Industrial city and port in South Holland province, the Netherlands, in the Rhine-Maas delta, 90 km/56 mi southwest of Amsterdam; population (2006 est) 588,700. The Rotterdam-Europoort complex is the biggest oil refining centre in the world, and one of its foremost ocean cargo ports. Other industries include brewing, distilling, shipbuilding, sugar and petroleum refining, margarine, and tobacco. A canal, the New Waterway ( Nieuwe Waterweg ), links Rotterdam with the North Sea. The city dates from the 12th century or earlier, but the centre was destroyed by German air attack in 1940, and rebuilt after World War II. The philosopher Erasmus was born here. Rotterdam's name comes from the little River Rotte, which joins the Nieuwe Maas here. Transport A deep-water channel, the New Waterway, constructed 1866–90, is navigable for the largest sea-going vessels. 35 km/22 mi long, it connects the town with the North Sea at the Hook of Holland. The port complex, Rotterdam-Europoort, owes much of…