The Groene Hart (; "Green Heart") is a relatively thinly populated area of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

covering much of the middle portion of the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or Circular arc, arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that includes almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Net ...

megalopolis. The major Dutch cities of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, and

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

surround this area. Cities inside the Groene Hart include

Zoetermeer Zoetermeer () is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. A small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950. By 2023 this had grown to 126.998 ...

Alphen aan den Rijn Alphen aan den Rijn (; or "Alphen on the Rhine") is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The city is situated on the banks of the river Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland), Oude Rijn (Old Rhine ...

,Alphen is geographically an uncontestable part of the Groene Hart. It is near the center of the region, surrounded by farmlands. But since Alphen became an exurban city, populated by commuting workers from the Randstad, some people now consider Alphen as no longer culturally belonging to the Groene Hart. Gouda,

Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...

, and the smaller cities of Schoonhoven, Oudewater, Haastrecht, Nieuwkoop,

Montfoort Montfoort () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. Montfoort received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1329. Population centres The municipality of Montfoort consists of t ...

, Waddinxveen, Bodegraven, and

Boskoop Boskoop () is a town in the province of South Holland. It was a separate municipality until it merged into Alphen aan den Rijn in 2014. The town had a population of 15,050 in 2012 and covers an area of of which is water. It's the world's bigges ...

Description

The Groene Hart has a rural character, which contrasts with the urban areas around it. Agriculture, nature, and recreation are the primary activities in the Groene Hart. Mills, dikes and Dutch cows are the primary sights of this lowland area. The Groene Hart is important Dutch bird habitat. The bird species

black-tailed godwit The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, '' Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and ches ...

northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tewit, green plover, or (in Ireland and Great Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Palearcti ...

and Eurasian oystercatcher can all be found in the area.

History

Since the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

, there has been a ring of cities surrounding this green and open central area. This area was given the nickname of "Groene Hart" by the middle of the twentieth century. The Groene Hart developed in the territory between the large cities in the Western Netherlands as an area of

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season which prevents the growth of trees and brush. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of ...

s and

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

land. These

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s were not suitable for building, so they were used for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

production.

Geography

The Groene Hart is a water-rich area, with bodies of water such as the Langeraarse Plassen, Nieuwkoopse Plassen, Reeuwijkse Plassen,

Kagerplassen {{coord, 52, 12, 19, N, 4, 32, 18, E, type:waterbody_region:NL_scale:60000, display=title The ''Kagerplassen'' (a Dutch term meaning "the Kaag Lakes") is a small lake system in South Holland located to the northeast of Leiden.Some of the informat ...

, and Braassemermeer. In addition, rivers such as the Hollandse IJssel, Oude Rijn, Lek, Vlist, Loet, Rotte, and Meije run through the area. One of the European footpaths runs through the area. In the Netherlands it is known as the Floris V-pad, part of the Dutch LAW 1-3 path. The Limes, the former northern border of the Roman empire in The Netherlands, crosses the Groene Hart.

Government policy

A government policy was adopted in 2003 to preserve the Groene Hart. It allows for the larger cities on the edge of the Groene Hart to build limited amounts of housing. The government also limits the establishment of greenhouses and other types of commercial buildings within the area. The plan for the development of the Groene Hart includes four areas: *Around the outside of the Groene Hart is the

, an urban area that almost completely surrounds the Groene Hart. Between these urban areas lie green environs that connect to other green sections of the Netherlands. *Connected to the Randstad Ring is an extended area of water and forests. This is used for recreation and as a buffer against

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

. *There will be four core areas for

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

and

water sports Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ...

. There will be extended areas of bogs,

es, and wet forests. These four areas (De Venen, Krimpenerwaard, Vechtplassen, and Hollandse Plassen) will be connected to each other with grassy berms. *Between the core areas and the outer areas will be pastures for nature, recreation, and agriculture.

References

External links

Groene Hart tourism and recreation
(partially translated in multiple languages)
Programmabureau Groene Hart
(in Dutch)
Groenehart Archieven
(in Dutch)

(in Dutch) {{coord, 52, 06, 45, N, 4, 42, 03, E, region:NL_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Regions of the Netherlands Regions of North Holland Regions of South Holland Regions of Utrecht (province) Urban planning in the Netherlands