Netherlands Culture, Art, Architecture and Philosophy

Netherlands Culture, Art, Architecture and Philosophy

The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. In the Middle Ages Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder were leading Dutch pioneers. During the Dutch Golden Age, the Dutch Republic was prosperous and witnessed a flourishing artistic movement. The "Dutch Masters", spanning this 17th century era, included Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, and Jacob van Ruisdael. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century included Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondrian.

Literature flourished during the Dutch Golden Age, with Joost van den Vondel and P. C. Hooft as the most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the poor treatment of the natives in the Dutch colony. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is the most translated book from Dutch. Other important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Hella Haasse, Willem Frederik Hermans, Cees Nooteboom and Gerard Reve.

Various architectural styles can be distinguished in the Netherlands. The Romanesque architecture was built between 950 and 1250. Gothic architecture was used from about 1230. Gothic buildings had large windows, pointed arches and were richly decorated. Brabantine Gothic originated with the rise of the Duchy of Brabant and spread throughout the Burgundian provinces. Dutch Baroque architecture (1525–1630) and classicism (1630–1700) is especially evident in the west. Other architectural styles are Art Nouveau, Expressionism, De Stijl, Traditionalism and Brutalism.

Erasmus and Spinoza were famous Dutch philosophers. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–95) discovered Saturn's moon Titan, argued that light travelled as waves, invented the pendulum clock, and was the first physicist to use mathematical formulae. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope.

Windmills, tulips, clogs, cheese, and cannabis have grown to symbolize the Netherlands, especially among tourists.

Dutch Value System

The Dutch are proud of their cultural heritage, rich History in art, and involvement in international affairs. A predominant attitude in the Netherlands is to think of the nation as being "both tolerant and cosmopolitan."

A Dutch saying indicating their sense of national pride in their reclamation of land from the sea and marshes is "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands."

Dutch manners are open and direct with a no-nonsense attitude—informality combined with adherence to basic behaviour. "Dealing with the Dutch" by Jacob Vossestein states: "Dutch egalitarianism is the idea that people are equal, especially from a moral point of view, and accordingly, causes the somewhat ambiguous stance the Dutch have towards hierarchy and status."

The Netherlands is one of the most secular countries of Europe, and religion in the Netherlands is generally considered as a personal matter which is not supposed to be propagated in public, although it often remains a discussion subject.

Music In The Netherlands

The Netherlands has multiple music traditions. Traditional Dutch music is a genre known as "Levenslied", meaning Song of life. These songs typically have a simple melody and rhythm, and a straightforward structure of verses and choruses. Themes can be light, but are often sentimental and include love, death and loneliness. Traditional musical instruments such as the accordion and the barrel organ are a staple of levenslied music, though in recent years many artists use synthesisers and guitars.

Contemporary Dutch rock and pop music (Nederpop) originated in the 1960s, heavily influenced by popular music from the United States and Britain. Bands such as Shocking Blue, Golden Earring, Tee Set, George Baker Selection and Focus enjoyed international success. From the 1980s, more and more pop musicians started working in the Dutch language, partly inspired by the huge success of the band Doe Maar.

Current symphonic metal bands Epica, Delain, ReVamp, The Gathering, Asrai, Autumn, Ayreon and Within Temptation as well as jazz and pop singer Caro Emerald are having international success. Metal bands like Hail of Bullets, God Dethroned, Izegrim, Asphyx, Textures, Heidevolk, and Slechtvalk are popular guests at the biggest metal festivals in Europe. Contemporary local stars include pop singer Anouk, country pop singer Ilse DeLange, Limburgish dialect singing folk band Rowwen Hèze, rock band BLØF and duo Nick & Simon.

Early 1990s Dutch and Belgian house music came together in Eurodance project 2 Unlimited. Selling 18 million records, the two singers in the band are the most successful Dutch music artists to this day. Tracks like "Get Ready for This" are still popular themes of U.S. sports events. In the mid-1990s Dutch language rap and hip hop (Nederhop) came to fruition and has become popular in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Since the 1990s, Dutch electronic dance music (EDM) gained widespread popularity in the world in many forms. Some of the world's best known dance music DJs hail from the Netherlands, including Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Dash Berlin, Julian Jordan, Nicky Romero, W&W, Don Diablo, Ummet Ozcan, Headhunterz, Sander van Doorn, and Afrojack, the first four of which have been ranked as best in the world by DJ Mag Top 100 DJs. The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is the world's leading electronic music conference and the biggest club festival for the many electronic subgenres on the planet. The Netherlands has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since its first edition in 1956, and has won five times.

In classical music, Jan Sweelinck is a famous Dutch composer, with Louis Andriessen among the best known contemporary Dutch classical composers. Ton Koopman is a Dutch conductor, organist and harpsichordist. Notable violinists are Janine Jansen and André Rieu.

The Netherlands Overview

The Netherlands Sovereign State: Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Netherlands Before Independence: Spanish Netherlands
The Netherlands Act of Abjuration: 26 July 1581
The Netherlands Peace of Münster: 30 January 1648
United Kingdom of the Netherlands 16 March 1815
The Netherlands Liberation Day: 5 May 1945
The Netherlands Kingdom Charter: 15 December 1954
The Netherlands Caribbean Reorganisation: 10 October 2010
The Netherlands Capital and Largest City: Amsterdam
The Netherlands Coordinates: 52°22′N 4°53′E
The Netherlands Government Seat: The Hague
The Netherlands Official Languages: Dutch
The Netherlands Regional Languages:
West Frisian, English
The Netherlands Recognised Languages:
Dutch Low Saxon, Dutch Sign Language, Limburgish, Sinte Romani, Yiddish
The Netherlands Ethnic Groups (2022):
74.0% Dutch
8.4% other Europeans
2.4% Turkish
2.4% Moroccan
2.1% Indonesians
2.1% Surinamese
1.1% Dutch Caribbean
7.6% other
The Netherlands Religion (2023):
58% no religion
30% Christianity
6% Islam
6% other
The Netherlands Demonym(s): Dutch
The Netherlands Government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
The Netherlands Monarch: Willem-Alexander
The Netherlands Prime Minister: Dick Schoof
The Netherlands Legislature: States General
The Netherlands Upper House: Senate
The Netherlands Lower House: House of Representatives
European Parliament
The Netherlands Constituency: 31 seats
Area Total: 41,865 km2 (16,164 sq mi) (134th)
The Netherlands Water (%): 18.41
The Netherlands Highest Elevation (Mount Scenery): 887 m (2,910 ft)
The Netherlands Population: Neutral Increase: 18,195,000 (69th)
(2011 census): 16,655,799
The Netherlands Density: 520/km2 (1,346.8/sq mi) (33rd)
The Netherlands GDP (PPP): Increase $1.329 trillion (28th)
The Netherlands Per Capita: Increase $74,158 (11th)
GDP (nominal) 2024 Estimate Total: Increase $1.143 trillion (17th)
The Netherlands Per capita Increase $63,750 (11th)
The Netherlands Currency:
Euro (€) (EUR) United States dollar (US$) (USD)
The Netherlands Time Zone:
UTC+01:00 (CET)UTC−04:00 (AST)
Summer (DST)
UTC+02:00 (CEST)UTC−04:00 (AST)
The Netherlands Driving Side: right
The Netherlands Calling Code: +31, +599
The Netherlands Internet TLD: .nl, .bq