Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Kingdom of the Netherlands the Kingdom of the Netherlands' did not come into being until 1818. The city of Amsterdam was, and still is, the centre of Dutch Lutheranism. Most Lutherans in the Netherlands are descendants of German or Scandinavian merchants, and the Lutheran church has always been quite small. Because of the urban and internationally oriented membership of the Lutheran Church, liberal influences have always been relatively strong. The church was always counted among the most liberal denominations in the Netherlands. They were among the first churches to ordain women. On May 1, 2004, the Lutheran Church's membership was down to a mere
Bicentennial of the Kingdom of the Netherlands celebrated in 1863 (construction of a monument for William I, which was renovated in 2004 for the bicentennial), 1913, 1933, 1963 and 1988. Bicentennial of the Kingdom of the Netherlands From 2013 to 2015, the Kingdom of the Netherlands celebrated its bicentennial. A National Committee, appointed by the Council of Ministers in 2011, supervises the bicentennial celebrations. The Committee is chaired by politicians Ank Bijleveld and Jozias van Aartsen. The celebrations started with a reenactment on 30 November 2013 of Prince William Frederick's landing at Scheveningen, exactly two hundred years earlier, with Huub Stapel playing the role of William Frederick,