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Alblasserdam

Field	Value
name	Alblasserdam
settlement_type	Municipality
image_skyline	Alblasserdam kerk.jpg
image_alt	Church in background white pedestrian bridge in foreground
image_caption	Church in Alblasserdam
image_flag	Alblasserdam vlag.svg
flag_size	100x67px
flag_alt	Coat of arms in flag, the flag's top half is yellow, the bottom half red
image_shield	Coat of arms of Alblasserdam.svg
shield_size	100x80px
shield_alt	Lion rampant, top half yellow on red background, bottom half red on yellow background
image_map	Map - NL - Municipality code 0482 (2009).svg
map_alt	Highlighted position of Alblasserdam in a municipal map of South Holland
map_caption	Location in South Holland
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Netherlands
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	South Holland
government_footnotes
url	http://www.alblasserdam.nl/alblasserdam?waxtrapp=whmurDsHapObkOnMGIRC
archive-url	https://archive.today/20130624173830/http://www.alblasserdam.nl/alblasserdam?waxtrapp=whmurDsHapObkOnMGIRC
url-status	dead
archive-date	24 June 2013
title	Portefeuilleverdeling
trans-title	Task distribution
language	nl
author
work	Bestuur en Organisatie
publisher	Gemeente Alblasserdam
access-date	15 June 2013
governing_body	Municipal council
leader_party	VVD
leader_title	Mayor
leader_name	Jaap Paans
unit_pref	Metric
area_footnotes
area_total_km2
area_land_km2
area_water_km2
elevation_footnotes	{{cite web
url	http://www.ahn.nl/postcodetool
title	Postcodetool for 2951 ED
language	nl
author
work	Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland
publisher	Het Waterschapshuis
access-date	16 June 2013
url-status	dead
archive-url	https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053543/http://www.ahn.nl/postcodetool
archive-date	21 September 2013
elevation_m	4
population_footnotes
population_total
population_as_of
population_density_km2
population_demonym	Alblasserdammer
timezone1	CET
utc_offset1	+1
timezone1_DST	CEST
utc_offset1_DST	+2
postal_code_type	Postcode
postal_code	2950–2954
area_code_type	Area code
area_code	078
website
coordinates

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130624173830/http://www.alblasserdam.nl/alblasserdam?waxtrapp=whmurDsHapObkOnMGIRC |url-status = dead |archive-date = 24 June 2013 |trans-title = Task distribution |access-date = 15 June 2013 tags -- |access-date=16 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053543/http://www.ahn.nl/postcodetool |archive-date=21 September 2013

''Topographic map of Alblasserdam, Sept. 2014''

Alblasserdam () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It covers an area of {{Dutch municipality total area|Alblasserdam}} km2, of which {{Dutch municipality water area|Alblasserdam}} km2 is water, and has a population of as of . Alblasserdam is officially a part of the Drechtsteden region. A portion of the small village of Kinderdijk, which boasts the largest and most famous concentration of windmills in the Netherlands, is part of Alblasserdam.

Etymology

The name Alblasserdam is derived from its location near the creek Alblas where a dam was built. Inhabitants of Alblasserdam are called Alblasserdammers (singular: Alblasserdammer).

History

13th-19th century

The town of Alblasserdam was first mentioned in the chronicles of Melis Stoke in 1299, but the municipality wasn't formed until 1447. Before that, it was part of Oud-Alblas.

Because of its location on the Noord river, one of the busiest waterways in Western Europe, water has played a major role in Alblasserdam's history. The river was important for its development and makes it an advantageous location for industry. Alblasserdam's strategic location also brought it negative consequences. For example, between 1350 and 1821, the Alblasserwaard polder flooded 32 times.

20th century

During World War I, mayor Simon Berman and the local government of Alblasserdam kept busy with 60 Belgian refugees within the municipal boundaries. An ad hoc municipal fund for the unemployed was established.

Alblasserdam suffered during the German raid on Rotterdam on 11 May 1940, when its town centre was severely damaged. The historic Kerkstraat (Church Street) and the characteristic dike construction along the river, however, were spared. The invaders placed the Netherlands under German occupation.

The North Sea flood of 1953 also affected a portion of Alblasserdam. The Delta Works program included reinforcements to the dikes and improvement of the locks. Therefore, water no longer poses a direct danger to Alblasserdam. In 1987, the custom yacht builder Oceanco started building yachts in the 80 metre+ range.

In 1999 the town celebrated its 700th anniversary.

21st century

Bert Blase served as mayor from 1999 to 2014, when he was appointed as mayor of Vlaardingen. Subsequently, the mayor of Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Jan Heijkoop, also acted as mayor Alblasserdam. On March 30, 2023 Jan Willem Boersma was installed as mayor of Alblasserdam, succeeding Jaap Paans, who had been the mayor of Alblasserdam since July 1, 2015.

Public transportation

Waterbus route 1:
- Rotterdam Willemskade - Krimpen aan den IJssel Stormpolder - Ridderkerk De Schans - Alblasserdam Kade - Dordrecht Merwekade.

Notable people

Fop Smit (1777–1866) a Dutch naval architect, shipbuilder and shipowner; founded what became Smit International
Simon Berman (1861–1934) the Mayor of Alblasserdam, 1914-1923
Cornelis van Eesteren (1897-1988) a Dutch architect and urban planner
Koos Schouwenaar (1902–1941) a Dutch rower, competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics
Patrick van Kerckhoven (born 1970) a darkcore or gabber DJ and producer

Gallery

File:Wantij ship Waterbus Alblasserdam 2018.jpg|Wantij ship Waterbus Alblasserdam File:Kinderdijk in a sunny day - panoramio.jpg|Kinderdijk File:Pool side house, kinderdijk - panoramio.jpg|Pool side house, kinderdijk File:Windpump at Molens Kinderdijk - panoramio.jpg|Windpump at Molens Kinderdijk

References

{{Dutch municipality total area. dataref
{{Dutch municipality population. dataref
"College van burgemeester en wethouders - Bestuur en Organisatie Alblasserdam".
(1914-06-11). "Geinstalleerd". [[Nieuwe Tilburgsche Courant]].
Boersma, Pieter. (1939). "Alblasserdam's heden en verleden, in honderd opstellen beschreven". [[Wolters Kluwer.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

alblasserdam municipalities-of-south-holland populated-places-in-south-holland alblasserwaard drechtsteden

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