Vlaardingen is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. On the east the city is separated from Schiedam by a motorway. Other places nearby are Maassluis to the west and Schipluiden and Delft to the north. The municipality administers an area of 26.71 km², of which 23.81 km² is land, with 71,938 residents (in May 2006). The "Haring en Bierfeest" (herring and beer festival) is held each year on the first Saturday of June. In 2003 the mayor decided to close this festivity, because there was a lot of fighting in the city. At the moment this event is called "Vlaardings Loggerfestival". The centre of the city is on the west side of the old harbour, which is a widened section of the canal (Vlaardingse vaart) which runs from Vlaardingen to the northwest. Some historical buildings in the centre are the Grote Kerk (big church), the old city hall, the Waag (Weighbridge), the Visbank (Fish auction) and the Oude Lijnbaan (literally the Old Line Road, where in the past ropes were made).The Grote Kerk was probably established between 1156 and 1164 and has been expanded, damaged and rebuilt over the centuries. To the north of the old harbour is the old windmill, which is still in operation and sells ground cereals. The harbour itself now seems to be occupied mainly by recreational and antique boats. Near the harbour is a fishing museum. A Unilever research centre is located in Vlaardingen. There are still some ship repair business(es) in east Vlaardingen beside the Nieuwe Maas River. In Vlaardingen there is also the biggest gay-community of South-Holland and the second largest in the Netherlands after Amsterdam.