Rotterdam, located on the « New Meuse » (Nieuwe Maas), a branch of the common delta between the Rhine and the Meuse, in the south-west of the Netherlands (South-Holland) is the largest harbor in the world.

The coal terminal

Connected to the Rhine, a river of great commercial importance, it is the main centre of the high seas commerce of the Netherlands and the Ruhr industrial district in Germany.

The oil terminal (1)

A deep 30 km long channel, the Nieuwe Waterweg, has been built (1866-1890) to open the access to the harbour to the deep sea ships coming from the North Sea. The economic expansion due to the construction induced a strong growth of the city at the end of the XIXth century.

The Europoort (1)

The Europoort, at the east end of the channel, was built in the 60's, for unloading of the super tankers and oil storage.

The oil terminal (1)

The other port facilities and major industries, oil refineries, shipyards, sugar plant and chemical or iron factories are situated on the south bank of the Meuse, at Rotterdam.

The container terminal (1)

The exports include coal, machines and dairy produce. The main imports are oil, ore and grain.

New-York hotel, former Holland-Amerika headquarter (1)

The main commerce and residential areas are on the north bank of the Meuse.

City Hall

At the west of Coolsingel, the main street, lies a large shopping area, a pedestrian zone, the Lijnbaan. The Boymans-Van Beuningen (oils, 1847) museum and the Erasmus university (1973) are located inside the city. The Blijdorp zoological garden shows a nice collection of exotic birds.

Rotterdam got her rights in 1340. The city, during XVth and XVIth centuries, was a stake between Austrians and Spaniards, that didn't prevented her to become the second largest city in the Netherlands at the turn of the XVIIth century. A large part of the old city and the harbour were destroyed during the bombings of the second World War and a modern city has been rebuilt.

Population : 590 000, great agglomeration : 1,1 millions of inhabitants. The Pamir put there in february 1929, January 1930 then May and October 1952.

Modern quarter (1)	Leuvehaven (1)	Hofplein (1)
Delfse Poort (2)	Delfse Poort, 1937 (2) Quays along the Meuse	In memory of bombings (2)
Post Office (2) Maritime Museum (1)	City Hall (2)	Centre (1) Erasmus statue
The bridges (1)	Centre (1)	Euromaast (2)
Erasmus bridge (1)	Erasmus bridge (2)	Willems bridge (1)
Erasmus bridge (1)	Van Brienenoord bridge (1)	Willems bridge (1)
The Port (1)	Railway bridge (1)	The mouth (1)

(1) Rotterdam Virtual Tour

(2) Rotterdam Guide