The Hague in 10th place for culture

The Hague has taken a 10th place ranking in the new cultural map of the Netherlands by the Atlas voor gemeenten. The cultural map examines the range and diversity of each Dutch municipality’s cultural calendar.

Researchers found that Amsterdam was the cultural capital of the Netherlands, followed by Groningen and Utrecht. Of the 50 largest Dutch municipalities Spijkenisse appears to be a cultural wasteland.

Of the larger municipalities in the region Delft came in 15th place, Leidschendam-Voorburg in 40th place and Zoetermeer in 41st place.

Noticeable rankings in cities just outside of The Hague included Leiden in 4th place and Gouda in 12th place. The second largest city in the country, Rotterdam, was ranked only in 19th place.

The cultural map was developed by researchers at the Atlas voor Gemeenten. They devised a weighted combination of 16 indicators for the cultural scene in the areas of performing arts, visual arts, cultural heritage, literature and film. The authors believe that the cultural map will allow them to better follow the impact of budget cutbacks in culture in the coming years.

Atlas voor gemeenten

Researchers from the Atlas voor gemeenten aim to describe and explain as precisely as possible the differences between Dutch neighbourhoods, cities and regions.

Translated from the AD/Haagsche Courant, 14 January 2012