Everything about Noord Holland totally explained
North Holland (
Dutch:
Noord-Holland,,
West Frisian:
Noôrd-Holland) is a province located in the northwest part of the
Netherlands. Its capital is
Haarlem. The largest city is
Amsterdam. Other cities include
Hilversum,
Den Helder,
Alkmaar,
Zaandam and
Hoorn.
Geography
North Holland is a head-shaped peninsula between the
North Sea and the
IJsselmeer. More than half of the province consists of reclaimed land in the form of
polders and is below sea level. The island of
Texel is also part of North Holland. North Holland makes up one region of the
International Organization for Standardization world region code system, having the code -NH.
History
For more on the history of North Holland in the context of Dutch history, see the
history of the Netherlands. The history of this province can also be found in the articles on its constituent elements (for example
Amsterdam,
Haarlem,
West Friesland, etc.) The information here pertains just to North Holland itself.
Before 1795
For most of its history, the modern-day province of North Holland was an integral part of
Holland.
From the
9th century to the
16th century,
Holland was a county ruled by the
counts of Holland. During this period an area known as
West Friesland (now part of North Holland) was conquered and integrated into Holland. For centuries afterwards Holland would be officially called "Holland and West Friesland". The people of
West Friesland had (and still have) a strong sense of identity as a region within Holland (and later North Holland).
From the
16th century to
1795, Holland was the wealthiest and most important province in the United Provinces in the
Dutch Republic. As the richest and most powerful province, Holland dominated the union. During this period a distinction was sometimes made between the "North Quarter" (
Noorderkwartier) and the "South Quarter" (
Zuiderkwartier), areas that roughly correspond to the two modern provinces.
The emergence of a new province (1795 to 1840)
The province of North Holland as it's today has its origins in the period of French rule from
1795 to
1813. This was a time of bewildering changes to the Dutch system of provinces. In
1795 the old order was swept away and the
Batavian Republic was established. In the Constitution enacted on 23 April 1798, the old borders were radically changed. The republic was reorganised into eight departments (
departement) with roughly equal populations. Holland was split up into five departments named "Texel",
"Amstel", "Delf", "Schelde en Maas", and "Rijn". The first three of these lay within the borders of the old Holland; the latter two were made up of parts of different provinces. In
1801 the old borders were restored when the department of Holland was created. This reorganisation had been short-lived, but it gave birth to the concept of breaking up Holland and making it a less powerful province.
In 1807, Holland was reorganised once again. This time the two departments were called "
Amstelland" (corresponding to the modern province of North Holland) and "
Maasland" (corresponding to the modern province of South Holland). This also didn't last long. In 1810, all the Dutch provinces were integrated into the French Empire. Amstelland and Utrecht were amalgamated as the department of "Zuiderzee" (Zuyderzée in French) and Maasland was renamed "Monden van de Maas" (Bouches-de-la-Meuse in French).
After the defeat of the French in
1813, this organisation remained unchanged for a year or so. When the 1814 Constitution was introduced, the country was reorganised as provinces and regions (
landschappen). Zuiderzee and Monden van de Maas were reunited as the province of "Holland". One of the ministers on the constitutional commitee (van Maanen) suggested that the old name "Holland and West Friesland" be reintroduced to respect the feelings of the people of that region. This proposal was rejected.
However, the division wasn't totally reversed. When the province of Holland was re-established in
1814, it was given two governors, one for the former department of Amstelland (for example the area that's now North Holland) and one for the former department of Maasland (for example now South Holland). Even though the province had been reunited, the two areas were still being treated differently in some ways and the idea of dividing Holland remained alive. (During this reorganisation the islands of
Vlieland and
Terschelling were returned to Holland and parts of "Hollands Brabant" (including "Land of Altena") went to
North Brabant. The borders with Utrecht and Gelderland were definitively set in 1820.)
When the constitutional amendments were introduced in
1840, it was decided to split Holland once again, this time into two provinces called "North Holland" and "South Holland". The need for this wasn't felt in South Holland or in West Friesland (which feared the dominance of
Amsterdam). The impetus came largely from Amsterdam, which still resented the 1838 relocation of the court of appeal to
The Hague in South Holland.
1840 to today
After the
Haarlemmermeer was drained in 1855 and turned into arable land, it was made part of North Holland. In exchange, South Holland received the greater part of the municipality of
Leimuiden in 1864.
In
1942, the islands
Vlieland and
Terschelling went back to the province of
Friesland.
In
1950, the former island
Urk was ceded to the province of
Overijssel.
Municipalities
North Holland is divided into 61
municipalities (
local government areas):
* Municipalities of
West Friesland
West Friesland is a region that's part of North Holland (not of the province of
Friesland). It consists of the municipalities
Alkmaar,
Andijk,
Drechterland,
Enkhuizen,
Harenkarspel,
Heerhugowaard,
Hoorn,
Koggenland,
Langedijk,
Medemblik,
Niedorp,
Opmeer,
Schagen,
Stede Broec and
Wervershoof.
Regions in North Holland
North Holland has various regions that, for historical or other reasons, have their own identities. Some of these regions are unofficial, ill-defined and sometimes overlapping. Others are official and are part of regional groupings artificially created for various administrative purposes. These regions are not the same as the municipalities.
List of some of these unofficial and official regions in Holland:
» :::::::*
Amstelland (the area around the
Amstel)
:::::::*
Bollenstreek (the flower areas found in both North Holland and South Holland)
» :::::::*
Gooi (usually "Het Gooi")
:::::::*
IJmond ("The Mouth of the
IJ")
» :::::::*
Kennemerland
:::::::*
Noorderkwartier ("The North Quarter")
» :::::::*
Noordvleugel ("The North Wing")
:::::::*
Randstad » :::::::*
Texel
:::::::*
Vechtstreek ("The
Vecht Area")
» :::::::*
Waterland (now effectively the municipality of Waterland)
:::::::*
West-Friesland (
West Friesland) » :::::::*
Zaanstreek ("The
Zaan Area")
Further Information
Get more info on 'Noord Holland'.
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