South Holland (Dutch:Zuid-Holland[ˌzœytˈɦɔlɑnt]ⓘ) is aprovince of theNetherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023[2] and a population density of about 1,410/km2 (3,700/sq mi), making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. Situated on theNorth Sea in the west of the Netherlands, South Holland covers an area of 3,308 km2 (1,277 sq mi), of which 609 km2 (235 sq mi) is water. It bordersNorth Holland to the north,Utrecht andGelderland to the east, andNorth Brabant andZeeland to the south. The provincial capital is the Dutch seat of governmentThe Hague, while its largest city isRotterdam. TheRhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta drains through South Holland into the North Sea.Europe's busiestseaport, thePort of Rotterdam, is located in South Holland.
Archaeological discoveries inHardinxveld-Giessendam indicate that the area of South Holland has been inhabited since at least c. 7,500 years before present, probably by nomadic hunter-gatherers. Agriculture and permanent settlements probably originated around 2,000 years later, based on excavations nearVlaardingen. In the classical antiquity, South Holland was part of theRoman Province ofGermania Inferior, and the border of theRoman Empire ran along theOld Rhine and reached theNorth Sea nearKatwijk. The Romans built fortresses along the border, such asPraetorium Agrippinae near modern-dayValkenburg,Matilo near modern-dayLeiden, andAlbaniana near modern-dayAlphen aan den Rijn. A city was founded near modern-dayVoorburg,Forum Hadriani. It was built according to the grid plan, and facilitated a square, a court, a bathhouse and several temples.
After the departure of the Romans, the area belonged to theFrisian Kingdom, after which it was conquered by theFrankish kingDagobert I in 636. In 690, the Anglo-Saxon monkWillibrord arrived near Katwijk and was granted permission to spreadRoman Catholicism by the Frankish kingPepin II. He accordingly founded a church inOegstgeest, after which the entire area was gradually Christianised. The area was appointed toEast Francia in theTreaty of Verdun in 843, after which the king granted lands toGerolf, who had helped him claim the lands. This was the birth of theCounty of Holland. Gerolf was later succeeded byDirk I, who continued to rule Holland under the Frankish king. In 1248, countWilliam II ordered the construction of theRidderzaal, which was later finished by his son and successorFloris V.
The first city in South Holland to receive city rights wasDordrecht, which did so in 1220. The city retained a dominant position in the area until it was struck by a series of floods in the late 14th century. The same century also saw a series of civil wars, theHook and Cod wars, concerning the succession of countWilliam IV. Both his daughterJacqueline and his brotherJohn, the latter supported byPhilip the Good, Duke ofBurgundy, claimed the throne. The conflict ended in 1490, with John victorious.
Overall, the area of South Holland remained largely agrarian throughout the late Middle Ages. This changed around 1500, when Holland became Europe's most urbanised area. During theEighty Years' War, the area of South Holland was the scene of theCapture of Brielle, theSiege of Leiden and the assassination ofWilliam the Silent.
TheUnited Netherlands declared their independence in 1581, and Holland quickly emerged as the country's dominant province, with important trading cities such as Leiden,Delft,Gouda and Dordrecht. In 1575, the Netherlands' first university was founded in Leiden by William the Silent.The Hague, which had originated around the castle of the counts of Holland, became its new political centre. Both theStates of Holland and theStates General seated in theBinnenhof. TheDutch Golden Age blossomed in the 17th century. The south of Holland, back then often referred to as theZuiderkwartier (literally "South Quarter"), was the birthplace and residence of scientists such asAntoni van Leeuwenhoek andChristiaan Huygens, philosophers such asBaruch Spinoza andPierre Bayle, and painters such asJohannes Vermeer,Rembrandt van Rijn andJan Steen.
The province of South Holland as it is today has its origins in the period of French rule from 1795 to 1813. This was a time of bewildering changes to the Dutch system of provinces. In 1795, theBatavian Republic was proclaimed and the old order was swept away by a series of constitutional changes in the following years. In the Constitution enacted on 23 April 1798, the old borders were radically changed. The republic was reorganised into eight departments with roughly equal populations. The south of Holland was split up into three departments. The islands in the south were merged with Zeeland and the west of North Brabant to form the Department of theScheldt andMeuse. The north of the area became the Department of theDelf. A small region in the east of the area became part of the Department of theRhine, which spanned much of Gelderland and Utrecht. In 1801, the old borders were restored when the department of Holland was created. The reorganisation had been short-lived, but it gave birth to the concept of a division of Holland, creating less dominant provinces. In 1807, Holland was reorganised once again. This time, the department was split in two. The south, what would later become South Holland, was called the Department ofMaasland. This also did not last long. In 1810, all the Dutch provinces were integrated into theFrench Empire, and Maasland was renamedBouches-de-la-Meuse.
After the defeat of the French in 1813, this organisation remained unchanged for a year or so. When the 1814 Constitution was introduced, most borders were restored to their situation before theFrench period. The north and south of Holland were reunited as the province of Holland. However, the division had not completely been undone. Since its re-establishment in 1814, Holland had always had twoKing's Commissioners, one for the north and one for the south. Even though the province had been reunited, the two areas were still treated differently in some ways and the idea of dividing Holland remained alive. In 1840, it was decided to once again splitHolland intoNorth and South Holland, because the province of Holland was deemed too dominant in area, population and wealth. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, five municipalities were transferred from South Holland to Utrecht;Oudewater in 1970,Woerden in 1989,Vianen in 2002,Leerdam andZederik in 2019.
The construction of theNieuwe Waterweg in 1863 marked the start of the growth of thePort of Rotterdam. On 14 May 1940, during theSecond World War, the centre ofRotterdam was destroyed by aGerman bombardment. The subsequent German occupation of the Netherlands resulted in anti-Jewish measures, and many members of Dutch resistance were captured and executed on theWaalsdorpervlakte. At the same time, theAtlantikwall was constructed along the coast. After the Second World War, in 1953, the south of South Holland was heavily struck by theNorth Sea flood, which took the lives of 677 South Hollanders. After this, the Dutch government decided for the construction of theDelta Works, which came to an end with the completion of theMaeslantkering in 1997.
South Holland covers an area of 3,308 km2 (1,277 sq mi), of which 609 km2 (235 sq mi) is water. It borders theNorth Sea to the west,North Holland to the north,Utrecht andGelderland to the east, andNorth Brabant andZeeland to the south. Beside the dunes along the North Sea coast, the province is almost entirely flat and mostly consists ofpolders. The centre of South Holland and the area along the coast in the west are largely urban, part of theRandstad conurbation, while the east of the province is more agrarian and belongs to theGroene Hart, literallyGreen Heart. The south of the province is a collection of islands in theRhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. For census reasons, South Holland is divided into five regions:Rijnmond,South,West,East, andSouthwest.
TheDuin- en Bollenstreek is a region in the northwest of South Holland, aroundKatwijk, that features coastal dunes and the cultivation of flower bulbs. To the south of the region lie mostly pastures on sand soil, that form the transition to more urban area. This urban area runs along theOld Rhine, from Katwijk viaRijnsburg toLeiden andZoeterwoude-Rijndijk. South of Leiden and north ofThe Hague lies an area where a landscape of dunes bordering the North Sea in the west transitions to one of peat more to the east. The easternmost tip of South Holland is part ofDe Biesbosch, one of the largest national parks of the Netherlands and one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe. Other parks in South Holland, although no national parks, includeDelftse Hout east ofDelft,[5]Ackerdijkse Plassen, abird reserve north of Rotterdam,[6] andBuytenpark andWesterpark near Zoetermeer.[7] TheKagerplassen are a collection of lakes north-east of Leiden, popular for boating, watersports, fishing, camping and walking.
The southern part of South Holland consists of a number ofislands of theRhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. Although technically islands in the sense that they are surrounded by rivers, canals or other bodies of water, most of these islands are well connected to the rest of the province via bridges, tunnels and dams. The southern islands, most notablyGoeree-Overflakkee (1 on the map),Tiengemeten (2),Hoeksche Waard (6) andVoorne-Putten (4/5), are largely agrarian, while more to the north, the islands are more urban, such asDordrecht (7),IJsselmonde (9) andRozenburg (10), while other islands, likeRozenburg (10), are mostly used for petrochemical industry. Together, these cities form theRijnmond conurbation, centred on the city ofRotterdam. Together withHaaglanden (centred onThe Hague) andDelfland (centred onDelft) in the north, and theDrechtsteden to the south-east, this conurbation in turn forms theSouth Wing of theRandstad conurbation, which spans across South Holland, North Holland and Utrecht.
Like the rest of the Netherlands, South Holland experiences a temperateoceanic climate, a Cfb-class according to theKöppen climate classification. The climate is influenced by the North Sea and theAtlantic Ocean, which results in relatively cooler summers and milder winters. Rain showers are common in the fall and winter seasons. Because of the flat surface, wind storms are also not uncommon in the winter. Although rain occurs all year long, the first six months of the year are relatively dry. Eastern winds can result in temporary continental climate conditions with relatively warm and dry summers and cold and stormy winters. The temperature varies between the 2 °C and 6 °C in the winter and 17 °C and 20 °C in the summer.
TheGross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 163.8 billion € in 2018. This contributes to the gross domestic product of the Netherlands by 21.2%. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 38,700 € or 128% of the EU27 average in the same year.[10] South Holland's labour force amounts to 1,661,000 people; 47.1% of the total population. The unemployment rate is 6.1% in 2013.[11]
The main sectors of economical activity in this province are among others:
Horticulture is an important sector in South Holland. The province is home to around 2550 glasshouse companies, approximately half of the Netherlands' total.[12] Specifically theWestland is well known for its intensive horticulture. The glasshouses in this region cover an area of 2,750 hectares (10.6 sq mi),[13] making it the world's largest contiguous greenhouse area.[14]
Petrochemical industry, particularly near Rotterdam neighbourhoodPernis; (Shell's refinery there is the largest oil refinery in Europe, and one of the largest in the world);
The service-oriented economy of The Hague, where many jobs are offered by the national government (of which the main administrative parts are settled in this town), international institutions and headquarters of several large international businesses;
Tourism-related activities (among others in historic places likeDelft, and several seaside resorts);
Commercial fishing; main South Holland fishing places are Katwijk and Scheveningen;
Stockbreeding, of which in this provincedairy industry is the main sector.
In 2015, 18.2% of the population belonged to theProtestant Church in the Netherlands while 14.5% wereRoman Catholic, 7.5%Muslim, 1.8%Hindu and 5.7% belonged to other churches or faiths. Over half (52.2%) of the population identified as non-religious.
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