Westland (municipality), Netherlands

Westland
Municipality
Greenhouses near 's-Gravenzande
Flag Coat of arms
Location in South Holland
Coordinates: 52°0′N 4°13′E / 52.000°N 4.217°ECoordinates: 52°0′N 4°13′E / 52.000°N 4.217°E
Country	Netherlands
Province	South Holland
Established	1 January 2004[1]
Government[2]
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Sjaak van der Tak (CDA)
Area[3]
• Total	90.58 km^2 (34.97 sq mi)
• Land	79.53 km^2 (30.71 sq mi)
• Water	11.05 km^2 (4.27 sq mi)
Elevation[4]	1 m (3 ft)
Population (May 2014)[5]
• Total	103,716
• Density	1,304/km^2 (3,380/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Westlander
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postcode	2290–2295, 2670–2694
Area code	0174
Website	www.gemeentewestland.nl

Westland (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɛstlɑnt]) is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It covers an area of 90.58 km² (34.97 sq mi) of which 11.05 km² (4.27 sq mi) is covered by water and had a population of 103,716 in 2014.

Towns and other settlements: De Lier, 's-Gravenzande, Monster, Naaldwijk, Wateringen, Heenweg, Honselersdijk, Kwintsheul, Maasdijk, Poeldijk, and Ter Heijde.

History

Westland was created on 1 January 2004 by a merger of the municipalities De Lier, 's-Gravenzande, Monster, Naaldwijk and Wateringen.^[6] These are also the names of five of the settlements. The others are Heenweg, Honselersdijk, Kwintsheul, Maasdijk, Poeldijk, and Ter Heijde. Westland itself is not the name of a settlement or town, but rather of the region. The City hall is located in the middle of Westland, in Naaldwijk, the second largest settlement in Westland.^[7]

The town of Honselersdijk also possesses the largest Flower Auction, FloraHolland, which also has a location in Rijnsburg. This is a very important sector of the Westland economy. Flowers produced in Westland are sold all over the world.

Coastal towns are Ter Heijde (near Monster), Monster itself and 's-Gravenzande. These towns are popular with Germans and people from the Eastern Netherlands. It is not unknown for every holiday campsite to be fully booked with tourists. This is because of their relative proximity to the more popular Scheveningen

Wider area

Dutch Topographic map of Westland, July 2013

Westland is part of the Haaglanden conurbation.

In a wider sense, Westland is also the name of the region south-west of the line The Hague - Delft - Rotterdam, approximately consisting of the municipalities Westland and Midden-Delfland, as well as Hoek van Holland (municipality of Rotterdam).

Westland is most known for its horticulture in greenhouses, growing flowers and vegetables.

Aerial view of Westland (in the image center); behind it: Hook of Holland (the sharp-shaped promontory), Europoort (in between the two rivers), and Maasvlakte (protruding into the sea)

References

1. "Gemeentelijke indeling op 1 januari 2004" [Municipal divisions on 1 January 2004]. cbs.nl (in Dutch). CBS. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
2. "Burgemeester Sjaak van der Tak" [Mayor Sjaak van der Tak] (in Dutch). Gemeente Westland. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
3. "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten" [Key figures for neighbourhoods]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
4. "Postcodetool for 2671GW". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
5. "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
6. Law on merger, in Dutch, with map
7. http://www.gemeentewestland.nl/smartsite.shtml?id=5902&ch=INT

External links

• Official website