Fun Facts
When coming the Netherlands, it is nice to be well prepared. Here are 20 interesting facts about the Netherlands:
- 26% of the Netherlands is under sea level
- The International Court of Justice (at the Peace Palace) and the International Criminal Court are both situated in The Hague
- The Netherlands still has around a thousand old-fashioned working windmills
- The Netherlands is the third biggest exporter of agricultural produce, preceded only by the US and France, even though only 4% of the Dutch population works in the agriculture sector
- The Netherlands has no less than 32,000 km of cycle paths
- The Dutch are the tallest people in the world
- Every Dutch person owns a bike and there are twice as many bikes as there are cars
- The Van Gogh collections in the Van Gogh Museum and the Kröller-Müller Museum are the largest in the world
- The Netherlands has the highest concentration of museums in the world
- The highest point in the Netherlands is in Vaals and is 323 meters above sea level, and is also the point where the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium (the “Drielandenpunt”) meet
- Amsterdam is the capital, but the government is in The Hague
- The Netherlands has more than 4,400 km of navigable rivers, canals and lakes
- Saint Nicholas’ Eve (“Sinterklaasavond”) on December 5th is the Netherlands’ number one traditional holiday
- The Netherlands has approximately 1,5 million cows, which together produce 10 billion liters of milk
- 500 million kilos of cheese are exported per year
- The Netherlands has 1048 windmills and 108 water mills
- The mills in the Netherlands represent the age-long battle against water
- Many of the Dutch eat a Dutch delicacy using only their hands: raw herring with onions. You should definitely try it!
- The first country to legalize same sex marriages in 2001
- 75% of the world’s flower bulb production comes from Netherlands