---
title: "55 Amazing Facts About Netherlands"
url: https://www.kickassfacts.com/netherlands-facts/
date: 2017-02-09
modified: 2024-03-18
lang: en
author: "jazz"
description: "Here are 55 amazing Netherlands facts. 1-5 Netherlands Facts 1. There is a secured village in the Netherlands specifically for people with dementia, where they can act out a normal..."
categories:
  - "Countries"
  - "Fact List"
image: https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/netherlands-city-e1486569403303.png
word_count: 1543
---

# 55 Amazing Facts About Netherlands

Here are 55 amazing Netherlands facts.

## 1-5 Netherlands Facts

[![dutch village](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/dutch-village.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/dutch-village.png)

1. There is a secured [village](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-villages/) in the Netherlands specifically for people with dementia, where they can act out a normal life while being monitored and assisted by caretakers in disguise. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogewey)

2. The Netherlands closed eight [prisons](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-interesting-facts-about-prisons/) due to lack of criminals. - [Source](http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/26/netherlands-prisons-close--lack-of-criminals-_n_3503721.html)

3. The Netherlands voted "Swaffelen" as their word of the year in 2008. It means to repeatedly smack one's p*nis against someone or something. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swaffelen)

4. The IKEA HQ in Delft, Netherlands had to stop offering their €1 breakfast during the weekends because the highways couldn't handle the traffic it attracted. - [Source](http://www.netherlands-tourism.com/1-euro-breakfast-ikea-delft-prevent-traffic-jams/)

5. Holland is only a province within the Netherlands, not another name for the country. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland)

## 6-10 Netherlands Facts

![Netherlands_american-cemetery](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Netherlands_american-cemetery.png)

6. There is an American military cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands. On Memorial Day each year, every last grave is "adopted" by a Dutch family that lays flowers over the site. - [Source](https://www.stripes.com/lifestyle/2.1189/margraten-row-upon-row-americans-lie-at-dutch-cemetery-1.64953)

7. Scientists in the Netherlands are developing an [ocean](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-interesting-facts-seas-oceans/) cleaning system which uses the ocean's currents and a barrier to remove plastic waste. A 100 km long system will be deployed in 2020 to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. - [Source](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/13/worlds-largest-ocean-cleanup-operation-one-step-closer-to-launch)

8. In the Netherlands, citizens with disabilities receive public money to pay for sexual services up to 12 times a year. - [Source](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/feb/12/disabled-people-valid-sexual-partners)

9. A supermarket chain in the Netherlands has a policy that if all queues have 4 people in them and not all checkout lanes are open yet, then you get your groceries for free. - [Source](http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jumbosupermarkten.nl%2FHomepage%2FService%2FJumbos-7-zekerheden%2Fvlot-winkelen%2F&act=url)

10. For one day in 1940 a section of a [hospital](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-hospitals/) in Ottawa, [Canada](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-canada-part-3/) became international territory so a Dutch Princess could be born a full Dutch citizen (a requirement to be a Dutch Princess). Every year the Netherlands sends Canada a gift of tulips to show their gratitude. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Margriet_of_the_Netherlands#Birth_in_Canada)

## 11-15 Netherlands Facts

![princess-amalia--d](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/princess-amalia-d.png)

11. The crown princess of the Netherlands goes to a public [school](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-schools/). - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharina-Amalia,_Princess_of_Orange#Childhood)

12. In the Netherlands, there is an entire neighborhood with names out of the Tolkien stories. - [Source](https://www.google.nl/maps?q=Gandalf,+Geldrop&hl=nl&ll=51.411226,5.546036&spn=0.00807,0.016801&sll=51.410677,5.547366&sspn=0.008097,0.016801&oq=gandalf&hnear=Gandalf,+Geldrop,+Geldrop-Mierlo,+Noord-Brabant&t=m&z=16)

13. The Netherlands has drug testing spots where people can (anonymously) get all their drugs tested for free. - [Source](http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/5live/entries/23353ff7-3417-33e8-b9a6-80f35becff38)

14. The Netherlands is the only country in the world where it is compulsory for everyone to have private health insurance. Premiums are not based on age or health status, but on income & are on average €100 per month. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_the_Netherlands)

15. The Netherlands built "Smart Highways" which glow in the dark lane markings - symbols that illuminate the road when adverse conditions appear. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_highway)

## 16-20 Netherlands Facts

[![bulb-garden](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/bulb-garden.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/bulb-garden.png)

16. Netherlands is the 2nd largest exporter of agricultural goods behind the [USA](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-usa/), with exports earning $79 billion in 2013. They export two-thirds of the world's fresh-cut [plants](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-plants/), flowers, and flower bulbs. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands#Agriculture)

17. One of the longest wars in history, between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly, lasted from 1651 to 1986. There were no casualties. - [Source](http://worldandnews.blogspot.in/2007_02_21_archive.html)

18. Netherlands and [France](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-france/) share a land border. It's in the Caribbean on Saint Martin - the smallest inhabited [island](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-islands/) divided between two countries. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Martin)

19. The Netherlands has a defense system where they can turn the provinces of North and South Holland into an [island](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-islands/) by flooding any potential crossings into the province. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollandic_Water_Line)

20. Assisted suicide is legal in the Netherlands. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_suicide#Legality)

## 21-25 Netherlands Facts

[![village in giethoorn](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/village-in-giethoorn.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/village-in-giethoorn.png)

21. The village of Giethoorn in the Netherlands has no roads. People get around on foot or via one of the village's many canals. - [Source](http://www.youramazingplaces.com/19-amazing-pictures-of-giethoorn-village-without-roads/)

22. A member of the [WWII](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-world-war-2-part-1/) Canadian forces, Leo Major, single-handedly captured 93 [Nazi](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-little-known-facts-about-nazi-forces/)'s at once and liberated a town in the Netherlands on his own as well. - [Source](http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/01/remember-me-leo-major)

23. An orangutan named Sibu at a [zoo](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-animal-zoos/) in Apeldoorn, Netherlands rejected all attempts made for him to mate with female orangutans. He only exhibited sexual interest in his human female caretakers with a particular penchant for the blonde ones with [tattoos](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-tattoos/). - [Source](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dutch-orangutan-odd-idUSL0418702120071005)

24. The Netherlands is the third-largest direct foreign investor in the United States. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands%E2%80%93United_States_relations)

25. The Welsh town Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is twinned with Y in France and Ee in the Netherlands. - [Source](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch#St.C3.A4dtepartnerschaft)

## 26-30 Netherlands Facts

[![cannabis](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cannabis.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cannabis.png)

26. Despite being legal, the rate of Cannabis use by the general population in the Netherlands is lower than the rate in the United States. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annual_cannabis_use_by_country)

27. The leaders of the Netherlands, UK, France, and [Italy](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-italy/) were among those who opposed German reunification in 1989-1990; the Italian prime minister said, "I love [Germany](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-germany/) so much that I prefer to see two of them." The Irish and US governments were among the few to support reunification. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification#Foreign_support_and_opposition)

28. Johanna Westerdijk was the first female professor in the Netherlands. She told her school teacher she would make enough to pay someone to do her chores, was a noted party animal, and started a tradition of dressing geese in costumes and parading them around at university events. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johanna_Westerdijk)

29. The largest mountain in the Netherlands is located in the Caribbean. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Scenery)

30. The Netherlands give out free heroin to addicts who didn't respond well to other treatments. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin-assisted_treatment)

## 31-35 Netherlands Facts

[![Image credit: media.hoover.org](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cassette-storage.jpg)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/cassette-storage.jpg)Image credit: media.hoover.org

31. In some countries, in the 70s, including the Netherlands, cassette data storage was so popular that some radio stations would broadcast [computer](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-computers/) programs that listeners could record onto cassette and then load into their computer. - [Source](http://www.audio2usb.com/the-magnetic-tape-compact-cassette.html)

32. There's a day in the Netherlands called "rokjesdag", which translates to skirts day. That's the day in spring all girls are suddenly wearing skirts. This day is an invention of writer/columnist Martin Bril. - [Source](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rokjesdag)

33. In 2009, the UK Government joined the Netherlands and other European nations in encouraging teens to masturbate at least daily. An orgasm was defined as a right in its health pamphlet. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masturbation#In_history_and_society)

34. In the 17th century in the Netherlands, there was a tulip flower bubble that allowed tulip traders to earn the equivalent of almost $62,000 USD a month. - [Source](http://www.damninteresting.com/the-dutch-tulip-bubble-of-1637/)

35. There are more bikes than people in the Netherlands, and that their cities are planned to accommodate to bikes rather than [cars](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-kickass-and-interesting-facts-about-cars/). - [Source](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/30/cycling-revolution-bikes-outnumber-cars-first-time-copenhagen-denmark)

## 36-40 Netherlands Facts

[![R5](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/R5.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/R5.png)

36. Yearly in the first weekend of September, the city of Breda in The Netherlands hosts an International [Redhead](https://www.kickassfacts.com/16-astonishing-redhead-facts/) Festival. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redhead_Day)

37. The Netherlands is constructing special bridges for wildlife in order to connect habitats and keep animals from being hit by cars. - [Source](http://unusualplaces.org/wildlife-crossing-in-netherlands/)

38. There's a re-migration law/act in the Netherlands that pays qualifying immigrants free flight tickets, all moving expenses and 600 euro per month until the day they die if they move back to their country of origin. - [Source](http://www.svb.nl/int/en/remigratie/hulp_remigratie/voor_wie_bedoeld/)

39. The Netherlands and the U.K. did not know they were at war with each other for 334 years. - [Source](http://history-facts.top5.com/historys-top-5-longest-wars/?page=1&isp=1)

40. In 2012 a proposal was made in the Netherlands to create legal, virtual child p*rnography to help satisfy pedophiles' needs and hopefully make them less likely to act out their fantasies. - [Source](http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/call-for-virtual-child-pornography-to-be-legalised-20121119-29mxv.html)

## 41-45 Netherlands Facts

[![tornado](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tornado.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tornado.png)

41. The Netherlands have the highest amount of tornadoes of any European country, followed by the UK. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Europe#Tornadoes)

42. There is a place in the Netherlands where you can get yourself and your friends locked up in a darkened room, and you get one hour to escape by solving riddles. - [Source](http://www.escaperoom.nl/)

43. The U.S. government at every level is prohibited by law from assisting the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. ASPA, nicknamed "The Hague Invasion Act," also authorizes the president to use military force against the ICC in order to free a US citizen from prosecution. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Service-Members%27_Protection_Act)

44. The Netherlands are at a war with [water](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-water/); they have to constantly pump water (usually with windmills) back into the North Sea, or else it could engulf the entire country. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_control_in_the_Netherlands)

45. The Netherlands has Water Board elections. People over 18 can vote which party they think is best capable of making decisions about water management. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_board_(Netherlands))

## 46-50 Netherlands Facts

[![paraolympics](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/paraolympics.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/paraolympics.png)

46. The [USSR](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-soviet-russia/) refused to host the 1980 Summer Paralympics after the Moscow Summer Olympics. An official claimed "there are no invalids in the USSR"; the games were held in The Netherlands instead. - [Source](http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/936/1111)

47. Until 2006 U2 paid no tax in Ireland due to an exemption for artists. When the exemption was capped at $315,000, the band moved its accounts to the Netherlands, rather than face a multi-million tax bill for album sales and royalties. - [Source](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/aug/09/artsnews.ireland)

48. The Netherlands have over 100,000 surnames. - [Source](http://www.ibtimes.com/kim-park-lee-why-do-koreans-have-so-few-surnames-1472324)

49. Shrooms are banned in The Netherlands, but the truffles that come from the same plant and produce the same hallucinogenic effect are fully legal. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands#Drug_law_enforcement)

50. A higher percentage of people in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark speak English than in [Canada](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-kickass-interesting-facts-about-canada-part1/). - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population)

## 51-55 Netherlands Facts

[![international-court-of-justice](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/international-court-of-justice.png)](https://www.kickassfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/international-court-of-justice.png)

51. If a member of the US military or a US official is detained by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, the US has a law allowing it to invade the Netherlands to release them. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Service-Members)

52. A Dutch saying, alluding to how much of the Netherlands are built upon reclaimed wetland and [seas](https://www.kickassfacts.com/30-interesting-facts-seas-oceans/), goes "God made the world, but the Dutch made the Netherlands." - [Source](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands)

53. There's a movement in Belgium aimed at splitting the country into French speakers and Dutch speakers. Belgium would then be dissolved and the respective groups would merge with [France](https://www.kickassfacts.com/25-interesting-facts-about-france/) and the Netherlands. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_Belgium)

54. 100+ children taken hostage in the Netherlands in 1977 were fed laxatives to get their captors to free them. - [Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Dutch_school_hostage_crisis)

55. The Euro currency was designed featuring imagery of fictitious bridges to represent architectural styles throughout time in Europe. They had to be careful not to feature one country over the others, though, but the Netherlands then built the bridges in real life anyway.  - [Source](http://99percentinvisible.org/article/fact-follows-fiction-real-bridges-based-euro-banknote-artwork/)