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Rotterdam ( ROT-ər-dam, UK also ROT-ər-DAM, Dutch: [ˌrɔtərˈdɑm] (listen)) is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, at the mouth of the Nieuwe Maas channel leading into the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta at the North Sea. Its history goes back to 1270, when a dam was constructed in the Rotte. In 1340, Rotterdam was granted city rights by William IV, Count of Holland. The Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 10th-largest in the European Union and the most populous in the country. A major logistic and economic centre, Rotterdam is Europe's largest seaport. In 2020, it had a population of 651,446 and is home to over 180 nationalities. Rotterdam is known for its university, riverside setting, lively cultural life, maritime heritage and modern architecture. The near-complete destruction of the city centre in the World War II Rotterdam Blitz has resulted in a varied architectural landscape, including skyscrapers designed by architects such as Rem Koolhaas, Piet Blom and Ben van Berkel.The Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt give waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, including the highly industrialized Ruhr. The extensive distribution system including rail, roads, and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nicknames "Gateway to Europe" and "Gateway to the World".

The Admiraliteitsbrug is a drawbridge over the Buizengat in Rotterdam. The bridge is located on Willem Ruyslaan and connects Oostzeedijk to the Maasboulevard. The bridge has a passage width of 9.20 m (30.2 ft) and a vertical clearance of 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in). The bridge is unmanned and any request to open it must be submitted to the ministry (aangevraagd) at the Boerengatbrug. The bridge will not be operated if the Boerengatbrug or Oostbrug is opened or when the dam is closed.

The Marine memorial (Dutch: Mariniersmonument) is a war memorial on Oostplein in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It commemorates and thanks the Netherlands Marine Corps who fought hard for the city in the Battle of the Netherlands.The monument, a bronze statue of a marine, was made by Titus Leeser and was unveiled by Prince Bernhard on 5 July 1963. It stands on Oostplein, directly opposite the site of the former marines' barracks, which was bombed away in the May days of 1940. The barracks were located here from 1869 to 1940 in the former arsenal of the Admiralty of Rotterdam. Above the nearby underground entrance is the preserved side gate of the barracks. The wall surrounding the memorial also lists other achievements in the history of the Marine Corps, such as the four-day naval battle at Chatham in 1666, the Dutch East Indies, Korea, Cambodia and Uruzgan.According to Bram Grisnigt, around 30 Engelandvaarders served in the Marine Corps. These included Marines involved in the defence of the Maas bridges in Rotterdam during the May Days in 1940. From England, a number of Engelandvaarders/marines were sent to the United States to be further trained together with 450 Dutch marines to be deployed later in the war against Japan. Some of them were sent back to England to reinforce the Princess Irene Brigade, which landed at Arromanches on 8 August. Before the Dutch marines were deployed against Japan, Japan capitulated. The marines then went to the Dutch East Indies.At the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the marines' monument on 4 July 2013, former Marine Ben Schierboom was present. He was the model for the monument at the time. The anniversary marked the conclusion of the (extended) anniversary year of the Rotterdam and the Marines Foundation.

Het Slaakhuis, or Slaakhuys, is a monumental building in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It was the former offices of the socialist newspaper Het Vrije Volk. The building is a six-storey office block located on a street called Slaak and was squatted in May 2003. The snooker centre next door, which hosted greats such as Ronnie O'Sullivan was also later squatted. In 2011, the complex was evicted and by 2017 it had become a hotel and a Lidl supermarket.

Oostplein is an underground station in the city of Rotterdam, located on the Rotterdam Metro lines A, B, and C. The station opened on 10 May 1982, the same date that the East-West Line (also formerly called the Caland line), of which it is a part, was opened. The station is located near the border between the city center and Kralingen-Crooswijk borough, and is below the former site of the De Noord mill. Overground people can get on at RET-Rotterdam tram lines 7 and 21.

The Willemsbrug is a bridge next to the Erasmusbrug in the centre of Rotterdam, Netherlands, spanning the Nieuwe Maas. It links the northern part of the city with the Noordereiland and (in combination with the Koninginnebrug) the district of Feijenoord. The bridge was completed in 1981, designed by C. Veerling and named after King Willem III of the Netherlands. It replaced an older bridge that had been opened in 1879 but was severely outdated by the time the decision was made to build a new one. Because of the intensity of the traffic using the old bridge, it was decided to build the new one 150 metres upstream to avoid upsetting the daily flow of traffic across the river. After the completion of the new bridge, the old one was demolished. The Willemsbrug is a cable-stayed bridge with a total span of about 318 meters. It is painted in a red color which puts it in sharp contrast with the light blue painted Erasmus Bridge.

De Hef (lit. 'the lift'), officially Koningshaven Bridge, is a vertical-lift bridge over the Koningshaven (Kings Harbor) channel at the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. Built in 1927, the bridge was part of the Breda–Rotterdam railway line until it was decommissioned in 1993. Today, it is a Rijksmonument heritage site.

Gerdesiaweg is an underground subway station in the city of Rotterdam, located on the Rotterdam Metro lines A, B, and C. The station opened on 10 May 1982, the same date that the East-West Line (also formerly called the Caland line), of which it is a part, was opened. The station is located to the east of the city center, in the borough of Kralingen-Crooswijk.

Kralingen is a former village in the Dutch province of South Holland, now a neighbourhood of Rotterdam. It is located about 3 kilometres east of the city centre, in the borough Kralingen-Crooswijk. Kralingen was a separate municipality until 1895, when it merged with Rotterdam. Previously, the high society of the growing city had their pleasure gardens and villas erected there in the 19th century, on the eastern outskirts of the village. The easternmost part of Kralingen, Woudestein, is where the main campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Excelsior Rotterdam stadium are situated. Kralingen is home to a Louis XIV-XV style mansion which is on the national monument register. It is also the location of Kralingse Plas, a large surface water used for recreation, and the Kralingse Bos, a forest of 2 square kilometres that welcomed 100,000 visitors for the Kralingen Music Festival in 1970 which was the "European answer to Woodstock", with 20 rock and pop groups performing, including Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds and Santana. Footballer Robin van Persie was born and spent much of his youth in Kralingen. When Rotterdam was bombed on 14 May 1940, a large area in the western part of Kralingen went up in flames with it.

The Martyrs of Gorcum Church -known as the Stieltjeskerk, was a Roman Catholic church in Rotterdam. Rotterdam and its harbor underwent a tremendous growth in the second half of the 19th century. The district of Feijenoord was originally built on the south bank of the Meuse (Maas). A significant part of the new inhabitants were Catholics from the provinces of North Brabant and Zeeland. Ahead of them between 1875 and 1876 on Roentgenstraat a wooden church was built by the pastor Ludovicus Gompertz. Between 1885 and 1886 on Stieltjes Square a stone church built. The architect John Kayser designed a three-aisled cruciform church in neo-Gothic style, with a tower on the front. The church was dedicated to the martyrs of Gorcum. On July 12, 1886, the church was consecrated. After the second world war, the number of parishioners fell sharply. The Martyrs of Gorcum Church was finally merged into the Holy Trinity parish. The Stieltjeskerk was closed and demolished in 1976. In this place is now a retirement home. The two doors of the entrance and several stained-glass windows are preserved at the Museum Rotterdam.

Noordereiland is a neighborhood of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Noordereiland owes its name to the Noorderhaven (nowadays Koningshaven) which, under the leadership of C.B. van der Tak was dug between 1872 and 1874. By digging the Noorderhaven, the Noordereiland was separated from the former island of Fijenoord and is now an island between the central parts of the North and South side of the city. Until the end of the 20th century the island was inhabited by a large population of inland skippers. Part of the neighborhood is a protected cityscape. During the German bombings in May 1940, the Noordereiland was much better preserved than other parts of the city, because the Noordereiland was spared by the Luftwaffe, as the Germans had entrenched themselves there. However, more than 600 houses on the tips of the Noordereiland were destroyed by a number of English bombardments, which were intended to chase the Germans away. One of the affected points, the old Prinsenhoofd, was partly excavated in 1961 to form a trench at a depth of 20 meters in the riverbed of the Nieuwe Maas during the construction of the Rotterdam Metro. The green strip at Meeuwenstraat now bears the name Prinsenhoofd.

The Boezembrug is a bridge in Rotterdam, part of the Gouda Roadway. The Bosom bridge connects both banks of the Boezem. The bridge is a Rijksmonument designed by S. J. Rutgers in 1903.