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Koninginnedag cointest.


Geo.Error

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:D Our queen Koningin Beatrix celebrates her birthday on 30 april. :ph34r:

 

;) We have tonight [Queensnight] and tomorrow a big feast in the Netherlands. :(

 

26_Koninginnedag3.jpg

 

So cointest time. ;)

 

Rules

~`Tell me what you know about the Netherlands. [ i hope you can learn me somethings i do not know yet :D ]

~ post please each 15 minutes.

~ you may edit.

~ i draw random the coin winner

~ You can win 1 geo.error nerd.

~ please keep it family friendly.

~cointest close 10.30 morning 1 may dutch time. [Cointest close when i say so, i have some internet troubles so i may be what later, i hope not :o }

~Everybody is welcome to join this cointest also dutch coiners.

 

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:D Good luck :D

 

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Glacial action during the penultimate ice age (the Saale Glacial Stage, 200,000-130,000 BC) was an important factor in the formation of the country as it is today. It produced a hilly landscape in what is now the central Netherlands.

 

The glaciers pushed up ridges and the subsequent melting of the icecaps gouged out deep river valleys which still dictate the course of the major rivers intersecting the Netherlands (the Rhine, Maas, Waal and IJssel). During the last interglacial period, the Netherlands consisted principally of a delta, with large areas of semi-submerged mudflats and shallows around the northern coast and marshes and lakes inland. During the final ice age (the Weichsel glaciation, 70,000–10,000 BC), the icecap never reached the Netherlands but the area developed a cold tundra climate and a permanently frozen subsoil (permafrost).

 

The earliest inhabitants of the Netherlands lived mainly on the ridge of hills near present-day Utrecht and survived by hunting and fishing. Stone tools that have been found show that the earliest Neanderthal inhabitants were already roaming around the Netherlands during the last glacial stage. Arable farming and animal husbandry were introduced around 5300 BC, allowing settlements to be established, although hunting and fishing continued to be important food sources. The imposing chamber tombs (‘hunebeds’) still found in the northern province of Drenthe also date from this period. They are built of huge boulders carried there by the glaciers.

hunnebed-liggend.jpg

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The Belgians remain opposed to the unification and the restoration of the monarchy. They rise in revolt and proclaim their independence. Nine years later the Netherlands is finally forced by Britain and France to accept the secession. Disappointed by events, William I abdicates a year later.

 

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Belgium opposed the involuntary unification of the two countries from the start. The first disturbances broke out in Brussels in 1830 and soon escalated into a full-scale revolt. William I dispatched troops to Brussels under the command of his son, Prince Frederick, but street-fighting broke out and they were forced to withdraw after three days. Shortly afterwards, the secession of Belgium was proclaimed. Initially an attempt was made to resolve the differences by introducing separate administrations for north and south or by amending the constitution, but William rejected all proposals to this effect and in 1831 launched a military attack on Brussels. In the course of this 'Ten-Day Campaign' he defeated the Belgian army but was forced to withdraw when French forces came to its assistance. Britain and France took the side of the Belgians and called on William to abandon his aspirations. When the king refused, they imposed an embargo on all Dutch shipping and blockaded the ports.

 

On 4 June 1831, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was elected King of the Belgians. In 1831, at the London Conference held between Britain, France and the Netherlands, the secession of Belgium was agreed in a treaty containing 24 articles. The embargo was lifted, but Britain and France still maintained their armies on a war footing. It was not until 1838 that William finally accepted the secession, leading to the signing of a final treaty with Belgium the following year.

 

The name Belgium is derived from the Belgae, a group of Celtic tribes which inhabited the area in Roman times. The Emperor Augustus dubbed the area the Roman province of Belgica.The new country had already enjoyed a brief foretaste of independence during the Brabant Revolution of 1789 and the forces striving for Belgian independence had continued to agitate during the period of union with the northern Netherlands.

 

William I was deeply disappointed by the secession of Belgium. Downcast by this event and by the vigorous opposition to his forthcoming second marriage to the Catholic Henriëtte d'Oultremont de Wégimont, he abdicated in 1840. His death followed on 12 December 1843.

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For centuries, the inhabitants of the Netherlands have had to protect themselves against the sea and the rivers. The low-lying parts of the country, which are in fact the delta of three major rivers (the Rhine, the Maas and the Waal), have suffered disastrous flooding on many occasions. Dwelling mounds, dikes, windmills, sluices and dams have all been used in the ceaseless struggle against the waters. In general, Dutch water management is very successful, but in wartime and during other periods of great social upheaval, flood defences – which cost money – tend to be neglected, exposing the country to considerable risk. The Second World War is a case in point: during the war itself and in the lean years that follow it, there is no money to invest in the upkeep of the dikes.

 

1953_kort.jpg1953_kort_2.jpg

 

And then, in the night of 31 January to 1 February 1953, a rare combination of a spring tide and a hurricane-force northwesterly gale suddenly leads to catastrophe. The dikes in Zeeland and on the islands of South Holland give way and more than 1800 people drown, thousands of farm animals are lost and 150,000 hectares of land are inundated. The nation is stunned by the extent of the flooding and the unprecedented loss of life. The disaster prompts the launch of a major plan to protect the Dutch Delta.

 

The earliest inhabitants of the Netherlands protected themselves against flooding by constructing mounds (‘terps’) on which to build their farmsteads and houses. Later occupants of these mounds started to protect larger areas of land by building dikes between them.

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The tricolour of the Netherlands with its three horizontal stripes is one of the world's sovereign flags. It is not the country's first flag. When, at the end of the l5th century, the majority of the provinces of the Low Countries were united under one lord, a single common flag came into use for joint expeditions. This was the banner of the Duke of Burgundy, which consisted of a white field charged with two bundles of red laurel branches in the form of an X, with flames issuing from the intersection: the Cross of Burgundy. Under the House of Habsburg, this flag remained in use.

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Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

This coat of arms is a combination of the arms of the Royal Family (Orange-Nassau) and the arrows and sword of the 17th-century Dutch Republic.

 

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The Dutch royal family originates from the county of Nassau in Germany, and the lion on their royal arms is the same as the lion on the oldest arms of Nassau, dating from the 13th century. The Nassau family exerted considerable influence in the Low Countries during the rest of the Middle Ages. Their name changed to Orange-Nassau in the 16th century, when William of Nassau-Dillenburg inherited the Principality of Orange in southern France.

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Despite being legal in the Netherlands use of a certain usually controlled substance is lower for young adolescents in the Netherlands than in the United States.

 

Say this is not family friendly if you'd like, but I think it puts the country in a very good light.

 

Thanks for the cointest!

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The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, administratively divided into 12 provinces. Though the Netherlands is a small country, these provinces are quite diverse and have plenty of cultural differences.

 

Much of the country is flat and at or below sea level making it an ideal place to cycle. SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT PLACE TO GO GEOCACHING.

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Days when the flag is flown on official buildings:

 

31 January H.M. the Queen's birthday

 

27 April H.R.H. Prince Willem-Alexander's birthday

 

30 April Official celebration of the Queen's birthday

 

4 May Remembrance Day (half-mast from 18.00 to 20.15)

 

5 May Liberation Day

 

17 May H.R.H. Princess Máxima's birthday

 

15 August End of World War II in the Pacific

 

3rd Tuesday in September Opening of Parliament (in The Hague only)

 

15 December Day honouring the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands

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Happy Queensnight, and thanks for the cointest. I'm hoping to win my very first nerd!

 

When I recently received a mission gift from a NL cacher I did a quick Wiki search of the sender's home town to see what life was like in that part of the world. Not once was the word "tulip" mentioned! So not everyone in the Netherlands grows tulips (but if you google Netherland tulips there are some pretty incredible photos).

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Keukenhof Holland

 

Where Keukenhof is situated now, was a hunting area in the 15th century. Herbs for the kitchen of the castle of Jacoba van Beieren were also collected here; hence the name Keukenhof.

 

The current park was a section of the sizeable estate of Slot Teylingen, with beautiful untamed bushes and dunes. After the decease of Jacoba van Beieren Keukenhof fell into the hands of rich merchant families. Baron and baroness Van Pallandt invited landscape architects J.D. and L.P. Zocher, designers of the Amsterdam Vondelpark, to make a design for the garden around the castle. This design, in the English landscape style, has always been the basis of Keukenhof.

 

At the moment the estate belongs to a Corporation. On the initiative of the Lisse mayor of that time and a number of leading flower bulb growers and exporters, an open air flower exhibition was organised here for the first time in 1949. This expanded to an annually recurring event that has always drawn great numbers of visitors from all over the world. This is how Keukenhof became the park that we now know.

 

With the theme of this year; New Amsterdam becoming New York, celebrating the discovery of Manhattan by Henry Hudson, Lady Liberty couldn't be left out. She can be seen now, at one of the gardens at Keukenhof.

 

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In the Spirt of the Cointest:

 

On the 30th of April all the Dutch join together to celebrate the birthday of the Queen.

 

Amsterdam is internationally known for the way that this day is celebrated in Holland. Foreign visitors often experience this festival as the Amsterdam carnaval, with as its largest attraction the famous flea-market. It is the only day of the year that everyone is allowed to sell products and make music in the open air, without a legal permit. A mix of amature street-salesman, market-stalls, musicians, street-artists and the street aromas of barbeques and Vietnamese spring rolls, creates a festive spirit throughout every part of town. Stages can be found on the Nieuwmarkt, Leidseplein, Regulierdwarsstraat, Westermarkt, Westerstraat, Rembrandtplein and the Amstelveld. A large pop festival will take place on the Museumplein.

 

Queen's day, or Koninginnedag as they call it, is a national holiday in the Netherlands. On this day they celebrate the birthday of the Queen of the Netherlands. Although it's original the birthday of Queen Juliana (the mother of Queen Beatrix), not of Queen Beatrix, they celebrate her birthday on 30 April. The Queen Beatrix birthday is really on the 31th January, but the winter isn't the time to party outside. Because of this Queen Beatrix officially celebrates her birthday on 30 April.

Edited by Fredhead
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Koninginnenacht: The night before, Queen's Night!

 

Because the Dutch people just like to party, they start celebrating Queen's Day already on the evening of the day before! Usually at 7 p.m. and they go on until the early hours of the Queen's Day. They call evening (and night) Koninginnenacht, Queen's Night. All the clubs in Amsterdam organize special festivities. Some of the best are outside and completely free for everyone! Especially for the young people this is the night to be in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is very busy that night as many young people move across the city from one party to another, while others prepare the next day market, the so called freemarket!

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Queen's Day is also a typical occasion for the world-famous Orange Craze. On this day most of the people wear orange clothing and creative orange accessories. The colour orange is a ubiquitous sight, referring to the name of our royal family, the House of Orange. Everywhere in the city you'll see orange banners, orange coloered foods and drinks.

Edited by Queenie-Boo-Bay
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The current Crown of the Netherlands is of relatively modern origin. In 1813 the new "Sovereign Ruler" of the Netherlands, Prince William of Orange, son and heir of the exiled Stadtholder William V of Orange was sworn in Amsterdam. There was no crown present at the ceremony.[1]

 

When, in 1815, Willam was proclaimed "King of the Netherlands" in Brussels, he was not crowned but there was a crown present, a huge and unusable construction of gilded copper, pearls made of pasted fishskin and colored glass. The four holes in the ring, the peculiar size and the lack of a bill in the accounts that do contain the jeweler's bill for the gilded silver orb and sceptre suggest that it was the old "funeral crown", used by the Stadtholders in the 18th century and then tied to a cushion on top of the coffin when driven to the vault in Delft. This crown still exists. It may have been used for royal funerals in the 19th century.[2]

 

The Dutch College of Arms (the "Hoge Raad van Adel") approved of a new royal weapon with crown on 24 August 1815.[3] From then on, the heraldic crown and the actual crown would differ.

Crown of 1840 and regalia of 1815 photographed in 1989

 

The heraldic crown was described as "a bejeweled golden ring with golden fleurons and pearls, eight rising diadems studded with pearls and topped with an orb with a cross. The crown is not lined with velvet."[4]

 

In 1840, King William I abdicated and a new crown was made. This small crown contains no real diamonds or pearls. It was made of gilded silver, balls covered with fish skin and glass with coloured foil behind it. The lining was made of red silk. William II and his successors chose not to wear it, but to leave it on a special table during the ceremony when both king and parliament take the oath.[5] The crown was used in royal funerals.

 

In 1898, 24 of the 74 pearls were removed as the crown was prepared for the installation of Queen Wilhelmina. The crown has not changed since then. It was the monarch's private property until 1963. It was given to a foundation controlled by the Royal family and has been never been on display, except for the investitures of 1898, 1948, 1980, a funeral in 1934 and an exhibition in 1990[6].

Dutch_crown.jpg

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A favorite Easter game for some children is eiertikken (eh-yer-TIK-ken). It is played by bumping decorated Easter eggs together and see who's breaks first.

 

I picture Geo.Error wearing little wooden shoes waiting to step on those Easter eggs. :o Of course it would be an accident. :D

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Despite being legal in the Netherlands use of a certain usually controlled substance is lower for young adolescents in the Netherlands than in the United States.

 

Hmm.. I tried not to react, but I will anyway. It's actually illegal. There is an official statement to not enforce the law in certain situations (e.g. carrying small amounts of it for private use)

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I was just thinking about this the other day! The houses along the canals in Amsterdam have big timbers projecting out of the roof line. These are used to hoist things (sofas, refrigerators, building materials) out of the canal when they are delivered by boat.

 

Thanks for the cointest!

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Hello to all! Thank you Corina for the cointest! :D

The first banknote in the world was printed in China in 600 AC, and in 960 the first generally circulating banknote was printed there, by Song Dynasty.

 

The first banknotes in Europe were printed in 1660!

BUT...Netherlands can be proud that they actually printed the first paper money in Europe!!!

It was a siege money during the revolution of the Dutch against the Spanish rule! They wanted their freedom! The city of Layden was under siege and they needed money to circulate! It was minted in Leyden in 1574 and it is considered to be the most interesting siege money in the Netherlands and probably in europe!

How it was made?

They cut out the covers and pages of church missals and hymnals, pasted them together and struck the paper planchets with the same dies that they used on their coins!

 

They are rare coins and It is very hard to find! :o I wish I had one! :D

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Amsterdam has over 1 million bikes but only 700.000 Amsterdammers

When you land at Schiphol Airport, you are actually four meters below sea level.

The Netherlands has more than 4,000 km of navigable rivers, lakes and canals.

Witness how Holland wages war against the sea all the time, visit Neeltje Jan's in Zeeland and see for yourself. The story of the boy who stuck his finger in the hole in the Dyke to stop Netherlands from flooding.

Amsterdam has over 300 coffee shops

The name Amsterdam comes from the combination of the river Amstel and the Dam that was built on it in order to found the original village know today as Amsterdam.

You might know the name Amstel as the name of a beer which was also named after the river because it was brews locally.

.

Amsterdam boasts more museums of any city in the world, measured per square meters.

With over 70 major well know museums in Netherlands of which over 40 are in Amsterdam.

They cover every sort of weird and wonderful topic, from famous painters to museums on the history of sex and marijuana

The Dutch people are the tallest in all Europe and second tallest inthe world.(and the best looking)

Amsterdam has 70 glass-topped canal boats.

The Dutch are the world experts on keeping back the water / sea from over running their country and turning it into another Atlantis. During the hurricane Katrina disaster it was the Dutch the USA government turned to for help on how to repair the levies in New Orleans.

If global warming causes the sea levels to rise even a little it could be bye bye Amsterdam as it will be one of the first cities to get flooded, because it's actually well below sea level and most of the country has been reclaimed from the sea so it is almost entirely flat and is 6.7 meters below sea level at its lowest point.

The Van Gogh collections in the Van Gogh Museum and the Kröller-Müller Museum are the largest in the world.

Visiting the Amsterdam parliament building could prove difficult as there isn't one. Even thought Amsterdam is the largest city in the Netherlands and is officially the capital it does not hold the parliament as all of the government functions take place at the Hague.

Amsterdam has a house boat known as the Poezenboot which acts as a house for stray cats. A woman who had been re-housing stray cats had the idea of getting them a houseboat – after all, if people can live in them, why not cats? Now gone, the idea lives on as volunteers now look after a boat full of cats.

The world famous Koh-I-Noor diamond was cut in Amsterdam.

75% of the entire worlds flower bulb production comes from Netherlands

Over 70% of the worlds bacon (poor pigs) comes from the Netherlands

The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court are both in The Hague.

Holland has around a thousand original still working windmills.

Netherlands is the third largest exporter of agricultural products in the world even though just three percent of the Dutch population are employed in this sector. (Tulips I guess)

Holland has over 15,000 km of bicycle lanes.

Flevoland, the Netherlands twelfth province was reclaimed from the south sea which started in 1986.

Amsterdam is built entirely on piles, huge stakes driven into the ground.Central station has 6000 of them keeping it up.

Holland always has a coalition government, so it's a country of compromise and tolerance.

Every Dutch person has at least one bike and there are twice as many bikes as cars.

Holland was one of the six founding members of the European Union.

Holland's highest point is 323 meters above sea level which makes it their highest mountain.

Most Dutch people speak at least one foreign language as well as Dutch and English.

Rotterdam, once the worlds largest port has now dropped to second place so it's the second largest port in the world.

Holland and the Netherlands are the same country.

A quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level.

Windmill.jpg

 

Just a few facts I found. Thank you so much for the cointest!

 

My Grandparents are from Holland, my Father was born on a ship on the way to the U.S. from Holland. I always enjoy learning new things about your country. Hopefully one day I will be able to visit. :o

 

 

 

 

Edited by Team CeDo
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Netherlands.... Before euro, they had some extremelly beautiful banknotes....

 

Here are photos of both sides of some of them! 250 gulden, 100 gulden, 50 gulden.... real pieces of art!

 

The photos 7 the banknotes are not mine! I wish they were but they were not cheap! :o

 

NL96.jpg

 

NL97.jpg

 

NL98.jpgNL98R.jpg

 

HUH... that is why euros look so ugly!!! :D

Edited by GATOULIS
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Sorry for posting only about real coins of the Netherlands! Well... being 26 years a systematic coin & banknote collector.... (even if I am 34).... :unsure: By that way I may post something Corina didn't know... :(

 

Even if Guilder was the name of the currency in the Netherlands (Gulden means Golden and that indicates that the coin was originaly made of gold!), its symbol was not a "G" or something but it was an "ƒ " or "fl"!!! This symbol comes from an older currency of the Netherlands, the florijn.!!!

Edited by GATOULIS
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