Blijdorp district

Blijdorp is a neighbourhood in northern Rotterdam and is part of the borough Noord. The neighbourhood has around 9500 inhabitants.

Construction of the district

Blijdorp was built between 1931 and 1940 in Blijdorpse polder, where the district is named. The district is bounded by the 1940 subdued Noorderhaven, the Noorderkanaal, the Schie-Schie kanaal and the railroad to Hook of Holland. Blijdorp borders the districts Bergpolder and Provenierswijk.

With the name "Blijdorp" almost everyone thinks about the Rotterdam Zoo in the same district. If people told they lived in the district Blijdorp, they were often called monkeys.

The construction of Blijdorp became possible after filling in the Rotterdamse Schie. Blijdorp was not affected by the bombing of Rotterdam of May 14, 1940 by the Germans. A monument because of the bombing is in a green strip on Statenweg (between Statensingel and Nieuwpoortstraat). The damping was already before the war began.

After this bombardment were the need for new houses great and the Noorderkanaal built many Houseboats. The original idea was that they would disappear after a number of years, but they are still there.