Send Gift Baskets to Rotterdam, Netherlands

For the first time, archaeologists have discovered what appears to be a Viking settlement near the medieval international border between France and Germany. Known as Rotte (or Rotta, from “muddy water”), it dates back to at least 950 CE. Around 1150, large floods in the area ended development, leading to the construction of protective dikes and dams that protect the current-day Nieuwe Maas river. That includes Schielands Hoge Zeedijk (“Schieland’s High Sea Dike”) alongside its northern banks. In the 1260s, the Rotte was controlled by a dam built in the present-day Hoogstraat.

In 1340, Rotterdam was granted the privileges of a city by its count Willem IV. The population back then was just a little over 500 people. Rotterdam became an international shipping center in the 15th century thanks to a waterway. The city is now connected to many other parts of the world and uses its transport network for everything from shopping to tourism.

Rotterdam’s port diversified and grew steadily into one of the most important cities in Europe. It became a city of six “chambers” through the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), one of the five “chambers” of the West-Indische Compagnie and other private companies.

The construction of the Nieuwe Waterway provided economic growth for Amsterdam and a massive surge in the number of people living there. This continued until 1870 when it faced a decline. The White House skyscraper, inspired by American office buildings and built-in 1898 in the French Art Nouveau style, is evidence of Rotterdam’s rapid growth and success. When completed, it was the tallest office building in Europe.

During WWI, Amsterdam was one of the world’s most important spy hubs, and they needed a location that was ideally located between Britain, Germany, and Belgium. MI6 has one of its main European offices on a minor street in Rotterdam, also known as “de Boompjes.” This information about the city’s least-known street was discovered when some spies were arrested and executed in Britain. The British were able to coordinate espionage in several German towns and occupied Belgium. They found an average of 25,000 Belgian refugees, hundreds of German deserters, and escaped Allied prisoners of war living in Berlin during World War I.