Delfshaven is a borough of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas. It was a separate municipality until 1886. The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

. Delft itself was not located on a major river, so in 1389 a harbour was created about due south of the city, to be able to receive seafaring vessels and avoid tolls being levied by the neighbouring and competing city of Rotterdam. This settlement was named Delfshaven ("Port of Delft"). On 1 August 1620 the Pilgrim fathers left Delfshaven with the '' Speedwell''. Since then, the town's Oude Kerk has also been known as the Pelgrimskerk, or in English, the " Pilgrim Fathers Church". Delfshaven 1649 Blaeu

Fishing, shipbuilding and the distillery of

jenever Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavored traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium and adjoining areas in northern France an ...

were the main sources of income. The Dutch East India Company had important wharves and warehouses in Delfshaven, and one of the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

's most famous

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

s, Piet Hein, was born here. Delfshaven belonged to the city and municipality of Delft until 1795, when it declared itself to be an independent municipality, under protest from Delft. In 1825 it got city rights. Delfshaven was annexed by Rotterdam in 1886 at its own request. The current borough has about 73,000 inhabitants. Its small historic centre has been carefully preserved. It features modest local museums, a brewery and various dining and drinking facilities. Delfshaven escaped the bombing of Rotterdam by the Luftwaffe on 14 May 1940. Later during the Second World War, the area around the ''Visserijplein'' and other parts of the western city of Rotterdam were destroyed by Allied bombing on 31 March 1943.

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Historisch Delfshaven
YouTube video
Shipyard 'De Delft'
Reconstruction of the

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

'' (1783–1797). Museum and shipyard are open to visitors. {{coord, 51, 54, 26, N, 4, 26, 54, E, region:NL_type:city, display=title Populated places in South Holland Former municipalities of South Holland Boroughs of Rotterdam Redeveloped ports and waterfronts

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