This article is from WeChat official account:Nine lines (ID: jiuxing_neweekly), author: old artists, from head Figure: unsplash
2020 is not far from the end. The old artist wants to ask, does anyone remember the name change in the Netherlands?
The reason is that it was reported at the end of last year that starting from 2020, the Dutch government will no longer use “Netherlands(Holland)” instead. Use “Netherlands” (Netherlands) as the official country name.
It didn’t take long for the news to be slapped and refuted. In fact, everyone knows that Holland is just a nickname, and the official name of the Netherlands has always been Netherlands.
△On some maps, you can see that the Netherlands is marked with “Netherlands”/unsplash
Don’t think that the transliteration of a straight man like “Netherlands” is not worthy of the freshness of windmill tulips.If you see the other side of this country, you will find that the name of the Netherlands is simply too Dutch.
“Nether(nether)” is written as nieder in Germanic, which means lowland, while orchid(land) means land. Together, don’t they mean low-lying country, low-lying local.
Be aware that The Netherlands is the lowest country in the world. A quarter of the country’s land area is below sea level, and a quarter of the land is less than 1 meter above sea level, and it is located in Rotterdam. The lowest point is even as much as 7 meters below sea level.
△The terrain of Rotterdam is very low/unsplash
What’s worse, the Netherlands still faces the sea. A big wave came, and it was a matter of minutes to flood into Atlantis.
In order to survive, the industrious and brave Dutch people did not relocate as the entire people of the Republic of Tuvalu, but chose to encircle the sea and build dikes. Since the 4th century AD, the Netherlands has been continuously building dams.
The Netherlands used the world’s longest flood control dyke to stop external troubles, and began to be troubled by internal troubles again: how to deal with the drainage problem of inland waterway floods.
They found that the construction of a canal can not only facilitate drainage and ensure that residential areas are protected from floods, but also open up water and land transportation and develop irrigation and drainage of farmland, so they vigorously devoted themselves to the great cause of digging the canal. In the 17th century, The Netherlands has made canal construction the world’s first.
△Dutch canal/unsplash
The Dutch who have struggled with water for a long time often say: “God forgot the Netherlands when he created the land, so the Dutch created the Netherlands by themselves.”
If you want to experience this “Netherlands created by the Dutch themselves”, a canal trip may be the best choice.
1. The kingdom of windmills is also the kingdom of canals
When it comes to water cities, even the input method automatically pops up to Venice, but few people think of Amsterdam.
But Venice is known as a city connected by 409 bridges, and the number of bridges alone is less than one-third of Amsterdam. This Dutch capital with “165 canals, 90 islands, and 1281 bridges”, to some extent, is more like a water city that can be traveled by boat than Venice.
From the name of Amsterdam, it’s not difficult to find that this is a city built on the Amstel River, and Dan (dam) It means “dam”.
The original city consisted of several ridges and strips of land perpendicular to the bay. After nearly three hundred years of development, Acheng was only a singh(Single) The canal is a semicircular area with a very limited area and a moat.
Until the 16th century, the Netherlands got rid of Spanish rule and ushered in independence. Amsterdam, with its well-developed water system, took advantage of the east wind of European maritime trade and became the commercial center of the Baltic Sea region.
The tide of immigrants who came to fish for gold caused the population of Acheng to skyrocket. The only urban space could not meet the needs of survival. So the old city surrounded by the Singer Canal was the center, from the inside to the outside, the people of Amsterdam built one after another Herengracht(Herengracht), King’s Canal(Keizersgracht), Prince’s Canal< span class="text-remarks" label="Remark">(Prinsengracht)Three Grand Canals connected to the Amstel River.
△Keizersgracht in Amsterdam/wiki
The overlapping city-canal belt, each circle resembles a new moon, and they form a dense and huge cobweb. In 2010, the bold and miraculous Acheng Canal Circle was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Like most cities that are connected and separated by ring roads, the ring canal also builds a natural barrier between all classes of the Dutch people.
The bankers, arms dealers and merchants who got rich first built their mansions on both sides of the Singer Canal, a city center with basic facilities such as trains, churches, and weighing houses; and celebrities who made their fortunes a bit slow The nobles formed groups to set up jobs on the riverside of the Herengracht, which is why the canal is named the Solovets.
△Heaven’s Canal in Amsterdam/wiki
In addition to the former residences of celebrities, at the golden corner of the Leidse Street-Vijay Street section of the Hermitage Canal, the mansions in this area are particularly magnificent because of the gathering of the richest group of upper class people at that time.
Extra-wide water-view terraces, bright marble corridors, gardens with baroque fountain sculptures, and large, wayward stables and warehouse pavilions can be seen everywhere, which is unimaginable for ordinary people living in the King’s Canal and Prince Canal.
In addition to the above-mentioned mansions that can reach five to seven windows wide, ordinary canal houses are usually only three windows wide, and the narrowest is only one window wide. The length of the arms can touch the walls on both sides, such as Lao Gao The red house on 22nd Street.
This is because in the early days the house tax was calculated according to the width. In order to avoid tax, the Dutch rushed to build the house narrower.
△Houses on both sides of the old high street/wiki
The narrow door face, high house, and long depth are the characteristics of Acheng Canal House. Besides, they also look crooked like they are dancing together.
This is because it is built on silt, and in order to isolate the wet soil, the Dutch usually raise the house, which further causes the foundation to be unstable. Fortunately, land resources are scarce, and each household is closely connected without leaving any airstrikes. Supporting each other allows them to achieve a perfect balance.
In addition to the three main canals, Acheng also has many tributary canals that connect the main canal and the Amstel River, such as the Swan Dike, the Brewers Canal, and the Matchlocker Dike. You can choose to go to Beijing Hutongs, look for the chance encounters of Jianshui Gujing, and check in by chance. Of course, you can also go to other Dutch cities with very different scenery to appreciate the charm of the canals.
△Matchlock Gunner’s Defense Dike/wiki
For example, go to Delf, the oldest canal in the Netherlands, where the Old Delft Canal is located, to explore the origin of the canal; go to Leiden, which has hundreds of castles, national heritage sites and churches, and feel ” There are no walls and no school gates.” Leiden University is a water university city scattered along the river network of all the buildings in the hospital;
And in Utrecht, the hometown of Miffy Rabbit, apart from the Miffy-shaped traffic lights that are rarely seen in other cities, the shape of the canal is also very different from other cities.
△Miffy signal light in Utrecht/wiki
Most canals only rely on fixed piers for visitors to get on and off. Utrecht’s canals are full of piers. These large stone brick piers are below the street level and have cellars used to store cargo. Connected.
Now these cellars have become restaurants, bars and cafes, and the open-air pier has become an exclusive platform for sitting and dining and experiencing the city.
Second, what to sit for when visiting the canal?
The Netherlands is a famous bicycle kingdom, but obviously, boat and canal tours are more suitable.
In Amsterdam, you can often see large cruise ships with brilliant colors and glass skylights passing between the Grand Canals. Passengers can enjoy the day and night of the city through the panoramic glass.
△Passengers can enjoy the beautiful view of the city through the glass skylights of Amsterdam cruise ships/unsplash
This kind of city cruise route is basically fixed, and it passes through the essence of Acheng scenic spots. It will also be equipped with explanations, which is especially suitable for people who don’t want to worry about checking in.
For young people who like to roam aimlessly at their own pace, pedal boats are obviously more popular. And this kind of water vehicle, which is powered by both feet, obviously also has a low-carbon and environmentally friendly appetite for Europeans.
Unlike the common swan boats and duck boats in parks, the Dutch canal pedal boats are all born of a mother: pure white, box-shaped, without sun canopy, and can be used for two to four people. In Utrecht, which is full of open-air restaurants along the coast, enjoying a river chatting with three or five friends while burning calories is considered to be doing four happy things at the same time.
△Take a pedal boat to cruise the canal, leisurely and environmentally friendly/wiki
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When we arrived in Rotterdam, which is located at the mouth of the Rhine River, the open canal waters gave us more possibilities for water transportation.
You can choose an amphibious sightseeing bus that uses a ship base instead of a car chassis, and enjoy the convenience of getting on and off the water without changing trains; you can also stop a speedboat converted into a water taxi and feel the speed on the canal And passion.
△Sit on the water rental and feel the speed and passion on the canal/unsplash
Even if the river is too narrow to accommodate cruise ships, the Dutch will not be deprived of the pleasure of boating. After all, there are canoes.
And this kind of “whispering boat” without engine noise should naturally sail into Giethoorn, which is like a fairy tale dream. There are no roads, no roar of motor vehicles, only flowers and green trees and thatched houses, and only the singing of birds and farm animals.
△There are many boats on the Dutch canals, there is always one that suits you/unsplash
In this small village called Green Venice, where even express delivery is delivered by boat, only a canoe can magnify this slowness and let people blend in with its beauty.
After finishing the dream of the idyllic princess in the canoe, you can also release the pink girl’s heart on the flamingo or rainbow unicorn inflatable boat; if you want to have a carnival on the canal, there is an electric motor that can accommodate a dozen people The boat can also fulfill your dream of a queen.
△Unsplash/unsplash even on electric motor boats
Anyway, when it comes to river cruises, you just have to think boldly. Holland, known as the sea coachman, can satisfy you.
3. What to play on the canal?
Tired of taking a boat and watching the scenery, you can also choose to stand up.
A country with many tributaries of canals, it’s like one person, one board and one paddle. ) A paradise for lovers. In the winter when the canal is frozen by the severe cold, it has become a large outdoor ice skating rink.
△The canal in winter is frozen and you can skate on it/unsplash
If there is no talent for sports, there is still happiness on the canal that can be experienced for yourself.
For example, staying in a houseboat. Because of the limited housing on the ground, self-willed people who have a boat at home choose to live in the boat. The houseboat is also a beautiful scenery that cannot be ignored on the Acheng Canal.
AhThere are more than two thousand five hundred houseboats in Amsterdam. There are simple floating platforms made of timber and bricks, old metal cargo ship cabins converted into houseboats, and more advanced ones built on floating concrete A square houseboat with fixed docking points on the base.
△Amsterdam’s houseboat/unsplash
Acheng has strict laws and regulations: Tin boathouses must be repaired every three years to prevent rusting, and wooden houseboats must be repainted every three years to keep them fresh, so some of them have been floating on the canal. More than a century, but it does not look shabby.
Most of these houseboats are used for self-occupation and setting up homestays. If you just want to understand the feeling of living on a boat, such as where the water and electricity come from, where does the domestic sewage and wastewater go, this is an old artist who loves to save money I also recommend that you go to the Houseboat Museum at 396 Princes Canal to find the answer.
△The Houseboat Museum allows you to quickly understand the feeling of living on a boat/wiki
More interestingly, There are also floating restaurants above the canal. The so-called floating restaurants areFood-based cruises, such as the Dutch pancake boat. During the one to two hour limited time cruise, the ship will provide passengers with unlimited pancakes, bacon, cheese, raisins, various fruits and other ingredients and sauces to choose from.
The food and beauty are not to be neglected, and the same is true for beauty. The more advanced floating restaurant can also provide candlelight dinners and music live, allowing you to export dog food crazily on the canal.
△Listening to a water concert is also very romantic/unsplash
Food and lodging have been arranged. Naturally, the city of the canal cannot ignore the tourists’ demand for buying and selling. The flower market on the Singer Canal in Amsterdam is the only floating flower market in the world.
Under the rows of glass roofs, there are flowers and the river water. Here you can buy flowers and green seeds. There are even Christmas trees for sale every December.
The canal is as inclusive as water, which can accommodate elegant and classical water concerts, and can also host a bold and unrestrained rainbow-colored water parade.
△The lively Dutch canal/unsplash
The Netherlands, which can circle the border with one kick of the accelerator, has a small land area; but the existence of the canal makes the Netherlands very large.
Those unique coastal scenery, the endless fun of boating, seem to be endless to appreciate and enjoy.
Reference materials:
The flowing water canals scattered all over the streets of Holland have such past and present lives. In 2018, the Dutch micro life
Internship in the Netherlands | Amsterdam Canals and Urban Evolution, 2018, School of Geographical Sciences and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University
This article is from WeChat official account:Nine lines (ID: jiuxing_neweekly) author: old artist