is a 20-room room hotel named after the famous artist. It’s situated in Leiden’s historic city center, along the Nieuwe Beestenmarkt. There is also the Rembrandt statue on the Witte Singel, across the canal from ‘Rembrandtpark’.

7) This famous painting is known around the world. In 2003, Scarlet Johansson starred in a movie of the same name, in which she played a maid employed by Johannes Vermeer, the South Holland-born artist who created the painting. The plot of the movie was fictitious but what is true is that Vermeer was born, raised and lived his life in the city of Delft. Many of his works, including “Girl With A Pearl Earring” are housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague.

8) This English king is known for running his father-in-law, King James, out of England, forcing him into exile in France. When King James tried to return to reclaim his throne, King William III defeated him at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. But King William III is better known in conjunction with his wife, Mary Stuart. Nowadays, you often hear their names in the American press but not quite in the way you would expect. Rather it is the school that bears their names, William & Mary College, that has for years produced top level football and basketball teams. King William III of England was born Willem III, Prince of Oranje in 1650 at the Binnenhof palace in The Hague. He led many a battle when the Dutch Republic was under attack from the Anglo-French alliance before he himself headed to England to depose his wife’s father.

9) The 16th century Dutch humanist writer and theologian, Desiderius Erasmus, is well-known around the world, primarily because of the buildings, structures and monuments that bear his name. These include the Erasmus Huis in Jakarta (Indonesia), Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn (New York), Erasmus College (Brussels) and Erasmus Bridge (in Rotterdam). Although he traveled extensively as an adult, living in several different countries, he was born out of wedlock to a priest who resided in Gouda and the rectory’s housekeeper who gave birth to him in Rotterdam, both cities in South Holland, Netherlands.

10) American Pilgrims – It’s true the Pilgrim Fathers were from England, but what many people, even Americans, aren’t aware is that when they left England due to religious persecution, they headed to the Dutch Republic. After a short stint in Amsterdam, the group moved to the South Holland city of Leiden. They lived there for over a decade before deciding to venture to the New World. Today there is even an ‘American Pilgrim Museum’ in Leiden.