Rozenburg () is a town and former municipality in the western

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 province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 13,173 in 2004, and covers an area of 6.50 km² (of which 1.99 km² water). It was the second-smallest municipality in the Netherlands in area (behind Bennebroek). On 10 July 2008, the local council decided to disband the municipality and to form a submunicipality 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 ''"Ne ...

. This was ratified on 27 October 2008 by the

Eerste Kamer The Senate ( or simply ' , literally "First Chamber of the States General", or sometimes ' ) is the upper house of the States General, the legislature of the Netherlands. Its 75 members are elected on lists by the members of the twelve States-P ...

(the Dutch Senate), and came into effect on 18 March 2010.Rozenburg.nl – Deelgemeente
/ref> The town is located on the former island by the same name: Rozenburg Island. Its current form was created out of three separate parts: Rozenburg proper (a former sand bar between Het Scheur and Brielse Maas – part of the

Nieuwe Maas The Nieuwe Maas (; "New Meuse") is a distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterd ...

river – both being branches of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta), the sand bar Welplaat, and the southernmost part of the

Hook of Holland Hook of Holland ( nl, Hoek van Holland, ) is a town in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was the word in use before the word ''kaap'' – "cape", from Portuguese ''cabo'' – became Dutch. The English t ...

(which was cut off from mainland

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 ...

by the construction of the

Nieuwe Waterweg The Nieuwe Waterweg ("New Waterway") is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur (a branch of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta) west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook of Holland: the Maasmond, where the Nieuwe Waterweg con ...

ship canal A ship canal is a canal especially intended to accommodate ships used on the oceans, seas, or lakes to which it is connected. Definition Ship canals can be distinguished from barge canals, which are intended to carry barges and other vessel ...

in 1870 and subsequently was connected to Rozenburg when the remainder of Het Scheur was dammed off). The island is now connected to Voorne-Putten by a sea barrier and a dam.

History

Rozenburg Island was formed centuries ago from several sand bars in the mouth of the river Maas. In 1568 construction started on the first set of dikes and in 1586 the land known as ''Roosenburgh'' was leased to Dirk Ariensz. Bisdommer and Son, the first permanent inhabitant of Rozenburg. In 1950, the Nieuwe Maas (or Brielse Maas) was dammed off at both ends of Rozenburg Island, thereby forming Brielse Meer and connecting it to Voorne-Putten Island. Beginning in the same period, most of the island was given to industrial enterprise, 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 worl ...

( Botlek and

Europoort Europoort (, en, Eurogate, also "Europort") is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at Southside of the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the ...

). When these sea ports were being planned in the 1950s, the councils of

and Rozenburg made the arrangement that Rotterdam would lead the development of the ports and industry, whereas Rozenburg would take care of housing development for the expected population increase. The village of Blankenburg on the island had to be completely removed to make way for new canals and industry. The new housing developments were concentrated around the old village centre of Rozenburg on Het Scheur. In a short period its population rose from 3500 to over 14000. The Hook of Holland bit was extended with a large polder called

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 ...

, which contains large sea harbours and

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable so ...

industry. There is a

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

located in Rozenburg. The Rozenburg refinery is now owned by Kuwait Petroleum Europort BV which is a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum International, KPI. Image:Beneeden rivier de Maas.jpg, Rozenburg Island in 1769 Image:Brielse Maas1.png, The same region today, '' Brielse Meer'' in dark blue. Image:Rozenburg 1867.png, Rozenburg Island in 1867, just before the construction of the Nieuwe Waterweg, its planned route visible in the top left corner Image:RMSDeltaNorth.jpg, Satellite image of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta showing the island of Rozenburg (10)

Born in Rozenburg

Famous people that were born in Rozenburg: * Johannes van der Giessen (1899–2008), oldest man from the Netherlands. * Bonnie St. Claire (1949), singer. * Fidan Ekiz (1976), journalist/documentary maker. * Alex van der Zouwen (1986), rapper with the artist name ''Kraantje Pappie''

Attractions

* Rozenburg wind wall

References

External links

Official WebsiteMap (select ''plattegrond'')
{{Authority control Boroughs of Rotterdam Former municipalities of South Holland Populated places in South Holland Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2010 Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta