Rotterdam 39

A few days after 's-Hertogenbosch I travelled again, this time to Brussels for the European Equality Gala. I took the Benelux intercity train from Rotterdam Central Station. As it happens there is a PostNL package point in the Service Point shop in the shopping mall underneath the tracks.

Rotterdam is a city in the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland within the Rhine‑Meuse‑Scheldt river delta at the North Sea. Its history goes back to 1270, when a dam was constructed in the Rotte river, after which people settled around it for safety. In 1340, Rotterdam was granted city rights by the Count of Holland. A major logistic and economic centre, Rotterdam is Europe's largest port, and is the second-largest city in the Netherlands, just behind Amsterdam.

Rotterdam is known for the Erasmus University, its riverside setting, lively cultural life, and maritime heritage. The near‑complete destruction of the city centre in the World War II Rotterdam Blitz has resulted in a varied architectural landscape, including sky-scrapers (an uncommon sight in other Dutch cities) designed by renowned architects such as Rem Koolhaas, Piet Blom, and Ben van Berkel.

Rotterdam's logistic success is based on its strategic location by the North Sea, at the mouth of the Nieuwe Maas channel leading into the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. The rivers Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt give waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, including the highly industrialized Ruhr. The extensive distribution system including rail, roads, and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nicknames "Gateway to Europe" and "Gateway to the World".

The stamp on the envelope is not only a match, but a perfect combination. It shows the new Central Station, opened on 13 March 2014 by King Willem-Alexander. Rotterdam Centraal, as the station is now officially called - on the south side, at the explicit request of the citizens of Rotterdam, the name Centraal Station in the lettering that architect Van Ravensteyn had put on the old station, has returned - will obtain the status of world station, as it is on the international high-speed railway towards Belgium. Some modifications to accommodate security screening of Eurostar passengers from the UK are being made and are due to finish in March 2018.

In Brussels there was a very small post point in the supermarket next to my hotel, opposite Brussels South station. Of course I got a datestamp there as well and I took a photo of the whole post office.

City:                Rotterdam

Municipality:   Rotterdam

Area:              325,79 km²

Population:     639.587 (April 2017)

Website:         rotterdam.nl

Parcel point

Servicepoint CS Rotterdam

Stationsplein 14A

3013 AJ  ROTTERDAM

mcflek.ccvshop.nl

Date sent: 28 June 2017

Date postmark: 28 June 2017

Date received: 29 June 2017

Number of days: 1

Envelope in collection: 202

's-Hertogenbosch 2

Saturday 24 June 2017 I visited the city of 's-Hertogenbosch for Pink Saturday, the Dutch national Pride that is being held in a different city every year. This was the 40th edition. Fortunately I found a hotel room in the Hinthamerstraat. In this street my ancestors lived until 1896 when my great‑grandfather 'emigrated' to Delft. 

Nine years later my grandfather was born there.

In the Hinthamerstraat was a book store with a post office, so it is no surprise that this was the location to get my datestamp from.

's-Hertogenbosch ("The Duke's Forest" in English, and historically in French: Bois-le-Duc), colloquially known as Den Bosch (literally "The Forest" in English), is a city and municipality in the Southern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant. The duke in question was Duke Henry I of Brabant, whose family had owned a large estate at nearby Orthen for at least four centuries. He founded a new town located on some forested dunes in the middle of a marsh. At age 26, he granted 's-Hertogenbosch city rights and the corresponding trade privileges in 1185. The birthplace and home of one of the greatest painters of the northern Renaissance, Hieronymus Bosch, 's-Hertogenbosch suffered a catastrophic fire in 1463, which the then (approximately) 13-year-old Bosch probably witnessed; presumably, this fire provided inspiration for the fiery hell-scapes that would later make Bosch famous.

The wars of the Reformation changed the course of the city's history. It became an independent bishopric. During the Eighty Years' War, the city took the side of the Habsburg (Catholic) authorities and thwarted a Calvinist coup. It was besieged several times by Prince Maurice of Orange, stadtholder of most of the Dutch Republic. In the years of Truce, before the renewed fighting after 1618, the fortifications were greatly expanded. The surrounding marshes made a siege of the conventional type impossible, and the fortress, deemed impregnable, was nicknamed the Marsh Dragon. After the Peace of Westphalia, the fortifications were again expanded.

In 1815, when the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, it became the capital of North Brabant. Many newer and more modern fortresses were created in the vicinity of the city. A new canal was built, the 'Zuid-Willemsvaart', which gave the city an economic impulse. Trade, manufacturing and industry grew. Until 1878, it was forbidden to build outside the ramparts. That led to overcrowding and the highest infant mortality in the kingdom. At the end of the 19th century, the very conservative city government prevented industrial investment to avoid an increase in the number of workers and the establishment of educational institutions: students were regarded as disorderly. As a result, the relative importance of the city diminished.

The stamp I used is one from the sheet of stamps with Dutch treats from 10 of the 12 provinces, issued on 19 June 2017. From 's-Hertogenbosch comes the Bossche bol, cream-filled pastry covered with chocolate.

City/town:       's-Hertogenbosch

Municipality:   's-Hertogenbosch

Area:              39,98 km²

Population:    152.471 (January 2017)

Website:        s-hertogenbosch.nl

Post office

Kantoorvakhandel van Dijk & van Hees

Hinthamerstraat 131

5211 MJ  'S-HERTOGENBOSCH

dijkhees.nl

facebook.com/VanDijkVanHees

Date sent: 24 June 2017

Date postmark: 24 June 2017

Date received: 27 June 2017

Number of days: 3

Envelope in collection: 200

Honselersdijk 1

The third and last stop on my trip of 23 June led to the village of Honselersdijk, also in my own municipality Westland. Honselersdijk is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is home to the historic Huis Honselaarsdijk, former palatial estate of the Dutch Princes of Orange. Huis Honselaarsdijk was one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture and grounds in the history of The Netherlands. Today, only part of the outbuildings remain, and these are referred to locally as "De Nederhof".

Honselersdijk is part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about 2,6 km southwest of the border of The Hague, with a population of approximately 5.180. Today, Honselersdijk is home to one of the largest flower auctions in the world, Royal Flora Holland.

The stamp I used is a personal stamp designed and issued by Postzegelvereniging Monster (Monster stamp club) in the series 'Westlands mooiste' (Westland's most beautiful). It represents the Honselersdijk based company GREENCO, producer of snack vegetables like baby cucumbers and baby sweet peppers. The variety on the stamp are Tommies snack tomatoes.

City/town:       Honselersdijk

Municipality:   Westland

Area:              90,58 km² (Westland)

Population:    106.752 (Westland, August 2017)

Website:        gemeentewestland.nl

Post office

The Read Shop Honselersdijk

Dijkstraat 50-52

2675 AZ  HONSELERSDIJK

readshop.nl/Winkel

facebook.com/readshopexpress

Date sent: 23 June 2017

Date postmark: 23 June 2017

Date received: 24 June 2017

Number of days: 1

Envelope in collection: 197

Poeldijk 1

After my visit to the Hoek van Holland post office I took the bus to the village of Poeldijk, part of Westland municipality. There is only one bus stop along the provincial road. There was not much time before the bus to the next town arrived, so I hurried to the village centre where the post office is located inside a Polish supermarket. Because of the great number of Polish workers many towns in the Netherlands now have a supermarket where local Polish products are sold. In the online location finder of PostNL the name of the supermarket is 'Od & Do', but on the shop front this name was replaced by 'Freshmarket'.

The stamp I used is a personal stamp designed and issued by Postzegelvereniging Monster (Monster stamp club) in the series 'Westlands mooiste' (Westland's most beautiful). It represents the Poeldijk based company Montana Lisianthus, producer of Lisianthus (Eustoma) flowers. The variety on the stamp is called Alyssa Blue.

Poeldijk is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about 8 km southwest of The Hague. Poeldijk dates back to the 13th century as name of a dyke along the river Gantel where some farms were built together with a small chapel. The land was very fertile and therefore attracted farmers. After the introduction of heated glasshouses in 1897 Poeldijk became the centre of viticulture in the Netherlands. Poeldijk has the largest catholic church in Westland, St. Bartholemew Church built in 1924 to 1926.

City/town:         Poeldijk

Municipality:     Westland

Area:                90,58 km² (Westland)

Population:       106.752 (Westland, August 2017)

Website:           gemeentewestland.nl

Post office

Freshmarket (Od & Do)

Voorstraat 60

2685 EN  POELDIJK
(this post office closed in the course of 2017)

Date sent: 23 June 2017

Date postmark: 23 June 2017

Date received: 24 June 2017

Number of days: 1

Envelope in collection: 196

Hoek van Holland 1

On Friday 23 June 2017 I had part of the afternoon off and I decided to go get a few datestamps. There were only a few hours so I could not travel too far away. My first stop was the town of Hoek van Holland where the post office is located in the Bruna bookstore. Hoek van Holland (in English: Hook of Holland, literally The Corner of Holland) is a small town on the Nieuwe Waterweg ship canal near the North Sea coast in Rijnmond. It is well connected to the nearby regional hub, Rotterdam. Most notable for travellers is Hook's ferry port, which has had services to the East of England (Harwich and Hull) since 1893. Hoek van Holland is not an autonomous municipality, but part of the municipality of Rotterdam, although there is an advisory council for local affairs. The settlement came into existence when the Nieuwe Waterweg was dug to create a better waterway from the harbor of Rotterdam to the sea. Originally part of the municipality of 's‑Gravenzande, it was transferred to Rotterdam to give the city control over both banks of the Nieuwe Waterweg.

The stamp I used is a personal stamp designed and issued in 2014 by Postzegelvereniging Monster (Monster stamp club) to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Hoek van Holland and the Nieuwe Waterweg. It is one of a series of four, depicting the lighthouse.

City/town:       Hoek van Holland

Municipality:   Rotterdam

Area:              14,1 km² (Hoek van Holland) / 325,79 km² (Rotterdam mun.)

Population:    10.200 (Hoek van Holland, 2017) / 639.587 (April 2017, Rotterdam mun.)

Website:        rotterdam.nl

Post office

Bruna Hoek van Holland

Prins Hendrikstraat 291

3151 AK  HOEK VAN HOLLAND

Date sent: 23 June 2017

Date postmark: 23 June 2017

Date received: 24 June 2017

Number of days: 1

Envelope in collection: 195

Rijswijk ZH 9

An easy start of a datestamp collection is to visit post offices in the villages and towns that are close by. One of the closest to Wateringen is Rijswijk, just 'down the road'. When I go to work the bus passes through Rijswijk and Voorburg, so getting out at one of the PostNL locations was not a problem. I chose the Hoogvliet supermarket that had a parcel point.

There are three towns called Rijswijk in the Netherlands, in the provinces of Zuid-Holland, Noord-Brabant and Gelderland. In the postcode system they are listed as Rijswijk ZH, Rijswijk NB and Rijswijk GLD. This Rijswijk is in Zuid-Holland (South Holland), the largest of the three.

In older datestamps the town name was 'Rijswijk (Z.H.)', but in these new series the abbreviation for the province has been left out.

Rijswijk (formerly known as Ryswick in English) is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Archeological excavations indicate that this area of the coastal dunes was already inhabited some 5500 years ago. The formation of the village Rijswijk took place in the 13th century, and its history was dominated by presence of mansions and estates of the nobility and affluent. Among the many country estates known to have been in Rijswijk are: The Treaty of Ryswick was signed at the Huis ter Nieuwburg in 1697, ending the Nine Years' War. A monument, the Needle of Rijswijk (1792), was erected to commemorate the treaty in the Rijswijk Forest.

Until 1900 Rijswijk remained a relative small community but it became urbanized during the 20th century when it expanded rapidly. Today, Rijswijk's area has almost been completely built-up. The last major development is the new Ypenburg neighbourhood, built on the lands of the former Ypenburg Airfield but this part of Rijswijk was annexed by The Hague in 2002. Rijswijk is part of the Haaglanden conurbation. During the years its built-up area has grown to the point where it has effectively merged with The Hague, even though it is still a separate municipality.

City/town:       Rijswijk

Municipality:   Rijswijk

Area:              14,59 km²

Population:    51.742 (April 2017)

Website:        https://www.rijswijk.nl/

Parcel point

Hoogvliet Rijswijk H. Ravesteijnplein

Hendrik Ravesteijnplein 40

2282 GT  RIJSWIJK ZH
facebook.com/HoogvlietRavesteijnplein

Date sent: 22 June 2017

Date postmark: 22 June 2017

Date received: 23 June 2017

Number of days: 1

Envelope in collection: 192