's-Gravenzande

History

's-Gravenzande is the only place in the Westland with a history as a town ("stad"). 's-Gravenzande was granted town rights ("stadsrechten") in 1246 by Count William II of Holland who, just like his father Count Floris IV, regularly resided at his estate near the town. It is therefore the only town in Westland. Machteld van Brabant, daughter of Duke Henry I and wife of Floris IV, was responsible for building the town's church, and gave it a Madonna statue to which miraculous powers were attributed. 's-Gravenzande subsequently became a pilgrimage site. The neighborhood of Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York in the United States is said by some to have been named for 's-Gravenzande. A 1656 Dutch map of Nova Belgica (New Netherland) confirms this, as it shows several Dutch names of towns like Vlissingen (Flushing), Breukelen (Brooklyn), Amersfoort (Flatlands), Heemstee (Hempstead) and Gravesant ('s-Gravenzande).

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Coot

  Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  35,730
• Common Chiffchaff

  Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  29,752
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  29,317
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  29,255
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  28,934
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,237
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  25,892
• Tufted Duck

  Aythya fuligula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  25,526

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2008-10-11
  19 km WNW of Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands
• M 3.4 — 2001-09-10
  10 km W of Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
• M 3.8 — 2001-09-09
  7 km W of Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands