Facts About the Netherlands 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: 5

Starting just above the northern tip of Noord-Holland province and moving in eastern direction you'll find: Texel (belonging to Noord-Holland), Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog (all belonging to Friesland). Rottumerplaat and Rottumeroog (both of the province of Groningen) are Frisian Islands as well, but they are uninhabited. And that's all right as they will disappear eventually due to the current coming out of the Eems estuary, lying between the province of Groningen and Germany.

Answer: 7

The southern provinces Limburg and Noord-Brabant, the eastern provinces Gelderland, Overijssel and Drenthe and finally the northern province of Groningen would stay completely, almost, or for more than half, dry. Utrecht would be virtually cut in half. All the other provinces, Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland and Zeeland in the west, Friesland in the north and Flevoland (just above the province of Utrecht) would all but disappear into the sea. Thank goodness for the dikes!

Answer: starling

And a sparrow is 'mus' in Dutch. Confusing or what?

Answer: Harmelen

Harmelen is a village some 10 kilometres (6 miles) west of the city of Utrecht. 91 people were killed there when two trains collided on a one-track railway.

Answer: Shocking Blue

It was in 1969. Bananarama did something with 'Venus' as well. But I prefer the original.

Answer: natural gas

It happened at Slochteren, a village in the northern province of Groningen. At first it was one of many finds of natural gasfields, but in the years that followed the enormous size of 1900 billion cubic metres (or 2485,2 billion cubic yards) was determined. It made the Netherlands a natural gas-exporting rather than a natural gas-importing country.

Answer: Sint Maarten (Saint Martin)

In the evening, children with their selfmade lanterns sing their Sint Maarten songs in the doorways to be rewarded with all kinds of delicious things, mainly sweets. Sint Nicolaas is on December 5th, and the other two names are from villages in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.

Answer: bicycles

After the car, the bicycle is the most popular vehicle in the Netherlands. Don't take them to Amsterdam though.

Answer: Rotterdam

Euromast is a panorama tower 185 metres (607 feet) high. It was built in 1960.

Answer: Fons Rademakers

He got it for the film "The Assault" in 1986. He had been nominated for "Village On The River" in 1959. Paul Verhoeven never won an Oscar, only a nomination in 1973 for "Turkish Delight". Marleen Gorris won an Oscar in 1995 for "Antonia's Line" and Mike van Diem got it in 1997 for "Character".

Answer: Eindhoven

Dutch electronic giant Philips, now based in Amsterdam by the way, started as a company making lightbulbs. Eindhoven also has a history of match manufacturing.

Answer: 1876

Amsterdam was in decline in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Its port became increasingly inaccessible for tall ships, the Zuiderzee (now IJsselmeer) being too shallow for those vessels. An artificial waterway suitable for tall ships, and also a connection with the North Sea was needed.

The North Seacanal was started in 1865 and completed in 1876. It was built by an English company as no Dutch company dared or was able to do it.

Answer: true

It's the name of a little village in the province of Limburg, some 20 miles east of Eindhoven and 10 miles west of the German border.

Answer: Rotterdam

Since there is some rivalry between these two biggest cities in the Netherlands, those from Rotterdam would rather not know this.

Answer: They both died an unnatural death

Johan van Oldenbarneveldt, a brilliant statesman who served the Netherlands for almost the entire war with Spain was the victim of political and religious quarrels with Maurice of Nassau. He was beheaded in 1619. Jan de Witt, of the same stature as Van Oldenbarneveldt, was lynched by a mob in 1672 when Dutch fortunes went sour in the war with France and England.