Mijn Land, 03/11: Zuid-Holland

''Mijn Land, 03/11 : Zuid-Holland by G.J. Nijland'' is a regional travel guide and topographical portrait written in the early 20th century. It presents the Dutch province of South Holland, describing its polders and dunes, rivers and lakes, cities and villages, and the historic and economic life shaped by water management, agriculture, fishing, and trade. The book opens with the land’s making: dunes, peat and clay, polders below sea level, and the boezem systems that drain them, followed by a sketch of Roman traces and medieval history. It then conducts a series of tours: The Hague with the Binnenhof, Ridderzaal, and the nearby resort of Scheveningen; north through the dune belt and bulb fields around Wassenaar, Katwijk, Noordwijk, Hillegom, and Lisse; the university city of Leiden with its Burcht, Marekerk, and Waag; the lake district of the Kaag and Braassemermeer; and the winding Oude Rijn past Alphen to Woerden and the Reeuwijk lakes. The route continues to Gouda—its town hall and famed St. Janskerk windows—and Oudewater, crosses the Krimpenerwaard to Schoonhoven, and turns west through Schieland and Delfland by way of Rotterdam’s vast harbors and Laurenskerk, Schiedam, Vlaardingen, and Maassluis, then Delft with the Prinsenhof, Nieuwe Kerk, and Oude Kerk. Finally it surveys the Alblasserwaard and Vijfheerenlanden along the Lek and Merwede—Vianen, Gorinchem, the Giessen villages, and Leerdam—and the islands: Dordrecht, the Hoeksche Waard, IJsselmonde, Voorne-Putten (Brielle, Hellevoetsluis, Rockanje), Rozenburg, and Goeree-Overflakkee. Throughout, the narrative dwells on water, dikes, canals, shipyards, market towns, and the changing skies, concluding with an affirmation of South Holland’s beauty and historic weight.