Schiedam

( Listen? / I ) Schiedam is a city and municipality of the Dutch province of South Holland and counted on 1 January 2013 as declared by the CBS 76 354 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is 19.89 km ² and it includes the city of Schiedam and the village Kethel.

Location and economic

Schiedam is located immediately to the west of Rotterdam, but is not to be regarded as its suburb. The city is connected by car and railways with Delft and the eastern neighbors; Since 2002 there is also a metro connection to Rotterdam. To the west is the municipality of Vlaardingen.

The city lies on the small river and rail at the Nieuwe Maas.

Schiedam has some shipyards and other companies connected to the port of Rotterdam. But spirits ( gin ) are even today still of importance for the economy of the city.

History

The town was founded around 1250, when a Mr. Dirk ( Dietrich ) Bokel who owned the surrounding polders, the Mathenesse castle and had built a dam in the river Schie. The fishing village was a parish church in 1262. The Count of Holland, Floris V, gave the place a city charter in 1275. But only 75 years later was allowed Schiedam build a fortification. The city came not so much bloom like the neighbor and rival Rotterdam since Schiedams harbor silted up again and again.

Around 1590 the first distilleries in Schiedam published. This industry specific Schiedams economy until about 1890, when the sales of these drinks, was such as improved education about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption, in decline. The period 1890-1950 was a period of bitter poverty in Schiedam, there was now and even famine ( a literary testimony is the novel Geert Mak's My Father's Century). After the Second World War but Schiedam benefited from the development of the Rotterdam port operations and the social misery disappeared.

Notable people from Schiedam

  • The Holy Lidwina of Schiedam (1380-1433)
  • Cornelius Haga (1578-1654), first Dutch ambassador in the Ottoman Empire
  • Jeremias Van Vliet (1602-1663), member of the Dutch East India Company (VOC ), as director of the VOC trading Kontor in Ayutthaya ( 1638-1642 ) Thai chronicler, Governor of Malacca ( ​​1642-1645 ); from 1652 Burgemeester of Schiedam.
  • Adam Pijnacker (1620-1673), painter of the Golden Age
  • Aart Geurtsen (1916-2005), politician
  • Rien Poortvliet (1932-1995), painter and draftsman
  • Jan Huydts ( born 1937 ), jazz musician
  • Pieter van Vollenhoven ( b. 1939 ), husband of Princess Margriet, sister of Queen Beatrix
  • Danny Koevermans (born 1978 ), football player
  • Luc Castaignos (* 1992), football player

Attractions

The slums of Schiedam downtown have been replaced by new buildings in the postwar period. But there are also preserved many monuments ( Rijksmonument ), including through the timely and expert restoration.

The town is the stone of the six classic, very high (all greater than 30 m ) Windmills - including the 2011 newly built windmill De camel - and a new mill in 2006 marked, some of which - the new - can be visited. The completely newly built mill De Nolet, quasi a wind turbine (for the same distillery ) in the shell of a classic, round brick gallery windmill with a 360 ° rotating cap and Flügelnachführung with codend is since 3 March 2006 43 m the highest windmill in the world (55 meters in vertical wing position). The malt mill and restaurant ( in the bottom three floors) De Noord of 1803 ( the predecessor De Noort Moole 1707 was demolished and then closer up than De Noord due to better wind conditions in the water again, and the foundation stones of both mills are embedded in the outer wall ) held the height record until the completion of De Nolet 33.5 m. In the 19th century Schiedam had 20 of these high brick mills that grind malt primarily for distilleries and bakery products.

The St. Janskerk ( St John's Church ) is a three-aisled hall church, which was built in 1425. The Liduinakirche dates from 1881 and contains relics of St. Lidwina. The ruins of the castle Mathenesse, some stately houses along the canals and the Town Hall ( 1782 ) are also worth seeing.

The Nationaal Genever Museum on a canal in the city center is dedicated to the spirits.

The Municipal Museum is the local history and modern art, including works of the CoBrA group of painters.

Gallery

Moat

Drawbridge Korte Havenbrug

Windmill De Drie Koornbloemen

Windmill De Noord

Windmill De Kameel, 2011

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