Rotterdam is originally a medieval city. But hardly anyone has this association with this most modern skylined city in the Netherlands. Rotterdam does not care much for its distant past, unless it fits into the success story of the world port city. Rotterdam transitopolis, the city that figured in the rankings of world port cities even before 1914. Those global maritime connections fueled non-Dutch aspirations to become the most progressive city in the Netherlands. The terrorist bombing of May 1940 unintentionally created light, air and space for this ambition. The postwar prosperity city was praised nationally and internationally for its drive, resilience and vitality. Thanks to its petroleum industry, Rotterdam became the world's largest port in 1962, a status it has not held since 2004. But that hasn't made Rotterdammers want to think less big, because it is the superlative that drives them. Be it the tallest buildings or the vastness of Maasvlakte 2, conquered from the sea. Today's cosmopolitan Rotterdam is not measured in numbers of stacked shipping containers, but in the diversity of Rotterdammers. Even without the suction of the port, they choose this city as a permanent or temporary place to live. Together, these Rotterdammers are helping to write a new script for the future world port city.