Hook of Holland ( nl, Hoek van Holland, ) is a town in the southwestern corner of
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was the word in use before the word ''kaap'' – "cape", from Portuguese ''cabo'' – became Dutch. The English translation using Hook is a false cognate of the Dutch Hoek, but has become commonplace (in official government records in English, the name tends not to get translated and Hoek van Holland is used). It is located at the mouth of the
New Waterway shipping canal into the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. The town is administered by the municipality of
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
as a district of that city. Its district covers an area of 16.7 km
2, of which 13.92 km
2 is land. On 1 January 1999 it had an estimated population of 9,400.
Towns near "the Hook" ( nl, "de Hoek") include
Monster,
's-Gravenzande
s-Gravenzande is a town in the province of South Holland, in the Netherlands. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about southwest of The Hague. Until 2004 it was a separate municipality and covered an area of 20.77 km2 (of ...
,
Naaldwijk
Naaldwijk () is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about 10 km southwest of The Hague.
Naaldwijk lies in the heart of Westland. The largest economic sector is greenhouse ...
and
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, ...
to the northeast, and
Maassluis
Maassluis () is a city in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of in and covered of which was water.
It received city rights in 1811.
History
Maassluis was founded circa 1340 as a se ...
to the southeast. On the other side of the river is the
Europort and the
Maasvlakte
The Maasvlakte () is a massive man-made westward extension of the Europoort port and industrial facility within the Port of Rotterdam. Situated in the municipality of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Maasvlakte is built on land reclaimed ...
. The wide sandy beach, one section of which is designated for use by
naturist
Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...
s, runs for approximately 18 kilometres to
Scheveningen
Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...
and for most of this distance is backed by extensive
sand dunes
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
through which there are foot and cycle paths. On the north side of the New Waterway, to the west of the town, is a pier, part of which is accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.
The Berghaven is a small
harbour on the New Waterway where the Rotterdam and Europort
pilots
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
are based. This small harbour is only for the use of the pilot service, government vessels and the Hook of Holland
lifeboat
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
...
.
History
![Hoek van Holland Europoort passport stamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Hoek_van_Holland_Europoort_passport_stamp.jpg)
The Hook of Holland area was created as a sandbar in the
Maas estuary, when it became more and more silted after
St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421. All kinds of plans were designed to improve the shipping channel to Rotterdam. In 1863 it was finally decided to construct the
New Waterway which was dug between 1866 and 1868. The route ran through the Hook of Holland, where a primitive settlement, Old Hook (Oude Hoek - nowadays the Zuidelijk Strandcentrum), was created. Many workers and senior employees of the
Rijkswaterstaat
Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the ''Bureau voor den Waterstaat'' and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Net ...
settled in Old Hook.
The Hook initially fell under the administrative authority of
's-Gravenzande
s-Gravenzande is a town in the province of South Holland, in the Netherlands. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about southwest of The Hague. Until 2004 it was a separate municipality and covered an area of 20.77 km2 (of ...
. An attempt by the inhabitants to transform the place into an independent municipality failed and, on 1 January 1914, Hook of Holland was added to Rotterdam. After the First World War the village started to develop into a seaside resort. It has since been informally known as 'Rotterdam by the sea'.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the Hook was one of the most important places for the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
to hold because of its harbour, which comprised an important and strategic part of the
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...
. The German Army installed three 11" guns (removed from the damaged battleship
Gneisenau) as shore batteries to protect the port area from invasion.
Hook of Holland already had a ward council in 1947 and has been a borough since 1973. In 2014, it was replaced by an "area committee".
Kindertransport monument
The ''
kindertransport
The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...
'', with which Jewish children from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
could be brought to England from December 1938 until the outbreak of the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, usually went from the children's home stations to the Netherlands by train. The crossing to
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
then largely took place from Hoek of Holland. The transports were supported by the Dutch government and by volunteers. The first transport, which started on December 1, 1938 at the
Berlin Anhalter Bahnhof, reached England on December 2, 1938. When the transport was allowed, the British government stipulated that the children could not be older than seventeen and that their parents could not come along. The
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
stipulated, among other things, that the children at the railway station were not allowed to say goodbye to those left behind. By the time the war broke out in 1939, approximately 10,000 children had been brought to Britain in this way.
Transport links
Railways
The
Schiedam–Hoek van Holland railway
The Schiedam–Hoek van Holland railway (also called the ''Hoekse Lijn'') is a former railway line and current rapid transit line of the Rotterdam Metro between Schiedam and Hook of Holland (Hoek van Holland) along the Nieuwe Maas, in the west of ...
is a 24-kilometre
branch line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industr ...
from
Schiedam Centrum station
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 villag ...
via
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen () is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of , of which is land, with residents in .
Geogr ...
and
Maassluis
Maassluis () is a city in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of in and covered of which was water.
It received city rights in 1811.
History
Maassluis was founded circa 1340 as a se ...
. The final two stations on the line are located within the town.
Hoek van Holland Haven, the penultimate station, is close to the town centre, adjacent to the
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
terminal and the small harbour, the Berghaven.
Hoek van Holland Strand, the terminus, is closest to the beach.
The railway line opened for service in 1893 and was
electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...
in 1935. International trains ran from Berlin and Moscow to connect these with London via the ferry service. From 1928 to 1939 and from 1962 to 1979, Hook of Holland was the northern terminus of the
Rheingold Express
The ''Rheingold'' ('Rhinegold') was a named train that operated between Hook of Holland, near Rotterdam, and Geneva, Switzerland (or Basel before 1965), a distance of , until 1987. Another section of the train started in Amsterdam and was coupled ...
to Frankfurt and Geneva. Services on the line to
Rotterdam Centraal station
Rotterdam Centraal railway station () is the main railway station of the city Rotterdam in South Holland, Netherlands. The station received an average of 112,000 passengers daily in 2019. The current station building, located at Station Square, ...
were operated by
NS every half-hour during the day until April 2017, when the line was closed for conversion to
metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
standards. It was reopened in September 2019, as an extension of the
Rotterdam Metro. The metro line service from Hook of Holland does not offer direct connections to Rotterdam Centraal.
Ferry
Hook of Holland is also the location of an international ferry terminal, from which service to eastern England has operated since 1893 except for the durations of the two
World Wars
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
. Currently, two routes are operated: one, a day-and-night freight and passenger service to
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, and the other, a night, freight-only service to
North Killingholme Haven
North Killingholme Haven is a water outlet on the south bank of the Humber Estuary in the civil parish of North Killingholme, to the north-west of the Port of Immingham.
The area was used at the beginning of the 20th century for clay extraction ...
,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
. The passenger ferry service is operated by
Stena Line as part of the
Dutchflyer
''Dutchflyer'' is an integrated passenger service between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Formerly known as ''Amsterdam Express'', ''Dutchflyer'' is a rail/sea/rail service operated jointly by Stena Line, the Dutch state railway operato ...
rail-ferry service between Hook van Holland Haven station and
Harwich International station in England, from which
Greater Anglia provides service to
Liverpool Street station
Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...
in central
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
A local ferry operated by
RET links the Hook with the
Maasvlakte
The Maasvlakte () is a massive man-made westward extension of the Europoort port and industrial facility within the Port of Rotterdam. Situated in the municipality of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Maasvlakte is built on land reclaimed ...
part of the
Port of Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of East Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List o ...
.
Motorways
The
A20 motorway begins approximately 10 kilometres east of Hook of Holland near
Westerlee, heading east towards
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
and
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
. It connects to the
A4 heading north towards
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 ...
and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
17 kilometres east of the town.
Climate
Notable people
*
Jan Knippenberg (1948–1995), an ultrarunner and historian. In 1974, he ran from Hook of Holland to
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden () in 18 days
*
Richard de Mos
Richard de Mos (born 5 May 1976) is a Dutch politician and teacher who served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Party for Freedom (PVV) from 1 September 2009 to 20 September 2012. He sat on the municipal council of The Hague fr ...
(born 1976), a PVV politician and climate-change sceptic, brought up in Hook of Holland
*
Jesper Leerdam (born 1987), a footballer who has played for the Dayton Dutch Lions,
Excelsior Maassluis
Excelsior Maassluis is a football club from Maassluis, Netherlands, founded in 1918. The club's home ground is the 5,000 capacity arena known as Sportpark Dijkpolder. Excelsior won the Hoofdklasse of 2013 and became champions of the Topklasse jus ...
and SW Scheveningen
*
Roy Kortsmit (born 1992), a professional footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for
NAC Breda
*
Bryan Janssen (born 1995), a former professional goalkeeper
who plays for
Kozakken Boys
Kozakken Boys () is a Dutch football club based in Werkendam. It competes in Tweede Divisie, the highest amateur league of Dutch football.
Formed as Steeds Voorwaarts Werkendam (SVW) in 1932, it adopted its current name in 1935. Kozakken Boys ...
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Hook of Holland VVV (tourist information) siteHarwich - Hoek ferry service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hook Of Holland
Rotterdam
Boroughs of Rotterdam
Populated coastal places in the Netherlands
Populated places in South Holland
Port cities and towns in the Netherlands
Port cities and towns of the North Sea