Maps Overview - 300 AD CE - 1000 AD CE - 1650 AD CE - 1900 AD CE - at present Low and High Ground - 20th Century Land Reclamation* - The Delta Protection Works* * - with names spoken Maps and Names from Operation Market Garden ('The Bridge too Far') Amsterdam is the capital of The Netherlands, but The Hague is the seat of government. The houses of parliament (where the elected representatives have their meetings) and almost all government departments and embassies are in The Hague. See also: Conversation Subjects: Politics Dutchmen usually call The Hague "Den Haag," but the full, official name is " 's-Gravenhage " (The Count's Hedge, i.e. piece of land enclosed by a hedge; this count is the count of Holland, and now that I've mentioned it, this 'Holland' is in the Dutch sense of the word: only the present provinces of Noord- and Zuid-Holland.) In pronouncing the full name, the 'G' is usually left out (in analogy with CH of SCHR - see Dutch Pronunciation Rules); it may be hypercorrect to pronounce this G. Similarly, the capital of the province of Noord-Brabant is usually called "Den Bosch," but the full, official name is " 's-Hertogenbosch " (The Duke's Forest.) The H is always dropped, it's almost impossible for a Dutchman to say that H. (The " 's (apostrophe-s)" in these words is the possessive.) Den Haag 's-Gravenhage hear 's-Gravenhage hear (unusual, G not dropped) Den Bosch 's-Hertogenbosch hear - 2

Countries Nederland België Duitsland Engeland hear Rivers 1 De Rijn De Waal De IJssel hear Provinces Groningen Friesland Drente Overijssel hear Flevoland Gelderland Utrecht Noord-Holland hear Zuid-Holland Zeeland Noord-Brabant Limburg hear Cities Den Bosch Breda Tilburg Eindhoven Maastricht more hear Land Reclamation more names

Seas and Lakes De Noordzee De Waddenzee Het IJsselmeer De Zuiderzee * hear Rivers 2 De Lek De Maas De Schelde hear Cities Groningen Leeuwarden Assen Zwolle Enschede hear Apeldoorn Arnhem Nijmegen Utrecht hear Amsterdam more Haarlem Zaanstad hear Den Haag Leiden Rotterdam Dordrecht Middelburg hear Belgian Cities Shown Brussel Antwerpen Gent hear

Speaking Dutch, we seldom use the word 'Holland' for our country. We almost always say "Nederland."
At independence (1648), the new country called itself "The Republic of The (Seven) United Provinces," - Groningen, Friesland, Overijssel, Gelderland, Utrecht, Holland and Zeeland. Poor and sparsely populated Drente and the Roman Catholic southern provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg were a kind of territories. Flevoland is a new province of most of the reclaimed land in Lake IJssel.
Before Lake IJssel was closed off from the sea in 1932, it was called "De Zuiderzee" ("Southern Sea.")

Map by Marco Schuffelen, after 'Kleine Geografie van Nederland,' Published by 'Het Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken' (State Department), The Hague, Holland 1983

Useful Phrases and Words for travelers and visitors
Everyday Dutch for basic reading and conversation
Learning Dutch? Lessons (Suggested Method)

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