Aalsmeer
 flag |
 coat of arms |
| province |
 North Holland
|
| mayor | Gido Oude Kotte ( CDA ) |
| Seat of the municipality | Aalsmeer |
|
Area - land - water |
32.29 km 2 20.13 km 2 12.16 km 2 |
| CBS code | 0358 |
| Residents | 31,728 (Jan 31, 2019) |
| Population density | 983 inhabitants / km 2 |
| Coordinates | 52 ° 16 ′ N , 4 ° 45 ′ E |
| Important traffic route |
 
|
| prefix | 0297 |
| Postcodes | 1424, 1431-1433 |
| Website | Homepage of Aalsmeer |
 |
|
Aalsmeer ( ) is a municipality in the Dutch province of North Holland 13 km southwest of Amsterdam with 31,728 inhabitants (as of January 31, 2019). It is located on the Ringvaart of the Haarlemmermeer polder and the Westeinderplassen , a remnant of the Haarlemmermeer . The total area is 32.29 km², of which around 11.9 km² are water.
The old town is located on peaty ground at sea level and is surrounded by several polders that are three to five meters below sea level. The name is derived from the former abundance of eels in the waters.
The place is a center of the Dutch flower and ornamental wood cultivation with numerous tree nurseries , the largest flower auction in the world and a state research institute for floriculture.
Location and economy
Aalsmeer is located south of the major Dutch airport Schiphol and southeast of Haarlemmermeer on the Ringvaart of the Haarlemmermeer polder . Aalsmeer is 3 km away from the A4 Amsterdam-The Hague motorway (exit Aalsmeer / Hoofddorp ). Aalsmeer can be reached by bus from Schiphol Airport and Amsterdam Centraal train stations .
The place has a research institute for floriculture and is a center of the Dutch flower and ornamental wood cultivation with the largest flower auction in the world: The Verenigde Bloemenveilingen Aalsmeer currently has an area of almost two million m², and an annual turnover of almost two billion euros. Numerous flowers are quickly exported via Schiphol Airport.
Until 2010, Aalsmeer also had a large television studio operated by Endemol , founded by the major entertainment entrepreneur John de Mol . However, in 2010 he relocated the entire production, which at that time created jobs to around 450 people, to Amsterdam for economic reasons. Several German-language programs for the commercial TV channels RTL and Sat.1 were produced in the Aalsmeer studio . a. the programs "One against 100" (RTL) and "The Million Deal" (Sat 1) with Linda de Mol . The German editions were recorded in the original studio sets of the Dutch versions. The television studio building was originally also the location of a flower auction and is now used as an event location.
Aalsmeer borders on the Westeinder Plassen (lakes), a popular water sports area with several marinas. The area around the lakes is a valuable nature reserve with many reed belts . Trees, bushes, flowers and fruit are grown on the numerous islands, some of which are privately owned. On the banks of Westeinder Plas is the water tower of Aalsmeer, a monument in the Art Deco style. The Aalsmeer Prahmrennen takes place on the lake every second Saturday in September.
In summer the Aalsmeer Historical Garden can be visited, which shows the development of horticulture since the 17th century.
history
From the foundation to the Second World War
The name Aalsmeer is probably derived from Als mar , which means Palingmeer (eel lake). Possibly it goes back to els-er , drassig land met elzen (swampy land with hazel bushes). Eels are still caught in the Westeinder Plassen today .
Aalsmeer was first mentioned as Alsmar in a deed of donation in 1133 . Already in the later Middle Ages it was to some extent important because of its fishing, cattle breeding and peat trade, and since around 1450 also because of its horticulture. Mennonites settled here under the rule of the Spaniards . Until the 17th century the village lay in a deep moor and was difficult to reach because of the many lakes and waterways in the surrounding area. Storm surges and peat extraction created numerous lakes that were drained between 1750 and 1850. In the meantime the residents of Aalsmeer had switched to growing trees. They delivered artfully cut box trees and other trees and shrubs to the rich buyers . Between around 1850 and 1885, strawberry cultivation was also very successful. The colors of the municipal flag (black, red and green) are borrowed from this plant. The coat of arms was issued on June 26th, 1816 and shows the Dutch lion with an eel in its paws and the text: Retine quod habes - ("Keep what you have"). The motto does not belong to the official coat of arms.
In 1912 the first flower auction houses were built , the Centrale Aalsmeerse Veiling in the center and Bloemenlust in East Aalsmeer. These were in 1972 through a merger for today's large enterprises Vereinigde Bloemenveiling.
Second World War
During the Second World War, Aalsmeer got the reputation of being a stronghold of the National Socialists . That was mainly due to the fanatical NSB mayor Kolb and a handful of fascists. Aalsmeer was strategically important due to its proximity to Schiphol and Amsterdam. Aalsmeer was also a rich village. From 1942 onwards, several small resistance groups campaigned for Jews who had fled Amsterdam and who had gone into hiding in Aalsmeer. The then head of civil affairs, Cees Braber, forged many ID cards. The Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht in the Netherlands, Friedrich Christiansen , was a permanent guest in Aalsmeer. After the war, over a hundred court cases against former NSBers from Aalsmeer took place. The journalist Theodore van Houten wrote his book Een vrij ernstige geval about this period .
After the war
In 1950 Aalsmeer had 12,500 inhabitants. Horticulture was of great importance during this period. There were flower growers, tree nurseries and many greenhouses for growing vegetables and ornamental plants, the most important product was still the strawberries. With the construction of the new auction halls on Legmeerdijk, Schiphol Airport was not far away, and the Dutch horticultural companies gained access to the American and Japanese markets. The Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer is now world-famous. The auction halls with a floor area of 999,000 m² are listed as the largest commercial building in the world in the Guinness Book of Records .
politics
Distribution of seats in the municipal council
The local elections on March 21, 2018 resulted in the following distribution of seats:
| Political party | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | |
| CDA | 6th | 6th | 6th | 8th |
| VVD | 4th | 5 | 6th | 6th |
| Absolutely Aalsmeer | - | - | - | 4th |
| GroenLinks | - | - | - | 2 |
| D66 | - | - | - | 2 |
| PvdA | - | - | - | 1 |
| Het Aalsmeers Collectief | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| Aalsmeerse concerns | 4th | 6th | 6th | - |
| PACT Aalsmeer | 5 | 4th | 4th | - |
| Lijst 6 | - | - | 0 | - |
| total | 19th | 21st | 23 | 23 |
- ↑ Alliance of PvdA , D66 and GroenLinks , which existed from 1998 to 2017
Political structure
The community is divided into the following districts:
| No. | place | Residents |
|---|---|---|
| 00 | Aalsmeer | 12,235 |
| 01 | Kudelstraat en Kalslagen | 9.210 |
| 02 | Oosteinde | 9,920 |
| local community | 31,373 |
Attractions
- The flower auction house can be visited by interested parties. Some of the tours (also possible in German) take place at around 6 a.m.
- The television studio can also be visited by appointment. You can apply to be a member of the audience on a program via the Endemol website.
- The Westeinder Plassen are located in the district of Kudelstaart, southwest of Aalsmeer . These lakes offer water sports tourists many opportunities to relax and are connected to the Ringvaart of the Haarlemmermeerpolders. There are several marinas.
- The decades-long tradition of the Aalsmeer Flower Parade ended in September 2007.
- Aalsmeer historical garden
sons and daughters of the town
- Jeffrey Boomhouwer (* 1988), handball player
- Tessa van Dijk (* 1986), speed skater
Web links
- Website of the municipality (Dutch, English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gido Oude Kotte nieuwe burgemeester Aalsmeer. In: noord-holland.nl. Provincie Noord-Holland, March 21, 2019, accessed April 17, 2019 (Dutch).
- ↑ Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand . In: StatLine . Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (Dutch)
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Demografische kerncijfers per gemeente 2014 (Demographic indicators of the municipalities 2014), published by Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, brochure in PDF format, page 37, Dutch, accessed on 9. March 2018
- ↑ Result of the local elections , accessed on April 16, 2018 (Dutch)
- ↑ Allocation of seats in the municipal council: 2006–2010 2014–2018 , accessed on April 11, 2018 (Dutch)
- ↑ Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2017 Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek , accessed on April 16, 2018 (Dutch)
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