View source for Armenians in the Netherlands

{{Infobox ethnic group 
|flag = {{flagicon|Armenia}} {{flagicon|Netherlands}}
|group     = Armenians in the Netherlands<br/>{{lang|nl|Armeniërs in Nederland}}<br/>{{lang|hy|Հոլանդահայեր}}
|pop       = 40.000<ref name="azatutyun">{{cite web|title="Վարակակիրների մոտ 60 տոկոսը բուժվում է տանը". Նիդերլանդներում ՀՀ դեսպան Տիգրան Բալայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/30527462.html|work=Azatutyun|date=3 April 2020|access-date=17 October 2020}}</ref>
|region1   = <center>[[Amsterdam]], [[Almelo]]</center>
|pop1      = 
|languages = [[Armenian Language|Armenian]], [[Dutch Language|Dutch]] <small>As well as [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], and/or [[Arabic language|Arabic]] as second or third languages</small>
|religions = [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Apostolic]], [[Armenian Catholic Church|Armenian Catholic]], [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] and [[Protestant]]
|related   = [[Armenians]], [[Hamshenis]], [[Cherkesogai]] groups
}}
{{Armenians}}

'''Armenians in the Netherlands''' ({{langx|nl|Armeniërs in Nederland}}; {{langx|hy|Հոլանդահայեր|translit=Holandahayer}}), also '''Dutch Armenians''' ({{lang|nl|Nederlandse Armenen}}) or '''Armenian Dutch''' ({{lang|nl|Armeense Nederlanders}}), are the ethnic [[Armenians]] living in the [[Netherlands]]. The number of Armenians living in the country is around 40.000, according to the Armenian ambassador.<ref name="azatutyun" />

==History==
Armenian and Dutch interactions are believed to have started in the 13th and 14th centuries, when Dutch merchants arrived in Cilicia and Armenian trading houses opened in the [[Low Countries]]. Armenians brought into the Low Countries carpets, dyes, cotton, and spices from Armenia and from around the world.

Apart from the contemporary Armenian community spread out over the Netherlands, there had been  an independent Armenian community concentrated in Amsterdam during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Many Armenian merchants in [[Amsterdam]] went to [[Southeast Asia]] in the 19th century to trade, and to set up factories and plantations, establishing a community of [[Armenians in Java]].

The [[Napoleonic wars]] put an end to the Armenian life in the Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam was almost depopulated after its occupation by the French. In 1713 the city of Amsterdam permitted the Armenians to erect a church of their own. After serving its purpose for about a century and a half, this edifice was closed because of the dwindling of its congregation. In 1874, by order of the [[Catholicos of Armenia|Catholicos]] of [[Echmiadzin]], the building was sold for 10,000 florins, which was transmitted to him.<ref>Vahan M. Kurkjian. ''A History of Armenia'', pp.&nbsp;471</ref> It is probable that the Armenian community assimilated into the wider Dutch nation during the 19th century.

Armenians arrived in the Netherlands from [[Indonesia]] (the former [[Dutch Indies]] in the 1950s), [[Turkey]] (1970s), [[Lebanon]] (1970s), [[Iran]] (1980s), [[Iraq]] (early 1990s), [[Russia]] and [[Armenia]] (1990s).

==Community==
The largest group of Armenians arrived from [[Turkey]] ([[Diyarbakir]] and [[Şırnak]]) in the 1970s as [[guest workers]] in [[chain migration]], finding employment in textile plants in [[Almelo]] and [[Hengelo]]. 

Currently most Armenians live in the major urban centres in the western part of the Netherlands: [[Amsterdam]], [[Dordrecht]], [[The Hague]], [[Leiden]] and [[Rotterdam]]. Armenian church services are held in Amsterdam, [[Maastricht]] and [[Almelo]].

==Notable people==
* [[Gago Aroetjunjan]] &ndash; kickboxer and [[Muay Thai]] fighter
* [[Sahak Parparyan]], kickboxer and [[Muay Thai]] fighter
* [[Biurakn Hakhverdian]] &ndash; water polo player, olympic gold medalist and former captain of the Dutch national junior water polo team
* [[Stephanie Tency]], crowned Miss Universe Netherlands 2013 and represented her country at the Miss Universe 2013
* [[Karapet Karapetyan]], kickboxer
* [[Gegard Mousasi]], mixed martial artist
* [[Aras Özbiliz]], football player

==See also== 
* [[Armenia–Netherlands relations]]
* [[Armenian diaspora]]
* [[List of Armenians]]
* [[Immigration to the Netherlands]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Asia/Armenia/_Texts/KURARM/47*.html#Armenians_in_the_Netherlands Armenians in the Netherlands ]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150528065055/http://armeensenederlanders.nl/ Armeense Nederlanders (Dutch Armenians)]

{{Armenian diaspora}}
{{Ethnic groups in the Netherlands}}

[[Category:Armenian diaspora by country|Dutch]]
[[Category:Dutch people of Armenian descent| ]]
[[Category:Middle Eastern diaspora in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Netherlands]]

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