Schiedam

Schiedam is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, west of Rotterdam, east of Vlaardingen, and south of Delft. In the south the city is connected with the village of Pernis by the Beneluxtunnel.
The city is known for its historical center with canals, and for having the tallest windmills in the world. Schiedam is also well known for the distilleries and malthouses and production of jenever (gin) − such as the internationally renowned Ketel One − so much so that in French and English the word schiedam (usually without a capital s-) refers to the town's Holland gin. This was the town's main industry during the early Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th century, a period to which it owed its former nickname "Zwart Nazareth" or "Black Nazareth". Furthermore, the city is known for Saint Lidwina, one of the most famous Dutch saints (her relics are located in the Liduina Basilica in Schiedam).
History
Schiedam was founded around the year 1230. The river Schie was dammed by the Lord of Wassenaer and the Amtlord Dirk Bokel of the Amt Mathenesse, this to protect the existing polderland against the seawater from the North Sea. In 1247, Lady Adelaide (Aleida) of Holland married John I, Count of Hainaut. As dowry she received from him the eastern part of the dam together with the adjacent polder. The dam attracted many trade activities because goods for and from the hinterland (Delft, and further away Leiden and Haarlem) had to be transhipped. A small town developed swiftly around the dam and its activities. In the year 1275 Schiedam received city rights from Lady Adelaide, this in her capacity as sister of William II, the reigning Count of Holland and becoming King of the Romans. She ordered the building of Te Riviere Castle near the Schie, which is known today as "Castle Mathenesse" (Dutch: "Huis te Riviere" or "Slot Mathenesse"). Remnants of a donjon, which were once part of the castle, are still visible today in the centre of Schiedam and near the city office.
As a young settlement Schiedam soon got competition from surrounding towns and cities: in 1340, Rotterdam and Delft also were allowed to establish a connection between the Schie and the Meuse. From the 15th century on the city flourished as a place of pilgrimage on the devotion around Saint Lidwina, one of the most famous Dutch saints who lived her life in Schiedam. The city gained subsequently significance by fishing for herring. In 1428 a great city fire swept through Schiedam, thereby destroying large parts of the then wooden city.
The 18th century was Schiedam's Golden Age, when the gin industry flourished. The standstill drink imports from France made the emergence of the Schiedamse distillery possible. From dozens of distilleries Schiedam jenever was exported throughout the world. The gin industry gave the city its nickname 'Black Nazareth'. This industry is now largely gone. Five windmills in the town, called De Noord, Walvisch, Drie Koornbloemen, Nieuwe Palmboom and Vrijheid − are the highest traditional style windmills in the world because they had to stick out above the high warehouses, and many storehouses are relics of this past. In one of the former factories at the Lange Haven the National Jenever Museum is established.
On 10 August 1856, the first major train accident in the Netherlands happened near the Schiedam railway station, causing 3 deaths. On 4 May 1976 the Schiedam train disaster also took place near the station which caused 24 deaths.
At the end of the 19th and throughout the 20th century, the shipbuilding industry was booming in Schiedam, with large companies like Wilton-Fijenoord and others. In 1941, the ancient municipalities Kethel en Spaland were merged with Schiedam, which made large expansions of the city possible with residential areas in the north. At the end of the 20th century, the shipbuilding industry largely disappeared and today, Schiedam is mainly a commuter area in the Rotterdam metropolitan area.
Geography
The city of Schiedam is located in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is enclosed between Rotterdam (east), Midden-Delfland (north), Vlaardingen (west) and the river Nieuwe Maas (south).
Demographics
55,44% Dutch background,
14,42% Western migration background,
30,15% Non western migration background
Composition
Schiedam exists of nine districts: Centrum ('Center'), Oost ('East'), Gorzen ('South'), West ('West'), Nieuwland, Groenoord, Kethel, Woudhoek and Spaland/Sveaparken.
Attractions
Museums
Het Borrelmuseum (in 't Spul on Hoogstraat)
Nationaal Coöperatie Museum Schiedam / 't Winkeltje
Artgallery 't Walvisch
Monuments
The old city hall
The canals of Schiedam
The Wheat Exchange (De Korenbeurs)
Church of Saint John (Grote of Sint-Janskerk)
The ruins of Te Riviere Castle
De Plantage (a park)
The Porters' Guild House
Het Proveniershuis (housing elderly people)
The historical windmills of Schiedam. This includes the tallest windmill in the world which is used as a restaurant.
Events
The National Windmill Days (Nationale Molen- & Gemalen dag)
Lip dub
Monthly art exhibition at Artipico Art Gallery (maandelijkse Kunstborrel)
Sport
The most popular sports in Schiedam are soccer and field hockey. The town used to have two professional soccer teams, one named SVV (Schiedamse voetbal vereniging), whereas the other one was named Hermes along the Damlaan where also cricket was played. Both disappeared from the professional level after financial problems. Cricket is also rather popular in Schiedam due to having two cricket teams playing on the highest national level, the topklasse. The Dutch capital Amsterdam for example only has one. Earlier mentioned team Hermes D.V.S. boasts two topklasse titles, where rivals Excelsior '20 holds eleven titles respectively.
Education
High schools in Schiedam:
Schravenlant
Notable residents
Public Thinking & Public Service
Saint Lidwina (1380–1433) a Dutch mystic, honored as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Jacobus Taurinus (1576–1618) a preacher and theologian, supporter of the Remonstrants
Cornelius Haga (1578–1654) ambassador of the Dutch Republic to the Ottoman Empire
Willem Nieupoort (1607–1678) a politician and ambassador, negotiated the Treaty of Westminster (1654)
Jan van Riebeeck (1619–1677) colonial administrator, founded Cape Town, South Africa
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (1649–1685) illegitimate son of Charles II of England
Harmen van Bol'es (1689-1764) a Royal master builder in Russia, Town Carpenter in Schiedam
Engelbertus Lucas Sr. (1747–1797) a Dutch rear-admiral, commanding a squadron of the Batavian Navy
Engelbertus Lucas Jr. (1785–1870) a Dutch senior naval officer
Piet Paaltjens (1835–1894) a Protestant clergyman and romantic author
Christian Osepins (1858–1887) a US Navy sailor, recipient of the Medal of Honor
Dirk Jan de Geer (1870–1960) a politician, Dutch Prime Minister 1926/1929 and 1939/1940
Philips Christiaan Visser (1882–1955) a diplomat, geographer, mountaineer and glaciologist
Jeanne Lampl-de Groot (1895–1987) a Dutch psychiatrist, worked with Sigmund Freud
Thomas van der Hammen (1924-2010) a Dutch palaeontologist, botanist and geologist
Wil Velders-Vlasblom (1930-2019) a Dutch politician and woman's rights activist
Pieter van Vollenhoven (born 1939) husband of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
Johannes Bronkhorst (born 1946) an academic and Indologist specialising in early Buddhism
Elizabeth Witmer (born 1946) member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Canada
Herman Heinsbroek (born 1951) entrepreneur and former Minister of Economic Affairs
Pieter Elbers (born 1970) a Dutch airline executive, President and CEO of KLM
The Arts
Adam Pynacker (1622–1673) Dutch Golden Age painter, mostly of landscapes
Piet van Stuivenberg (1901–1988) sculptor, painter, lithographer and graphic artist
Arnold van Mill (1921–1996) a Dutch opera singer who sang bass
Wim Meuldijk (1922–2007) writer, illustrator and screenwriter; created Pipo de Clown
Theresia van der Pant (1924–2013) a Dutch sculptor
Gé Korsten (1927-1999) a South African singer of Dutch descent
Rien Poortvliet (1932–1995) Dutch painter of the Gnomes book series
Henk de Vlieger (born 1953) a Dutch percussionist, composer and arranger
Mike Redman (born 1978) a musician, record producer and film maker
Joey Roukens (born 1982) a Dutch composer of contemporary classical music
Sport
Rinus Gosens (1920–2008) a football player and manager
Hans Eijkenbroek (born 1940) a retired footballer with 339 club caps and manager
Pauline van der Wildt (born 1944) a retired Dutch swimmer, team bronze medallist at the 1964 Summer Olympics
Yvonne Buter (born 1959) a former Dutch field hockey goalkeeper, team bronze medallist at the 1988 Summer Olympics
John de Wolf (born 1962) a Dutch former professional footballer with over 350 club caps
Angela Venturini (born 1964) a Dutch former cricketer
Willem Noorduin (born 1967) a Paralympian athlete and Olympic medallist
Robin van der Laan (born 1968) a former footballer with 401 club caps and manager
Robert Maaskant (born 1969) a Dutch former professional footballer and current manager
Luuk van Troost (born 1969) cricketer, captained the Netherlands national cricket team
Erik Jazet (born 1971) a former field hockey player, team medallist in three Olympic Games
Andre van Troost (born 1972) a Dutch former cricketer, a right-arm fast bowler
Rob Cordemans (born 1974) a Dutch baseball player
Ali Elkhattabi (born 1977) a retired Dutch-Moroccan footballer with 238 club caps
Danny Koevermans (born 1978) a Dutch former footballer with 296 club caps, currently a coach
Gökhan Saki (born 1983) a Dutch-Turkish kickboxer and mixed martial artist
Jos van Emden (born 1985) a Dutch road bicycle racer and time-trial specialist
Nick de Bruijn (born 1987) a Dutch racing driver
Kelly Dulfer (born 1994) a Dutch handball player with the Dutch national team
Joshua Zirkzee (born 2001) a Dutch football player
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Schiedam is twinned with:
All these contacts were under review after a decision of the municipal council on 4 February 2010
Schiedam is a member city of Eurotowns network
Gallery
See also
HMS Schiedam
Nieuwland, Kortland, en 's-Graveland
References
External links
Historical Society Schiedam
Windmills of Schiedam
Touristic Information Schiedam
Populated places established in the 13th century
Municipalities of South Holland
Populated places in South Holland