Editing Drechtsteden

[[File:Dordrecht 20040313.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Three Drecht cities: Zwijndrecht (left), Papendrecht (top), and Dordrecht (right).]]
The '''Drechtsteden''' ({{IPA|nl|ˈdrɛxtsteːdə(n)}}; Dutch for "Drecht cities") are a number of towns and cities bordering each other in the delta area of the rivers [[Oude Maas]], [[Noord River|Noord]], and [[Beneden-Merwede]] in the province of [[South Holland]], [[Netherlands]]. These cooperate in the ''Gemeenschappelijke Regeling Drechtsteden'' ("joint arrangement Drechtsteden"), which performs common tasks for the municipalities in the field of economy, development, culture, and social assistance.<ref name="Drechtsteden">[http://drechtsteden.waxtrapp.com/ Drechtsteden]</ref> Collectively, a little more than 250,000 people call one of the towns and cities of Drechtsteden home.

The associated towns and cities are:<ref name="Drechtsteden"/>
* [[Alblasserdam]]
* [[Dordrecht]]
* [[Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht]]
* [[Papendrecht]]
* [[Sliedrecht]]
* [[Hardinxveld-Giessendam]]
* [[Zwijndrecht, Netherlands|Zwijndrecht]]

The name "Drechtsteden" was chosen because the name of several of the associated cities and towns ends in the [[suffix]] [[wiktionary:-drecht|''-drecht'']] (meaning: place where ships are pulled or carried across the land<ref>Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, J. de Vries, Leiden, 1997, 4th Ed., {{ISBN|90-04-08392-8}}, p. 133</ref>). It is also an informal name for the area. 

{{SouthHolland-geo-stub}}

{{coord|51|49|N|4|41|E|display=title}}

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Alblasserwaard-Drechtsteden}}

[[Category:Drechtsteden| ]]
[[Category:Regions of South Holland]]
[[Category:Regions of the Netherlands]]