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Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 1.0
The statue of Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam stands opposite the Grote of Sint Laurenskerk. It is a handsome bronze of the hand of sculptor Keijser and dates from 1622. Children are told by the elderly that Erasmus turns his page every hour.
The Statue of Erasmus is a public monument by Hendrick de Keyser in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
The "Great or Saint Lawrence church" (Saint Lawrence is the patron saint of Rotterdam) is a late-gothic inner city landmark that dates from the year 1449. It is nice to visit its spacious and attractive, but not so elegant interior. Of special interest are the large organ and the elaborate graves of Dutch sea heroes Kortenaer, Witte de With and Van Brakel. All kinds of cultural and musical venues take place here.
Opened in 2016 the museum is dedicated to the modern day Rotterdam and its history.
The Rotterdam City Hall may appear quite historic compared to the modern outlook of the city, but it was actually only built in 1915 in a lavish style echoing historic city halls in other Dutch cities. Remarkably, the City Hall survived the bombing and is one of the few truly historic buildings in the city. It is nice to walk into the monumental main hall and see the statues. The courtyard is also worth a look. As the City Hall is still in use you are free to enter the public areas and have a look. The other halls will be off limits, unless you can persuade one of the guards to open the showpiece Burgerzaal for you. The City Hall also has a belltower with carillon which is often played, while the roof of the middle tower is made of gold.
This is the only remaining 17th-century building in the city center of Rotterdam. It was once the place where French emperor Napoleon stayed, visiting his troops when they occupied the Netherlands. The former historical museum of Rotterdam which is now moved to another building.
The area around the station was destroyed by a Nazi bombardment during World War II, forcing the Netherlands to surrender. After the war this area was populated with some bold examples of modern architecture.