The city of Rotterdam has been officially in existence since 1328. Initially Rotterdam was just a small, quiet fishing harbour in a bend in the Rotte. It grew slowly, but it never became something of significance. Delft and Dordrecht were much more important because there was more industry and trades. Dordrecht suffered damage from a flood in 1421 named St. Elisabeth, though. From this moment the big business was transferred to Rotterdam because Rotterdam was situated at a safer place regarding flooding, the water in the harbour was deeper, and generally the harbour was more accessible. So while the business was transferred, the activity raised and the population grew significantly.
In the 18th century the population of Rotterdam no longer grew significantly, but remained stationary around an estimated 50000 people. It wasn’t until the 19th century that Rotterdam expanded in a big way again, due to an enlargement of the port facilities.
Because of Rotterdam’s rather strange position and structure in the landscape, in combination with the huge raise of population, one element became typical in the architecture of Rotterdam: bridges. Rotterdam has over thousand bridges. This has to do with mobility which was needed because of the big trading business in Rotterdam. Also because Rotterdam embraced the industrial revolution and made big use of its possibilities.
Rotterdam grew and became quite a cosy place until the bombardment of the Germans in 1940, which was part of their Blitzkrieg strategy. The heart of Rotterdam was completely destroyed. After 5 years of occupation by the Germans, Rotterdam started rebuilding again. Slowly at first, since there was an enormous demand for building material, but too less to serve Rotterdam with all that was needed. After a while it started speeding up, and it was a big chance for architects to take the opportunity to reconstruct the whole heart of Rotterdam from scratch. The building rate was at a peak in the 50’s and 60’s of the 20th century. The spaces between the old buildings that survived the bombardment were filled up with new buildings. So the outcome was a strange combination of new and old. Some people thing it looks rather unorganized, while others find it interesting. One thing Is for sure though; Since the bombardment Rotterdam started building and it hasn’t stopped since. The ongoing work of reconstructing has the city cluttered with building traffic, which practically means Rotterdam is an ever-changing maze.
Goodbye cosines. It really is a pity though. When you look at old photographs of Rotterdam it really looked much more pleasant and alive. I personally find Rotterdam rather boring and slightly melancholic compared to other cities. There is this big part with buildings infected by modern architecture, covered in “normalness”. Subtle elements like a big window for the living room so that you feel more connected with the city, or a little window that faces the direction of a big bridge is what makes it modern and special, but no one ever notices things like that. Generally it just looks too boring. There are some buildings however, that are truly special. Buildings like train station Blaak or the cube-buildings close to it. That’s modern architecture I can enjoy and which makes everything more wacky. It’s a big contrast with the rest of the city. I think they should build more unique buildings like that through Rotterdam, so that the whole looks less depressing.
