October 2, 2019

In the Netherlands, the largest bicycle parking facility in the world recently opened in the city of Utrecht. The underground Fietsenstalling Stationsplein (Bicycle Parking Station Square), in Utrecht’s city center, has space for 12,500 bikes. Double-decker racks hold thousands of bikes in a three-storied concrete and glass garage, and riders pedal directly into the building and up to their parking spaces. Part of the building opened in 2018, but the fietsenstalling did not reach its full operational capacity until August 2019.

A man parks his bicycle at the Fietsenstalling Stationsplein in Utrecht on Aug. 20, 2019. Credit: © Abdullah Asiran, Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Bicycling, or fietsen in Dutch, is a popular activity and sport in the Netherlands, but it is also a practical mode of daily transport. In Dutch cities, about 40 percent of people use bikes for daily travel (as opposed to fewer than 2 percent of people in United States cities). To accommodate all those bike commuters, Dutch cities have an abundance of bike lanes in the streets, protected intersections, special bike paths away from car traffic, and numerous bicycle parking areas. Utrecht has long had such “bike friendly” infrastructure (the world’s first bike lane opened there in 1885), but to handle the ever-increasing bike congestion in the city center, a more ambitious solution was needed.

The city of Utrecht worked with NS, the national Dutch railway, to build the bike garage at Stationsplein (Station Square). (NS [Nederlandse Spoorwegen, or Dutch Railways] estimates that about half its customers in Utrecht arrive at stations by bicycle, so it makes sense for the railway to accommodate bike commuters.) Stationsplein connects the busy Utrecht Centraal Railway Station with the Hoog Catharijne shopping center. The bustling area is a common destination for both shoppers and commuters, and the bike garage—directly beneath the square—provides an affordable and secure place to leave your bike. The first 24 hours of parking are free, and the garage never closes. A digital system directs cyclists to available parking spots, and the walls are color coded to aid in navigation. There are also bike maintenance areas in the facility and more than 1,000 bikes available to rent.

Adding to the bicycling infrastructure in the Netherlands is an important part of the nation’s commitment to fighting air pollution and climate change. Bicycling is a healthy, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly way to commute.

July 10, 2019

On Sunday, July 7, at the Stade de Lyon in Décines-Charpieu, France, the United States Women’s National Team defeated the Netherlands 2-0 to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer championship. It was the fourth world title for the U.S. women, who first won the tournament in 1991, the year it was first held. For the Netherlands, it was the team’s first trip to the World Cup final. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football or association football in much of the world. FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. Held every four years, the Women’s World Cup is the world’s most important and prestigious women’s soccer tournament.

Members of the United States Women’s National Team celebrate winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 7, 2019, at the Stade de Lyon in France. Credit: © Philippe Desmazes, AFP/Getty Images

The United States, the defending champions, entered the 2019 World Cup as heavy favorites. The team thumped Thailand to open the group stage, 13-0—the largest winning margin in World Cup history (men or women). They then took down Chile, Sweden, and Spain on their way to the quarterfinals, where the U.S. women eliminated host France, 2-1. A tough 2-1 semifinal victory over England sent the Americans to the title match against the Netherlands. The Dutch women, playing in the team’s second World Cup, also rolled through the tournament undefeated. The Oranje (Orange) allowed just three total goals in their wins over New Zealand, Cameroon, Canada, Japan, Italy, and Sweden before reaching La Grande Finale in suburban Lyon.

Before 57,900 fans crammed into the Stade de Lyon, the Dutch did what no other team had yet accomplished: they held the vaunted U.S. offense scoreless in the first half (45 minutes of play). A penalty in the 58th minute, however, gave U.S. star Megan Rapinoe the opportunity to break a 0-0 tie. Sporting a pinkish-purple mop of normally blonde hair, the veteran midfielder calmly stuck home a penalty kick to give the Americans a 1-0 advantage at the 61-minute mark. Eight minutes later, U.S. midfielder Rose Lavelle drilled a left-footed strike into the net for what turned out to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead. Emotions built on the U.S. sideline as the clock steadily counted toward 90, and after the final whistle blew, the U.S. women rushed the field for a joyous celebration.

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup was played in nine stadiums in various French cities. The 24 entrants included 4 teams making their Women’s World Cup debuts: Chile, Jamaica, Scotland, and South Africa. The opening group stage of the World Cup divided the entrants into six groups of four. The top two teams of each group advanced after playing the other three teams in their group, as did the four best third-place teams. The round of 16 then trimmed the field to 8, and the quarterfinals reduced the tournament to a final 4. The United States downed England in the semifinals, and the Netherlands beat Sweden. The day before the United States took the final, Sweden beat England 2-1 in the anticlimactic battle for third place. All four semifinalists received automatic bids to the women’s soccer tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan.

U.S. manager Jill Ellis, who also led the 2015 championship squad, became the first head coach to win two Women’s World Cup titles. The U.S. team set a record by scoring 26 goals during the tournament. Rapinoe earned the Golden Boot Award as the leading goal scorer (6), and she was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Sari van Veenendaal of the Netherlands earned the Golden Glove Award as the World Cup’s top goalkeeper. The U.S. Women’s National Team returned home to cheers and numerous honors, including a ticker tape parade down a section of Broadway in New York City known as the “Canyon of Heroes.”

Sunday, July 7, was a busy soccer day elsewhere in the world, too. Shortly after the end of the Women’s World Cup, the Brazilian national men’s team defeated Peru 3-1 to win the Copa América, the championship of South American soccer, at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. That night, at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Mexican national men’s team beat the United States 1-0 to win the Gold Cup, the championship of Caribbean, Central American, and North American soccer.

June 7, 2019

In 2019, the 350th anniversary of the death of the Dutch artist Rembrandt is being celebrated as the “Year of Rembrandt” at the famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. Rembrandt is often considered the greatest Dutch artist in history. Rembrandt’s output of works of art was tremendous. Some scholars credit him with about 600 paintings, 300 etchings, and 1,400 drawings. Rembrandt was born on July 15, 1606. He died on Oct. 4, 1669.

Rembrandt’s self-portraits form a vivid record of his life. The portrait at left was completed in 1629. The portrait at right was finished in 1669, the year Rembrandt died. Credit: Self-Portrait with Gorget (1629), oil on oak panel by Rembrandt; Germanisches Nationalmuseum; Self-portrait (1669), oil on canvas by Rembrandt; Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis

The Rijksmuseum, which bills itself as the “museum of Rembrandt,” began the 350th anniversary of the artist’s death with “All the Rembrandts,” an exhibition of all the artist’s 22 paintings, 60 drawings, and more than 300 prints in the museum’s collection. The exhibition started February 15 and runs through June 10. Beginning in July, people will be able to watch (in person at the museum and online) the careful restoration of Rembrandt’s massive The Night Watch, his most famous work. Painted in 1642, The Night Watch has been the centerpiece of the Rijksmuseum’s collection since 1808.

On Oct. 11, 2019, the “Year of Rembrandt” will wrap up with “Rembrandt-Velázquez,” an exhibition (in association with the Prado Museum in Spain) that includes works by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez (1599-1660). The two artists were Baroque contemporaries, and their works are often seen as complementary. (The Netherlands was part of the Kingdom of Spain from 1516 to 1648, and the Dutch struggle for independence took place during the lifetimes of Rembrandt and Velázquez.)

Rembrandt’s The Night Watch is one of 22 paintings included in the Rijksmuseum’s “Year of Rembrandt” celebration in 2019. Credit: Night Watch (1642), oil on canvas by Rembrandt; Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam)

Rembrandt was born in Leiden on July 15, 1606. His full name was Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Rembrandt first studied art with an obscure Leiden painter from about 1621 to 1624. He then studied with the Dutch artist Pieter Lastman. About 1632, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, where he painted portraits of wealthy middle-class patrons. He remained there for the rest of his life, except for a few short trips within the Netherlands.

Christ at Emmaus (1648), also called Supper at Emmaus, is one of many works that Rembrandt created about the life of Jesus Christ. In this painting, Rembrandt portrays the resurrected Jesus revealing himself to two disciples seated at supper while a servant brings them food. The supper was held in the village of Emmaus, near Jerusalem, three days after Christ’s Crucifixion. Credit: © Peter Willi, SuperStock

The range of Rembrandt’s subjects is extraordinary. His works depict stories inspired by the Bible, history, and mythology. He also painted portraits, landscapes, nudes, and scenes of everyday life. Throughout his career, Rembrandt also made about 100 known self-portraits, in which he portrayed himself in various roles and contexts.

Rembrandt’s reputation rests on his power as a storyteller, his warm sympathy, and his ability to show the innermost feelings of the people he portrayed. His use of light and shadow and warm colors creates an atmosphere that enables us to share his profound understanding of the individual’s inner life. Few artists match his genius for showing the human aspect of Biblical characters, which he conveys through moving facial expressions and gestures.

May 22, 2019

On Saturday, May 18, at the Expo Tel Aviv in Israel, Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands won the Eurovision Song Contest with his song “Arcade.” The soaring ballad narrowly won over songs by Italian, Russian, and Swiss artists in the contest’s Grand Final. Held every year since 1956, Eurovision is the world’s largest and longest-running annual television song competition. Laurence was the first entrant from the Netherlands to win since 1975, when the group Teach-In won for its Dutch-language song “Ding-a-dong.”

Duncan Laurence of the Netherlands lifts a bouquet and the glass microphone trophy after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 18, 2019. Credit: © EUPA-IMAGES/Shutterstock

This year’s Eurovision featured a performance by the United States megastar Madonna during the Grand Final “half-time,” but the five-day contest may be best remembered for a number of political protests. In 2018, Israeli singer Netti won for her song “Toy,” giving Israel hosting duties in 2019. The contest faced boycotts and protests because of the controversial policies of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the occupied Palestinian territories. The most startling moment came during the Eurovision semifinals, when the live broadcast was hacked with a fake alert of a missile attack and animated images of explosions in Tel Aviv, the host city. Throughout the contest, Palestinian banners and flags crept into the show.

In the end, however, music ruled the day at Eurovision. Laurence’s simple piano performance won out over a number of elaborately staged productions (including fog machines, rockets, and even gravity-defying dances on flexible poles). An impressive showing by Tamara Todevska (8th place for her song “Proud”) reminded the viewing audience that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is at last—as of 2019—simply North Macedonia.

Long before “American Idol,” “The Voice,” “The X Factor,” or even “Star Search,” there was Eurovision. The show began as the “Eurovision Grand Prix” in 1956 and became the “Eurovision Song Contest” in 1968. Each year, primarily European countries submit one entry—one artist with one new and original song—to the Eurovision contest. Despite the great variety of nations participating, most songs are in English. The songs are each performed live—often with elaborate stage shows—and votes from the television audience are combined with those of a professional international jury to gradually narrow the competition to the Grand Final round. The final songs are then performed, and voting determines the overall winner, who performs again and receives the glass microphone trophy. This year’s competition began with 41 national entries; 26 took part in the Grand Final. Each year’s winning nation hosts the following year’s contest.

More than 50 nations have participated in Eurovision. All active members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) can take part in the contest. The EBU is a professional association of national broadcasters that negotiates and advocates on behalf of public broadcasters in Europe. The EBU also includes numerous non-European nations. It operates the Eurovision network, the world’s largest provider of international sports and news broadcasts.

The Swedish group ABBA’s superstardom began with the 1974 Eurovision contest, and the show kick-started the career of the French-Canadian star Céline Dion (singing for Switzerland) in 1988. Other Eurovision winners have included the French singer France Gall (1965) and the British group Katrina and the Waves (1987). In 1958, Italy’s Domenico Modugno placed third at Eurovision with his song “Nel Blu Di Pinto Di Blu,” better known as “Volare” (made famous by the American singer Dean Martin). In 1994, Eurovision first presented the Irish dance production Riverdance to international audiences. Ireland has won Eurovision seven times, more than any other country.

August 20, 2018

Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands in northwestern Europe. The Netherlands is often called Holland, but this name officially refers only to the western part of the country. Dutch is also the official language of Flanders, the northern region of neighboring Belgium, and Suriname, a small country on the northeast coast of South America. The Netherlands ruled Suriname during most of the period from 1667 until 1975. Additionally, Dutch is an official language on several Caribbean islands that have long been part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands—Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Saint Eustatius, and the southern part of Saint Martin. Worldwide, some 23 million people speak Dutch as their native tongue. Dutch is one of the 24 official and working languages of the European Union (EU).

The Netherlands flag flies over millions of Dutch speakers in northwestern Europe. Credit: © Loveshop/Shutterstock

Dutch belongs to the Indo-European language family—that is, a group of languages descended from a common proto-, or parent, language. Within the Indo-European family, Dutch is categorized as a West Germanic language, along with English and German. Afrikaans, a language of South Africa, is another West Germanic language related to Dutch.

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Netherlands. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Dutch is one of the easier foreign languages for English speakers to learn. The two languages share the same alphabet, as well as similarities in grammar and vocabulary. However, Dutch can be difficult for English speakers to pronounce. For example, it uses many guttural sounds that come from the back of the throat. And Dutch words can have quite a few consonants. The Dutch word verschrikkelijk, for example, means terrible; the compound word slechtstschrijvend describes the worst-writing of an author; angstschreeuw is a cry of distress. Despite such tongue-tripping obstacles, people have been speaking Dutch for centuries.

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Dutch is spoken in Belgium’s northern region of Flanders. French is spoken in most other parts of the country. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Scholars refer to the language as it existed before about 1200 as Old Dutch. Little is known about Old Dutch, because written materials from that time in the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) tend to be in Latin, the language of the Christian church. Middle Dutch describes the language from about 1200 to 1500. Materials written in Dutch from that period are more plentiful. Such documents as business correspondence and contracts show that many local dialects (varieties) of the language were in use.

The printing press in the 1440′s by Johannes Gutenberg of Germany contributed to the spread of a more uniform Dutch language. By the early 1600’s, the Netherlands had declared independence from Spain and shifted away from Roman Catholicism toward Protestantism. The need for a Bible in Dutch rather than Latin led to the creation of the States Bible (Statenbijbel) in 1637. The publication of the States Bible also contributed to standardizing the Dutch language. The publication of Dutch spelling and grammar books and dictionaries further developed standardized modern Dutch. The Dutch Language Union (Nederlandse Taalunie), created in 1980 by the Netherlands and Belgium, serves to regulate the language today. Suriname joined the union in 2004.

May 28, 2018

Javanese is a unique language spoken by people from Java, the largest island in Indonesia, a large nation in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is made up of thousands of islands and has an extremely diverse population. Its people belong to about 300 ethnic groups and speak more than 250 languages. The Javanese are the nation’s largest ethnic group, and the Javanese language is Indonesia’s most widely spoken traditional language. More than 84 million people speak Javanese, but it is not the nation’s official language. In the late 1920′s, Indonesian nationalists created a modified form of the Malay language, Bahasa Indonesia, to serve as the official language.

The flag of Indonesia flies over thousands of islands in Southeast Asia. The nation’s largest island, Java, is home to the Javanese language. Credit: © T. Lesia, Shutterstock

Javanese belongs to the Austronesian language family that also includes such Indonesian languages as Balinese (spoken on the island of Bali), Madurese (spoken on the island of Madura), and Sundanese (spoken in western Java). The Austronesian language family spreads far beyond Indonesia, reaching many islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

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This map shows the population density in Indonesia. About 60 percent of all the Indonesian people live on the island of Java, though Java accounts for only about 7 percent of the country’s total area. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

A number of languages have influenced Javanese. Ancient overseas trade with India influenced Java’s early culture and language from at least the A.D. 100’s. Javanese contains many words borrowed from Sanskrit, an ancient language of India. The traditional Javanese alphabet also developed from Indian writing. Ancient India’s two great epic poems, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are popular among the Javanese people today. The poems often shape the plots in traditional Javanese theater, known as wayang. Javanese also contains many words borrowed from Arabic. Arab traders brought Islam to Indonesia in the 1400’s and 1500’s, and most Javanese today are Muslims.

Traders from the Netherlands reached Java in the 1590’s. During most of the period from the 1600’s until 1945, the Netherlands ruled Java and the other islands that eventually became Indonesia. During those years, when Indonesia was known as the Dutch East Indies, many Dutch words were absorbed into Javanese. The Dutch period also introduced the Roman alphabet for writing Javanese.

Javanese was Indonesia’s most widely spoken traditional language in the early 1900’s, but Indonesian nationalists wanted a language that could serve as a unifying force for all Indonesians. They believed that making Javanese the national language would give Javanese speakers an unfair advantage. The nationalists developed Bahasa Indonesia, which means language of Indonesia. They based Bahasa Indonesia largely on a dialect called Coastal Malay. People of different ethnic groups had long used the dialect to communicate with one another in marketplaces and ports. Bahasa Indonesia is the official language used in schools, in newspapers, and for official communication throughout Indonesia. It is closely related to Javanese, and the languages share many words and expressions. Javanese, however, remains the primary language for private and individual communication for millions of people.

April 30, 2013

A new king of the royal house of Orange-Nassau was sworn in today in the Netherlands. No king has served in the Netherlands since the death of William III of the Netherlands in 1890. King Willem-Alexander (1967-…) succeeded his mother, Beatrix (1938-…), who will now be known as Princess Beatrix. The role of monarch is ceremonial in the Netherlands.

The Dutch flag and coat of arms. The coat of arms with the crown and red cloak is the personal arms of the royal family of the Netherlands. (Flag artwork © 2013 Dream Maker Software; World Book illustration)

Beatrix, who had reigned since 1980, signed an act abdicating the throne and passing it to her son. In some royal houses, there is no tradition of a monarch abdicating, and he or she serves until death. The United Kingdom’s house of Windsor, currently headed by Elizabeth II (1926-…), has such a tradition.  The Netherlands, however, has a modern history of older monarchs giving up rule for the younger generation. Beatrix’s mother, Juliana (1909-2004), gave up the throne in her 70′s, and Juliana’s mother, Wilhelmina (1880-1962), abdicated in her 60′s.

Wilhelmina had been a tremendously popular figure to the Dutch. They still remember her courage during World War II (1939-1945), when the Netherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany. Wilhelmina fled to the United Kingdom and formed a government in exile. She broadcast radio messages to her people during her five-year stay in the United Kingdom. Juliana took her young children to Canada for the war.

Willem-Alexander was crowned in Amsterdam in the Nieuwe Kerk, a church built in the 1400′s. The decommissioned church, now used as exhibition space, has been the site of the inauguration of all the rulers from the Orange-Nassau house, which has ruled the Netherlands since 1813.  It is also the burial site of the royal family.

Willem-Alexander’s wife, Argentine-born Maxima Zorreguieta, holds the title of queen of the Netherlands from today. The couple has three daughters. The eldest, Catharina-Amalia, becomes heir to the throne of the Netherlands.

Additional World Book articles:

• Netherlands (Back in time-1938)

• Royal families