North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of 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 ...

in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

, north of South Holland and

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

, and west of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a population of 2,877,909 and a total area of , of which is water. From the 9th to the 16th century, the area was an integral part of the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a State of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1433 part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading province of the Dutch Republic, of which it remained a par ...

. During this period West Friesland was incorporated. In the 17th and 18th century, the area was part of the province 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 ...

and commonly known as the

Noorderkwartier Noorderkwartier (; en, Northern Quarter) is a historical term referring to the part of the former Dutch province of Holland north of the river IJ, covering the regions Kennemerland, Zaanstreek, Waterland and West Friesland and now part of the ...

(English: "Northern Quarter"). In 1840, the province of Holland was split into the two provinces of North Holland and South Holland. In 1855, the

Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer () is a municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The name Haarlemmermeer means 'Haarlem's lake', referring to the body of wate ...

was drained and turned into land. The provincial capital is Haarlem (pop. 161,265). The province's largest city and also the largest city in the Netherlands is the Dutch capital

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, with a population of 862,965 as of November 2019. The King's Commissioner of North Holland is

Arthur van Dijk Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, who has been serving since 2019. There are 45

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and three (including parts of)

water boards A water board is a regional or national organisation that has very different functions from one country to another. The functions range from flood control and water resources management at the regional or local level (the Netherlands, Germany), w ...

in the province. The busiest airport in the Netherlands and Europe's third-busiest airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, is in North Holland.

History

Amsterdam, Netherlands (Unsplash 2Hs8zbwOLDA)

Binnenstad Hoorn, 1621 Hoorn, Netherlands - panoramio (71)

Emergence of a new province (1795 to 1840)

The province of North 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, the old order was swept away and the Batavian Republic was established. In the Constitution enacted on 23 April 1798, the old borders were radically changed. The republic was reorganised into eight departments (''département'') with roughly equal populations. Holland was split up into five departments named "

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...

", "

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the r ...

", " Delf", "

Schelde The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

en Maas", and " Rijn". The first three of these lay within the borders of the old Holland; the latter two were made up of parts of different provinces. In 1801 the old borders were restored when the department of Holland was created. This reorganisation had been short-lived, but it gave birth to the concept of breaking up Holland and making it a less powerful province. In 1807, Holland was reorganised. This time the two departments were called "Amstelland" (corresponding to the modern province of North Holland) and "Maasland" (corresponding to the modern province of South Holland). This also did not last long. In 1810, all the Dutch provinces were integrated into the French Empire. Amstelland and Utrecht were amalgamated as the department of "Zuiderzee" (

Zuyderzée Zuyderzée (, "Southern Sea", ) was a department of the First French Empire in the present-day Netherlands. It is named after the Zuiderzee sea inlet. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France. Its territory correspo ...

in French) and Maasland was renamed "Monden van de Maas" (

Bouches-de-la-Meuse Bouches-de-la-Meuse (, "Mouths of the Meuse"; , nl, Monden van de Maas) was a department of the First French Empire in the present-day Netherlands. It was named after the mouth of the river Meuse. It was formed in 1810, when the Kingdom of Holl ...

in French). After the defeat of the French in 1813, this organisation remained unchanged for a year or so. When the 1814 Constitution was introduced, the country was reorganised as provinces and regions (''landschappen''). Zuiderzee and Monden van de Maas were reunited as the province of "Holland". One of the ministers on the constitutional committee (van Maanen) suggested that the old name "Holland and West Friesland" be reintroduced to respect the feelings of the people of that region. This proposal was rejected. However, the division was not totally reversed. When the province of Holland was re-established in 1814, it was given two governors, one for the former department of Amstelland (area that is now North Holland) and one for the former department of Maasland (now South Holland). Even though the province had been reunited, the two areas were still being treated differently in some ways and the idea of dividing Holland remained alive. During this reorganisation the islands of

Vlieland Vlieland (; fry, Flylân) is a municipality and island in the northern Netherlands. The municipality of Vlieland is the second most sparsely populated municipality in the Netherlands, after Schiermonnikoog. Vlieland is one of the West Frisia ...

and Terschelling were returned to Holland and parts of "Hollands Brabant" (including "Land of Altena") went to

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the w ...

. The borders with Utrecht and

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

were definitively set in 1820. When the constitutional amendments were introduced in 1840, it was decided to split Holland once again, this time into two provinces called "North Holland" and "South Holland". The need for this was not felt in South Holland or in West Friesland (which feared the dominance of

). The impetus came largely from Amsterdam, which still resented the 1838 relocation of the court of appeal to

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 o ...

in South Holland.

Urbanisation and economic growth (1840 to today)

After the

was drained in 1855 and turned into arable land, it was made part of North Holland. In exchange, South Holland received the greater part of the municipality of

Leimuiden Leimuiden is a Dutch village in the South Holland municipality of Kaag en Braassem. Leimuiden is located between the Braassemermeer, the Westeinderplassen and the Ringvaart. Leimuiden is located north of Alphen aan den Rijn. History The villag ...

in 1864. In 1942, the islands

and Terschelling went back to the province of

. In 1950, the former island

Urk Urk () is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Urk is first mentioned in historical records dating to the 10th century, when it was still an island in the Zuiderzee, an inland sea that would become part ...

was ceded to the province of Overijssel. In February 2011, North Holland, together with the provinces of

and Flevoland, showed a desire to investigate the feasibility of a merger between the three provinces. This has been positively received by the

First Rutte cabinet The first Rutte cabinet, also called the Rutte–Verhagen cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 14 October 2010 until 5 November 2012. The cabinet was formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for Fr ...

, for the desire to create one

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many tow ...

province has already been mentioned in the

coalition agreement A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

. The province of South Holland, part of the Randstad urban area, visioned to be part of the Randstad province, and very much supportive of the idea of a merger into one province, is not named. With or without South Holland, if created, the new province would be the largest in the Netherlands in both area and population.

Geography

North Holland is situated at in the northwest of the

with to the northeast the province of

, to the east the province of Flevoland, to the southeast the province of

, to the southwest the province of South Holland, and to the west the

. North Holland is a broad peninsula for the most part, located between the

, the Wadden Sea, the IJsselmeer, and the

Markermeer The Markermeer () is a lake in the central Netherlands in between North Holland, Flevoland, and its smaller and larger neighbors, the IJmeer and IJsselmeer. A shallow lake at 3 to 5 m in depth, matching the reclaimed land to its west, ...

. More than half of the province consists of reclaimed polder land situated below sea level. The West Frisian islands of

Noorderhaaks Noorderhaaks (), also called ''Razende Bol'' (''Raging sandbank'' in Dutch; in modern Dutch ''Bol'' means sphere, but in this context the old Dutch meaning of sandbank is meant), is an uninhabited Dutch islandZandplaat De Razende Bol voortaan eil ...

and

are also part of the province. North Holland makes up a single region of the

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Art ...

world region code system, having the code ISO 3166-2:NL-NH.

Municipalities

As of January 2022, North Holland is divided into 45

(

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

). After the

dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010. After dissolution, the "BES islands" of the Dutch Caribbean— Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba—becam ...

, three islands in the Caribbean, Bonaire,

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Şaba (Romanian for Shabo), a town of the Odesa Oblast, Ukraine * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Saba (river), ...

, and Sint Eustatius, were offered to join the province, though the offer has been neither accepted nor rejected. North Holland has five municipalities with 100,000 or more inhabitants. They are, in order of size,

(in terms of population this is also the largest municipality in the Netherlands), Haarlem,

Zaanstad Zaanstad () is a Dutch municipality in the province of North Holland, situated northwest of Amsterdam. Its main city is Zaandam. It is part of the conurbation and metropolitan area of Amsterdam. It had a population of in . Topography Popul ...

and Alkmaar. Another seven municipalities have a population between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants ( Hilversum,

Amstelveen Amstelveen () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 92.353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villages ...

Purmerend Purmerend () is a city and municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and in the region of West Friesland. The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster and the Wormer. The city became the t ...

, Hoorn,

Velsen Velsen () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on both sides of the North Sea Canal. On the north side of the North Sea Canal there is a major steel plant, Tata Steel IJmuiden, formerly known a ...

, Den Helder and

Dijk en Waard Dijk en Waard ( West Frisian Dutch: ''Doik en Weard/Weerd'' or ''Dìk en Weard/Weerd'') is a municipality in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia, the Netherlands, formed from the merger of Heerhugowaard and Langedijk. The ...

). * Kop van North Holland

COROP A COROP region is a division of the Netherlands for statistical purposes, used by Statistics Netherlands, among others. The Dutch abbreviation stands for , literally the Coordination Commission Regional Research Programme. These divisions are a ...

group ** Den Helder **

Drechterland Drechterland () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. The municipality was formed in 1979, in a merger of the former municipalities of Hoogkarspel, Westwoud and Oosterblokker. Its o ...

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbor-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade w ...

Hollands Kroon Hollands Kroon is a municipality located in the Northwest Netherlands. It was created on 1 January 2012, as a merger of four municipalities: Anna Paulowna, Niedorp, Wieringen, and Wieringermeer.Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations''Same ...

** Hoorn **

Koggenland Koggenland ( fy, Koggelân) is a municipality in North Holland province and the region of West-Frisia of the Netherlands. It came into existence on 1 January 2007 upon the merger of the two former municipalities of Obdam and Wester-Koggenland ...

** Medemblik **

Opmeer Opmeer (; West Frisian: ''Opmar'' or ''Obmar'') is a municipality and town in the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of ...

Schagen Schagen () is a city and municipality in the northwestern Netherlands. It is located between Alkmaar and Den Helder, in the region of West Friesland and the province of North Holland. It received city rights in 1415. In 2013, Schagen merged wit ...

** Stede Broec **

* Alkmaar agglomeration COROP group ** Alkmaar **

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Heiloo Heiloo () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and Dorp (town), town in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland. The community is part of the cooperation region Kennemerland and is located in the histori ...

* IJmond COROP group **

Beverwijk Beverwijk () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The town is located about northwest of Amsterdam in the Randstad metropolitan area, north of the North Sea Canal very close to the North Sea coast. A ...

** Castricum **

Heemskerk Heemskerk () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located in the Kennemerland region. Local government As of March 2022, the municipal council of Heemskerk consists of 25 seats, which are divide ...

Uitgeest Uitgeest () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Population centres The municipality of Uitgeest consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Topography ''Dutch topograp ...

* Haarlem agglomeration COROP group **

Bloemendaal Bloemendaal () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Bloemendaal is, together with Wassenaar, the wealthiest place in the Netherlands. In October 2015, after persistent problems with the local governa ...

** Haarlem **

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the fourth richest municipality of the Netherlands. History Heemstede formed around the Castle ''Heemstede'' that was built overlooking the ...

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

* Zaanstreek COROP group **

Wormerland Wormerland () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Population centres The municipality of Wormerland consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: It borders the municipalities of: ...

* Greater Amsterdam COROP group **

Aalsmeer Aalsmeer () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its name is derived from the Dutch for eel (''aal'') and lake (''meer''). Aalsmeer is bordered by the Westeinderplassen lake, the largest open water of ...

Diemen Diemen () is a town and municipality with a population of in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is located approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of Amsterdam's city centre, within the Amsterdam metropolitan area. Etymology The name ...

Edam-Volendam Edam-Volendam () is a municipality in the northwest Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, primarily consisting of the towns of Edam and Volendam. It is situated on the western shore of the Markermeer, just north of Waterland. In 2019, ...

Landsmeer Landsmeer () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Population centres The municipality of Landsmeer consists of the three villages: Den Ilp, Landsmeer, Purmerland. Topography ''Dutch topographic ...

Oostzaan Oostzaan () is a municipality and a town in the Zaanstreek, Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The municipality had a population of in . Oostzaan has a total area of of which is water. Oostzaan—together with Westzaan and As ...

Ouder-Amstel Ouder-Amstel () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Population centres The municipality of Ouder-Amstel consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Duivendrecht, Ouderkerk aan de Amstel ...

Uithoorn Uithoorn () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Population centres The municipality of Uithoorn consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: De Kwakel and Uithoorn. ''Dutc ...

Waterland Waterland () is a municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland. It is situated north of Amsterdam, on the western shore of the Markermeer. It is well-known for comprising the touristy towns of Broek in Waterland and M ...

* Het Gooi and Vechtstreek COROP group **

Blaricum Blaricum () is a municipality and village in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Gooiland and part of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (Metropoolregio Amsterdam). It is known for its many monumental farm bui ...

Gooise Meren Gooise Meren () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. It has about 56,000 inhabitants and covers an area of about . Gooise Meren has existed since 2016. It is a merger of the former municipalities of Bussum, Muiden, ...

** Hilversum ** Huizen ** Laren, North Holland, Laren ** Weesp ** Wijdemeren On 1 January 2013 the municipalities of Harenkarspel and Zijpe merged into the existing municipality of

.
On 1 January 2015 the municipalities of Graft-De Rijp and Schermer merged into the existing municipality of Alkmaar.
On 1 January 2016 the municipalities of Bussum, Muiden, and Naarden merged into the new municipality of

, and the municipality of Zeevang merged into the existing municipality of

.
On 1 January 2019 the municipality of Haarlemmerliede en Spaarnwoude merged into the existing municipality of

.
On 1 January 2022 the municipality of Beemster merged into the municipality of

, and the municipalities of Heerhugowaard and Langedijk merged into the new municipality of

Regions in North Holland

North Holland has various regions that, for historical or other reasons, have their own identities. Some of these regions are unofficial, ill-defined and sometimes overlapping. Others are official and are part of regional groupings artificially created for various administrative purposes. These regions are not the same as the municipalities. List of some of these unofficial and official regions in North Holland: * Amstelland (the area around the

) * Beemster (North Holland) * Bollenstreek (the flower areas found in both North Holland and South Holland) * The Gooi (in Dutch usually "Het Gooi" or "'t Gooi", North Holland) * Groene Hart (North Holland, South Holland and Utrecht) *

(North Holland) *

(North Holland and South Holland) * IJmond ("The Mouth of the IJ (Amsterdam), IJ") * Kennemerland (North Holland) * Purmer (North Holland) * Kop van Noord-Holland *

("North Quarter") * Noordvleugel ("North Wing") *

(North Holland, South Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland) * Schermer (North Holland) * De Streek (North Holland) *

(North Holland) * Utrecht Hill Ridge, Utrechtse Heuvelrug (Utrecht and North Holland) * Vechtstreek ("The Vecht (Utrecht), Vecht Area") (Utrecht and North Holland) *

(now effectively the municipality of Waterland, North Holland) * West Friesland (region), West-Friesland (North Holland) * Wieringen (North Holland) * Wieringermeer (North Holland) * Wijdewormer (De Wormer, North Holland) * Zaanstreek ("The Zaan Area") (North Holland)

Nature

Some of the best known nature reserves in this province are: * Wadden Sea * Zuid-Kennemerland National Park * Dunes of Texel National Park More information about nature reserves in North Holland is available (in Dutch) on the relevant site pages of national nature conservation organisations Natuurmonumenten and Staatsbosbeheer , as well as provincial organisation "Landschap Noord-Holland".

Organisations and companies based in North Holland

Several international organisations such as Amnesty International have settled the head office of their Netherlands branch in the province and particularly in

; the international head office of Greenpeace is located in the city. Other companies based in the Netherlands' capital include AkzoNobel, Akzo Nobel, Heineken International, ING Group, ABN AMRO, TomTom, Delta Lloyd Group, Booking.com and Philips. Randstad Holding has its headquarters in

while KPMG and KLM operate from

. Several national nature friendly organisations like Milieudefensie, the national "Union of vegetarians", the "Vissenbescherming" (Fish protection foundation) and the Party for the Animals as well have their head office in North Holland.

Notable residents

* Karel Appel, painter *Linda Bolder (born 1988), Israeli-Dutch Olympic judoka * John Law (economist), John Law, economist * Baruch Spinoza, philosopher * John Ton, American abolitionist

References

External links

Province of Noord Holland
official government website {{Authority control North Holland, 1840 establishments in the Netherlands NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union Provinces of the Netherlands States and territories established in 1840