Hoek van Holland
Between 1962 and 2004 the port of Rotterdam was the world‘s busiest sea port. Even today it is only surpassed by Singapore and Shanghai. It covers an area of more than 100 square km and stretches along 41 km of the river mouth of the river Maas (Meuse). It thanks its importance to its location in the rhine meuse sheldt delta, which means that freight can be transported on ships far into central europe. Originally the main activities of the port were close to the city centre, but with the development of bigger and bigger ships and in particular the arrival of the enormous oil tankers new port areas were developed closer to the sea. In 1872 a new, deeper entrance to the port was dug, the nieuwe waterweg. That is where all the ships enter the port and it is one of the world‘s busiest shipping lanes.
The nieuwe waterweg with container terminals in the background
Along the nieuwe waterweg are enormous container terminals, the crude oil terminal and a vast terminal for landing coal and ore. But the waterway also has attracted connecting industries as prominent and visible as refineries, other chemical plants, power stations and shipyards but also less visible enterprises such as coffee roasters or the world’s biggest fruit juice distribution center.
A pilot boat leaves the harbor in Hoek van Holland
This device measures the height of the water depending on the tides
The headquarters of the sea rescue brigade
The few remaining old sailor's homes in Hoek van Holland
In one of the basins in the port of Hoek van Holland the speedboats ferrying the pilots to the incoming behemoths are waiting. At the next pier a fast ferry, a quick water bus connecting the different remote outer parts of the harbour. This is a cheap and easy way to make a port cruise since the ferry passes the container terminals, ore cargo port and refineries in this part of the harbor. This port is also the home of the angels of the sea, the life saving brigade, which has the headquarters here
When the first container ship arrived in Rotterdam in 1966 it carried 226 containers. Todays behemoths are as long as 400 m and carry up to 20.000 containers. The day before yesterday one got stuck in the Suez Canal, the canal is blocked and all the traffic mainly between Asia and Europe interrupted
Nice about the harbor entrance of Rotterdam is that most of the newly developed industrial areas are south of the mouth of the waterway, whereas the northern part is either residential or has only small, historic port facilities. Right north at the mouth is the little town of Hoek van Holland. It developed only after the nieuwe waterweg was dug and was never an independent town, but soon became a suburb of Rotterdam. As a port Hoek van Holland has a ferry connection to Harwich in England and used to serve as terminal for the ocean liners of the Holland America line. A railroad was built to connect it to the station of Rotterdam, and the station of Hoek van Holland has seen international trains running as far as Berlin, Warsaw and even Moscow. With the increasing popularity of air travel those international trains have disappeared and the line is now a part of the metro in Rotterdam and does not even connect any more to Rotterdam central station. The enormous station building in Hoek van Holland is a shadow of its former glory.
A metro train in the old station of Hoek van Holland, which has seen international trains going as far as Moscow
A walk along the waterway from the town centre to the sea gives the chance to observe all the ships going in and out. Signs warns the pedestrians of sudden waves spilling on the walkway from passing ships. Even now, during a so called corona lock-down, ship-spotting is a popular pastime and numerous people sit in the spring sunshine and wait for what is going to come.
The fortress built in 1881 now is a museum
The storage facility for torpedoes built in 1881 now is a restaurant
German WWII artillery bunker. The device in the foreground is a paravane. It cuts the anchor cable of sea mines
Due to its importance the entrance of the port was heavily fortified. In 1881, a new fort was built to defend the harbour entrance. When the Germans invaded the Netherlands this fort was the departure point of the Dutch royal family to their exile in England. At the same time a torpedo storage was built, which today is converted into a restaurant. In WWII the fortress was reinforced by the Germans. Hoek van Holland was declared a „Festung“. In total 343 bomb resistant bunkers were built, most of which still dot the surroundings of the town. The original fort of 1881 and a collection of bunkers along the waterway were turned into musea and can be visited. When they reopen again….
The former german soldier's club, now a restaurant
But the Germans also have built an ammunition bunker behind the first hundred meters of scrub. Next to it the former German soldiers club, which today is turned into a restaurant. With its overhanging roof the architecture reminds a bit of an alpine hut in Austria. In the backyard there still is an enormous water storage bunker.
Beach houses next to the port entrance
The beach north of Hoek van Holland
The promenade along the waterway is prone to flooding by waves from passing ships
The pier protecting the port entrance from the current
One of the big container ships leaves one of the container terminals
Already at the end of the 19th century, Hoek van Holland developed as a sea side resort. The railway was extended to the beach, where also the metro will end when it is finally finished. Fancy beach houses were built close to the harbour entrance, where the vacationers not only have a short walk for a dip into the sea, but also get a good view of all the ships, a good smell in their noses of all the chemical industry and a constant hum in the ear from the conveyor belts of the ore terminal across the water. Even though it is low season and the numbers of new infections in the Rijnmond area around Rotterdam was never as high as yesterday, almost all these beach houses are occupied. I talk to a couple of people sitting at their garden tables in the sand of the beach downing their first bottle of white wine. They live close by, in Dordrecht, but still rent one of the houses occasionally in low season to get a change of scenery. I also hear quite a bit of german and english words, another sign that the corona measures are unsuitable to deter anybody from moving.
Deserted beach club in Hoek van Holland
At the terminus of the future metro line is the commercial centre of the beach. The beach bars, which, on a sunny day, are full of activity, are deserted. The tables, chairs and stretchers are piled up and covered with dust. By order of the government they have to stay closed. However, the takeaway snack places are booming. The customers sit together in the public spaces between the closed enterprises and devour their purchases. A group of motorcyclists stand together and discuss their machines standing at the edge of the sandy beach. Only the people entering one of the takeaways wear a face mask.
The commercial center of the beach
A bit further up are the old-fashioned beach houses, where bunk beds, a kitchen, bathroom and tiny living room are packed into an optimised tiny house space. A couple of workers is busy preparing them for the first customers. Already here, only few steps away from the activity of the takeaways the beach is empty. Walking is difficult in the soft sand, so visitors prefer to stay at the water line or on the concrete walkway connecting the beach houses.
Old fashioned tiny beach houses
The dunes behind the beach
entrance to one of the big parking lots
Behind the beach stretches a wide area of scrub covered dunes hiding numerous of the bunkers, not only of german but also of dutch and American cold war origin. The dunes also hide enormous parking lots. The size of the parking lots gives an idea what is going on here on a nice summer day. One, especially for motorhomes. The parking lots are empty even for a day during the week. Again, there are some German license plates. According
to the current rules these people have to register online before they
return home and go in quarantine which they can reduce when they test
negative after five days….
Bunkers in the dunes. They are now an important home for bats
Behind the dunes is one of the poshest residential areas of Rotterdam with reed covered turn of the century villas behind high walls with extensive gardens. As long as the trees are leafless the villas can be inspected without obstruction. There are few people and no visitors here, although this area is as scenic as the port entrance and the beach.
One of the posh villas close to the beach
A nice hike of a couple of hours includes a walk from the station along the shipping lane and a couple of impressive fortresses to the pier which widely stretches out into the sea and protects the harbour entrance from the currents along the British Channel. Signs warn the hiker of the waves caused by the big ships moving past. If you continue hiking along the beach in summer, you can take a dip. Then return across the dunes with more hidden bunkers and parks with hidden villas to the town centre.
The forest hides another assembly of fortifications and tunnels
On the way home i am stuck in an enormous traffic jam. Including myself these are all the people who supposedly work from home or stay at home due to the corona lock-down.....
