Dutch languageDutch (Nederlands ˈneːdərlɑnts), also known as Netherlandic or Netherlandish, is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. Afrikaans is a separate but somewhat mutually intelligible daughter language spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, evolving from the Cape Dutch dialects of Southern Africa.
Utrecht (province)Utrecht (ˈytrɛxt), officially the Province of Utrecht (Provincie Utrecht), is a province of the Netherlands. It is located in the centre of the country, bordering the Eemmeer in the north-east, the province of Gelderland in the east and south-east, the province of South Holland in the west and south-west and the province of North Holland in the north-west and north. The province of Utrecht has a population of 1,353,596 as of November 2019. With a land area of approximately , it is the smallest province in the country.
Dutch RepublicThe United Provinces of the Netherlands, officially the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden), and commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands. The republic was established after seven Dutch provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against Spanish rule, forming a mutual alliance against Spain in 1579 (the Union of Utrecht) and declaring their independence in 1581 (the Act of Abjuration).
GroningenGroningen (ˈɣroːnɪŋə(n); Grunn or Grunnen) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The capital of the north, Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of the country; as of December 2021, it had 235,287 inhabitants, making it the sixth largest city/municipality in the Netherlands and the second largest outside the Randstad. Groningen was established more than 950 years ago and gained city rights in 1245.
The HagueThe Hague ('heɪɡ ; Den Haag dɛn ˈɦaːx or 's‐Gravenhage ˌsxraːvə(n)ˈɦaːɣə) 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 of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital. The Hague is also the capital of the province of South Holland, and the city hosts both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
GroenLinksGroenLinks (ɣrunˈlɪŋks, GreenLeft) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party, which shared left-wing and progressive ideals and earlier co-operated in Regenboog-coalition for the 1989 European Parliament election. After disappointing results in the 1989 and 1994 general elections, the nascent party fared particularly well in the 1998 and 2002 elections.
Democrats 66Democrats 66 (Democraten 66; abbreviated D66, ˌdeː zɛsə(n)ˈzɛstəx) is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE). The name of the party refers to its year of foundation, 1966. Initially, its main objective had been to democratise the Dutch political system, but it developed a broader social liberal ideology over time.
NetherlandsThe Netherlands (Nederland ˈneːdərlɑnt), informally Holland, is a country located in northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces; it borders Germany to the east, and Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coastline to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium in the North Sea.
AmersfoortAmersfoort (ˈaːmərsfoːrt) is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had a population of 160,902, making it the second-largest of the province and fifteenth-largest of the country. Amersfoort is also one of the largest Dutch railway junctions with its three stations—Amersfoort Centraal, Schothorst and Vathorst—due to its location on two of the Netherlands' main east to west and north to south railway lines.
Cycling infrastructureCycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except where cyclists are barred such as many freeways/motorways. It includes amenities such as bike racks for parking, shelters, service centers and specialized traffic signs and signals. The more cycling infrastructure, the more people get about by bicycle.
