The Netherlands by matthew

       

The Netherlands 

By: Matthew

The Netherlands’ Flag

             Hello, my name is Matthew Sammartino and this is my blog about the Netherlands. In this blog I am going to explain to you why the Netherlands is a great place to vacation and about the Dutch dikes and polders. Also, I am going to tell you interesting facts about Dutch history, famous artists and some places you will want to visit. I hope you enjoy this blog and decide to visit the Netherlands sometime soon.

Interesting facts

·        27% of the Netherlands is below sea level

·        60% of the Netherlands people live in the area that is below sea level

·        66% of the Netherlands is vulnerable to flooding

·        Three major European rivers run through the Netherlands called the Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt.

·        Sometimes they would flood the land in certain places to help attack invaders

·        Gin was invented in the Netherlands

·        Dutch explorers were the first people to discover Australia and New Zeeland 

·        Were the first place to have orange carrots  they used to be white, yellow, black, purple and red

·        Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe

·        The Netherlands has two names the Netherlands and Holland

 

Netherlands Art

Rembrandt

            Rembrandt was born in 1606 and died in1669. Rembrandt lived in the country of the Netherlands. He was one of the greatest Renaissance artists and etchers ever. In his lifetime, he painted over 500 pictures. Rembrandt liked to draw self-portraits or portraits of people he knew. One of his best etches was the “six’s bridge” which is shown below. He is known to be a very accomplished sketcher.  

                      

2.  Rijksmuseum

Another place to visit is The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It is the largest and most famous museum for art and history in the Netherlands. The museum contains a lot of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age. Also, the museum contains some of Rembrandts paintings. Right now the museum is closed (until 2013) for renovations, but the major art pieces are still on display.

3.   The Keukenhof Gardens 

 

The Keukenhof Garden is the world’s largest flower garden. The garden provides flowers for the Dutch flower industry. Approximately seven million flower bulbs are planted annually in the park. Also, they plant many types of flowers like tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and other spring flowers. The gardens are open from the last week in March to mid-May. The Keukenhof is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the Netherlands.

Van Gough

            Van Gough was also born in the Netherlands but he committed suicide at the age of 37. Van Gough was a very unhappy person and his first paintings showed that. In his first paintings he painted poor people and made them look dark and sad. Then he saw a japanise painting and started to make them more colorful. One of his most famous paintings is “The Starry Night”. It it show below.                 

 

 

5 Top Places to Visit

1.      Canals of Amsterdam

Amsterdam began building its famous canals in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age (1590-1700’s). The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht form circular belts around the city. Today, there are over 60 miles of canals and 1,500 bridges. Next to the canals, there are many beautiful and famous buildings.