Why do you say Holland?
Holland is only part of the Netherlands, but there are good reasons why you can still visit Holland often says that even the Dutch are sometimes not so specific about the name of their own Country.
Difference between Holland and Netherlands
You will probably notice immediately that in German it is not the Netherlands, but the Netherlands. So the name is used in the plural. The official name Republic of the United Netherlands also contains the plural.
- There is a good reason for this, as the area of what is now the Netherlands was in the 15th century. Century part of the dominion of the House of Burgundy. This divided your area into the "upper lands", that was the Duchy and the Free County of Burgundy and Neighboring countries and the "lower countries", including Flanders, Artois, Brabant, Holland and Luxembourg belonged to. The name therefore refers to the "lower lands" of the Burgundians at that time.
- Already on 26. In July 1581 the Union of Utrecht, to which the countries of Holland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Zeeland, Overijssel, Groningen and Friesland belonged, declared their independence. These countries also roughly encompass today's national territory.
Then as now, Holland is only a part of the Netherlands, but a very large and important part.
Why we often don't say Netherlands
- The fact is that the Dutch themselves sometimes speak very imprecisely of Holland when you mean the Netherlands. It could be because Holland is simply easier to articulate in battle cries. The cheering call for football "Hup Holland Hup" is a simple alliteration - try shouting "Hup Netherlands Hup" for comparison.
- Presumably it is also the simpler pronunciation why the Dutch make their country economically and touristic market as Holland, because Holland is simply easier in both German and English to pronounce.
- In addition, the regions of the provinces of North and South Holland are the strongholds of tourism, the capital Amsterdam is in North Holland and the seat of government The Hague is in South Holland.
Buying a so-called EU car or a car from Holland is often cheaper than ...
There are certainly many good reasons why people often say Holland to the Netherlands. However, in the parts of the Netherlands that are not part of Holland, you shouldn't necessarily address the locals as Dutch. The Frisians in particular can react very sensitively.
