s-Gravenzande is a town in the province of

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

, in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

, and lies about southwest of

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. Until 2004 it was a separate municipality and covered an area of 20.77 km² (of which 3.38 km² water). The town of 's-Gravenzande had 15,241 inhabitants in 2011. The built-up area of the town was 2.7 km², and contained 5,879 residences.Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001''
. (Statistics are for the continuous built-up area). The statistical area "'s-Gravenzande", which also can include the peripheral parts of the village, as well as the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 119,750.Statistics Netherlands (CBS)
''Statline: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2003-2005''
As of 1 January 2005. As of 1 January 2009, 's-Gravenzande is the largest town in Westland with 19.428 inhabitants. The former municipality of 's-Gravenzande also included the township of Heenweg.

History

's-Gravenzande is the only place in the Westland with a history as a city. 's-Gravenzande was granted

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1246 by

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

William II of Holland William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards. Early life William was the eldest son and hei ...

who, just like his father Count Floris IV, regularly resided at his estate near the town. It is therefore the only "city" in Westland. Machteld van Brabant, daughter of Duke Henry I and wife of Floris IV, was responsible for building the town's church, and gave it a Madonna statue to which miraculous powers were attributed. 's-Gravenzande subsequently became a pilgrimage site. The neighborhood of

Gravesend, Brooklyn Gravesend is a neighborhood in the south-central section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, on the southwestern edge of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is bounded by the Belt Parkway to the south, Bay Parkway to the west ...

, New York in the United States is said by some to have been named for 's-Gravenzande.Letter to the Editor: Gravesend
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', December 20, 1992. Accessed October 28, 2007. "As a historical archeologist specializing in the early history of New York, I can tell you that what is now the Gravesend section of Brooklyn was not named for the hometown that Lady Deborah Moody and her followers left in England, as you stated in your article about the community on Oct. 18, but by the Dutch governor-general, William Kieft. Kieft chose to name the settlement " 's'Gravesande" after the town in Holland that had been the seat of the Counts of Holland before they moved to The Hague. It means the count's sand or beach." A 1656 Dutch map of Nova Belgica (New Netherland) confirms this, as it shows several Dutch names of towns like Vlissingen (Flushing), Breukelen (Brooklyn), Amersfoort (Flatlands), Heemstee (Hempstead) and Gravesant ('s-Gravenzande).

References

External links

Forum van de stad 's-Gravenzande
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gravenzande 1246 establishments in Europe Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2004 Cities in the Netherlands Populated places in South Holland Former municipalities of South Holland Westland (municipality), Netherlands