Holland VS Netherlands - Have you ever wondered what the difference is?
Holland VS Netherlands - What's the difference?
The Netherlands is a country in North-Western Europe, bordering Belgium to the South and Germany to the East.
The local government called the Netherlands for a very long-time Holland. It was a way to easily market it as an easy to remember travel destination abroad.
In 2019, they rebranded and decided to keep the Netherlands as THE official name of the country. Since then, Tourists all over the world call it the Netherlands.
However, people are still calling the country Holland, especially in Europe because it's ingrained in people's minds.
Occasionally, Dutch visitors to other European countries may still use both names interchangeably to describe where they come from.
Two of the 12 Dutch Provinces are also known as Zuid (South) and Noord (North) Holland, and get to keep the Holland name. Amsterdam, the capital city, is located in Noord Holland.
FAQs to Sum it up!
Are Holland and the Netherlands the same thing?
Yes, Holland and the Netherlands are the same place, but only one name is used today to describe the country.
Is Holland in the Netherlands?
The provinces, Zuid Holland and Noord Holland are in the Netherlands.
What do you call the people in the Netherlands?
Locals call themselves the Dutch.
What do you call the language?
It's called the Dutch language. It's related to English, German and Flemish.
More Info about the Netherlands
- Napoleon Bonapart created the Kingdom of Holland in 1808 which briefly existed until 1810.
- Other provinces are called Zeeland, Utrecht, Noord-Brabant, Limburg, Gelderland, Overijssel, Ijssel-Meer Polders, Drenthe, Friesland, Groningen. In total thre are 12.
- The official language is Dutch. Many people also speak English and/or German.
- The Netherlands is part of the EU and of the Schengen Area
- They have a royal family and the king is head of state.
- The kingdom of the Netherlands is not the same as the Netherlands. The former also includes three Caribbean islands (Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten) besides the mainland territory of the Netherlands in Europe.
- The Dutch call their country in their language “Nederland”, which is pronounced like this.
- The Netherlands means the lowers lands because they are laying lower than other countries in the same area.
- The Dutch succeeded in reclaiming land from the sea by building dikes and polders. Many parts of the country are situated below sea level.
- Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, is a very popular city destination for people from around the world. Learn about the best things to do when in Amsterdam.
Thanks for clearing that up for non-Dutch folks once and for all. Little proofreading note, though: Germany is in the east.
Ops, thanks for pointing this out! Yep, Germany is definitely to the east of the Netherlands! haha.
Sorry lady, but you have all the wrong information. As someone from the Netherlands/holland, I urge you to study some history books prior to posting such nonsense.
Veel geluk!
Hi Fer, what do you mean? Germany is to the east of the Netherlands. I'm confused by your comment,to be honest.
Interesting !! And illuminating.
This isn't quite right, but I'm too lazy to explain it to you. Google the Dutch Republic and Holland. And the change in 2019 was just branding. It was about how the Dutch would market themselves.
I get what you mean, but the Dutch republic isn't a thing anymore now in 2024. The purpose of the post is to explain the confusion today. My job wasn't to go down the rabbit hole with all the complicated historical political geographical facts.