Schoonhoven, Netherlands

Schoonhoven is a city and a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is now the smallest municipality in the Netherlands in land area, following the merger of Rozenburg into Rotterdam.

Schoonhoven is renowned for its silver, hence it is nicknamed Zilverstad ("Silver City"). Since the 17th century silver smiths have already been present here. Today there are a lot of silver trade possibilities and Schoonhoven is home of the International Silver School.

Another less known tradition in Schoonhoven is that of clock making. There are still small scale clock makers. Some of them can be visited. A beautiful example of large clockwork is the Van den Gheyn Beiaard on the medieval town hall of Schoonhoven. In the Dutch Silver Museum Schoonhoven a lot of other large and small clocks are on display as well.

Things to See & Do

* Canalhouses
* Schoonhoven watertower
* City wall
* The Nederlands Zilvermuseum
* Old City Hall

General Information

Cruise Season – March - Nov
Currency – Euro (€) (EUR)
Language – Dutch
Population – 12,500 approx
Land Area – 6.34 km2
Electricity – 2 round pins European style
Time – GMT plus one hour
International Country Telephone Code – +31

Travel Links – Schoonhoven can be accessed via ferry from Gelkenes.