Hoek van Holland

Hoek van Holland , literally the corner of Holland , is a coastal town of Holland-Southerner, located on northern bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg at its mouth on the the North Sea. Hoek van Holland belongs to the common of Rotterdam, but is much more in the west that the city. The place is bordered in the North-East by the commune of Westland, in south-east by the commune of Maassluis and by the the North Sea and the Nieuwe Waterweg. Hoek van Holland, often called De Hoek (the corner), has 9.197 inhabitants (January 2006) and a surface of 14,10 km ².

History

Hoek van Holland is in the beginning a Sand bank in the mouth of the Meuse which, since the Inondation of the Holy-Elisabeth, ensable. All kinds of projects were conceived to improve river circulation towards Rotterdam. In 1863 it was definitively decided the construction of a new inland waterway, the Nieuwe Waterweg which was dug between 1866 and 1868. The layout crosses Hoek van Holland, it was a primitive establishment, the Oude Hoek (nowadays the Zuidelijk Strandcentrum ), where many employees of the Rijkswaterstaat , the public department of the inland waterways were established. Hoek van Holland was at the beginning part of the commune of `s-Gravenzande. An attempt to form an independent commune having missed, on January 1st 1914 Hoek van Holland was with Rotterdam joint. After the First World War, Hoek van Holland started to be transformed into balneal city.

World wars

To protect the mouth from the Meuse and the port of Rotterdam, the Pantserfort is built between 1881 and 1889.

The Pantserfort Body is rataché after the First World War with the coastal artillery Regiment. The 4th coastal artillery Company moves into the fort around 1927. With the threat of the second world war, the garrison of the fort is reinforced.

The May 13rd 1940 the government De Geer tiend in the extremely the last council of the government of the Netherlands before its departure for England. The very same day the royal family leaves, under the direction of the queen Wilhelmina, from the fort towards England.

The Second War of world left its traces. The zone of the seaside of Hoek van Holland was almost entirely demolished during the war with the profit of an enormous German complex of bunkers (an element of the Atlantic Wall). A hundred bunkers defends the inland waterways towards Rotterdam. The bunkers are in general intact, and are partially accessible to the public, just like Pantserfort. The center town of Hoek van Holland however remained intact.

Waterwegcentrum

Hoek van Holland has the ambitious project to become a four-season seaside resort with 15.000 inhabitants. The development plan Waterwegcentrum is the means of reaching that point. This project is based on the single combination of characteristics of Hoek van Holland. These characteristics are: beach and culture; maritime activities and harbor; nature and calm. The developments plan in addition to the construction of approximately 1.200 houses, of the hotels, (related to the beach) of the stores and others horeca, the improvement of the offer of museum and the enrichment of the public domain.

Service of ferry

Although of limited size, Hoek van Holland is internationally known for the service of Ferry with England existing since 1893. Nowadays, one can go from Hoek van Holland to the English ports Harwich and Killingholme. The unloading dock is close to the center town and the Gare Hoek van Holland Haven. The terminal passengers is in direct link with the station.

This service of ferry is exploited depuis1989 by Stena Line. From 1948 up to 1989 the service of ferry is exploited by two partners: the Dutch partner was the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland (SMZ), which comes from Flessingue, and the partner English, British Rail.

Stena Line has its own radio station, named Ferry FM. This station is diffused only in Hoek van Holland, on frequency 105 MHz and the Internet. The target of Ferry FM is the customer of Stena Line on standby.

Bonnen

Seen of Hoek van Holland in direction of Maassluis and wedged between in the east Oranjekanaal, the south the Nieuwe Waterweg and in north the wood of Staelduinse, is the field of Bonnen, dependant on Hoek van Holland and comprising two polders, Lange Bonnen and Korte Bonnen. In 1718, following the construction of the dam Bonnendijk, Lange Bonnen was poldérisé, Korte Bonnen comes from the damming up and the use of the dams along the Meuse.

Oranjekanaal

Oranjekanaal (literally the Orange channel for the House of Orange-Nassau) goes from Oranjebinnensluis, popularly Oranjesluis, ( lock Orange ) with the Nieuwe Waterweg Het Oranjekanaal loopt van of Oranjebinnensluis, in volksmond Oranjesluis genoemd, naar het boezemgemaal Westland aan of Nieuwe Waterweg. De direct Oranjebinnensluis lig aan of drukke verkeersader of Maasdijk. Het kanaal verzorgd onder meer of afvoer van boezemwater uit het Westland. Halverwege het Oranje kanaal ligt of Pettenbrug deze verbind of oostelijke in westelijk zijde puts elkaar. Het eerste deel van het kanaal, early aan of Pettenbrug ligt in Gemeente Westland, het gedeelte vanaf of Pettenbrug early aan het Boezemgemaal Westland ligt COp het grondgebied van Hoek van Holland. Aan of westerzijde van het kanaal loopt over een afstand van 1 km of zogenaamde Oranjedijk welke over gaat in Nieuw Oranjekanaal. Aan het einde van het Oranjekanaal valkbij het boezemgemaal Westland ligt het Bedrijventerrein Nieuw Oranjekanaal . COp het bedrijventerrein Nieuw Oranjekanaal is oa het Kassenmuseum “Jan Knijnenburg” gevestigd. Vlak voor het boezemgemaal Westland loopt het Oranjekanaal onder het spoor Hoek van Holland - Rotterdam door. -->

Others

Hoek van Holland inspired a song of The Nits published on the album Tent of 1979: Hook off Holland .

Random links: