The Dutch units of measurement used today are those of the metric system. Before around 1800, the Netherlands had a completely different system. One of the most remarkable characteristics of this historical system is that the weights and measures were not standardised throughout this small country.
The metric system was officially introduced in the Netherlands in 1816. At first the old historical Dutch names were still used, but were changed to s...
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The Dutch units of measurement used today are those of the metric system. Before around 1800, the Netherlands had a completely different system. One of the most remarkable characteristics of this historical system is that the weights and measures were not standardised throughout this small country.
The metric system was officially introduced in the Netherlands in 1816. At first the old historical Dutch names were still used, but were changed to suit the new measurements (e.g. pond for kilogram). This was called the "Dutch metric system" (Nederlands metrisch stelsel). But this proved untenable and the modern names were adopted in 1869 (Wet van 7 April 1869, Staatsblad No.57). A few of the older names remained officially in use, but they were eliminated when the system was further standardised by the 1937 Act on Weights and Measures (IJkwet).
On 30 October 2006 the Weights and Measures Act was replaced by the Metrology Act. The organisation currently responsible for weights and measures...
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