Enschede

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Enschede
Location of Enschede
Country Netherlands
Province Overijssel
Area (2006)
 - Municipality 142.75 km²  (55.1 sq mi)
 - Land 141.09 km² (54.5 sq mi)
 - Water 1.67 km² (0.6 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2007)
 - Municipality 154,684
 - Density 1,096/km² (2,838.6/sq mi)
  Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Raadhuisstraat in Enschede, with the Grote Kerk in the background
Raadhuisstraat in Enschede, with the Grote Kerk in the background
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Image:Ltspkr.pngEnschede or Eanske in the local dialect (Twents) is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel, in the Twente region. The municipality of Enschede consisted of the city of Enschede until 1935, when the rural municipality of Lonneker, which completely enclosed the city was annexed after the rapid industrial expansion of Enschede, which had begun in the 1860's and involved the building of railways and the digging of the Twentekanaal.

Enschede's latitude and longitude are 52° 22' north, 6° 89' east

Contents

[edit] Population centres

[edit] History

The early history of Enschede is largely unknown, but a settlement existed around the Old marketplace in early medieval times. The name of this settlement is mentioned as Anescede or Enscede meaning either "near the border" (with Bentheim) or "near the Es) and sported a church, a marketplace and a fortified aristocratic house.

Enschede was granted city rights in 1325 by Jan van Diest, the Bishop of Utrecht and henceforth was allowed to protect itself with wall. Since a stone wall was too expensive (Stone had to be imported) Enschede had a system of ditches, palisades and hedges instead, which is still reflected in the street-names Noorder-hagen and Zuiderhagen (North Hedge and South Hedge, respectively). The city plan of this era is still recognisable in the street-pattern.

[edit] Fire

Since the medieval city was largely built of wood and stone houses were the exception, fire was a constant risk and a series of fires 1517, 1750 and again on May 7, 1862 earned the people from Enschede the nickname Brandstichters (arsonists).

[edit] Industrialisation

The last fire coincided with the start of the growth of the city into a large production center of textiles, originally as a cottage industry, but since the start of the 19th century on an industrial scale, especially the manufacture of bombazijn (a mixture of cotton and linen) proved an export hit.

The industrialisation stimulated a large increase in population, which at first was rather chaotic. The names of the slums (like De Krim and Sebastopol) are still notorious, although they have long since been torn down. In 1907 the laissez faire mentality was dropped and Enschede was the first city in the Netherlands to draw up an official expansion-plan, incorporating the (surrounding) municipality of Lonneker.

[edit] The end of the industrial age

In the 1970 the textile production in Enschede came to a halt and was transferred to the far east. This had a profound effect on the populace and Enschede became one of the poorest municipalities in the Netherlands and (de facto) went bankrupt. Large area's of industrial wasteland now marked the city, which fell prey to speculation by real estate developers.

With the support of the government, this property was acquired and rebuilt, the city center was rendered a car-free zone and the importance of Enschede as a Euregional Centre was stimulated and Enschede managed to rise from the ashes.

[edit] The Fireworks Disaster

On May 13, 2000, a fireworks storage in Enschede exploded, destroying an entire neighborhood and killing 23 people, including 4 firemen. This catastrophe is known in the Netherlands as the Vuurwerkramp, Dutch for fireworks disaster.

In 2001 a referendum confirmed the proposal of the city council to expand the built-up area into the Usseler Es, an area of some historic (agri-)cultural importance.

Large scale construction and renovation activities in the city center have been ongoing for several years.

[edit] Economy

Enschede fountain
Enschede fountain

The city is a former centre of textile production. When this industry left the area for cheaper production centers in South-East Asia, Enschede became one of the poorest municipalities in the Netherlands. The biggest challenge of the city is to prevent higher educated (wealthy) citizens from moving to the west (Randstad). Decades of renovation work in the city center have been carried out with the goal of making Enschede more attractive to this group. Modern shopping centers and department stores that until now were only found in much larger cities have been opened. Enschede is host to many yearly festivals and the Old Market Square is often the venue for events, live music and other activities on the weekend. After some hesitation on the part of the city council, Enschede was able to host Roze Zaterdag in the summer of 2004 which was a huge success. This not only gave the local economy a boost, but also drew positive attention to Enschede's gay community, the largest in the east of the Netherlands. In many aspects, Enschede is admittedly trying to present itself as the Amsterdam of the east.

The proximity to Germany has, historically, been another major factor in economic activity, ranging from the smuggling of coffee and tobacco in the 19th and 20th century, to large numbers of Germans, who visit the cities shops and (especially) the weekly markets. Natives of Enschede can therefore be expected to speak German more or less fluently.

The city is cooperating with the nearby municipalities of Almelo, Borne and Hengelo as Netwerkstad Twente. A governmental plan to merge with Hengelo was discarded by local opposition.

[edit] Education

The Universiteit Twente, a university with mostly technical studies, is located in Enschede. It is one of the three technical universities in the Netherlands (besides Delft University of Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology) and there are plans to merge them for cost saving reasons.

The university both has courses in pure technical studies such as Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, but also courses in Communication, Psychology, Economical Sciences, Business, Public Administration, Applied Medicine and Biomedical Technology which attracts a broader public. Since 2006, the programme of European Studies has been added to the university's programme.

Enschede is also home to one of the three campuses of Saxion University (Saxion Hogeschool Enschede), a polytechnical school offering internationally recognized Bachelors and Masters degrees in a wide range of fields including engineering, economics and health care. The other campuses are located in Deventer and Apeldoorn.

The International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (known by its abbreviation ITC) is famous for its MSc, Masters, Diploma and PhD courses in Geo-information Science for developing countries. Students from all over the world are attending ITC.

Enschede also has a conservatory and an academy of arts and design.

[edit] Transportation

Enschede is a terminal station of the NS railway network to the west.

To the east there is a line to Gronau, Germany, with two more stations of the latter in the Netherlands: "Enschede De Eschmarke" and "Glanerbrug". The line is served by:

There is no track connection between the two systems. The through line had been retained for eventual NATO use during the cold war even after through passenger service was ended (September 1981), although in great disrepair in later years. With the renewal of service to Germany (May 2001) the track was severed; there is about a 3 m gap between them [1].

See also de:Bild:Dortmund-Gronau-Enschede.gif and railway services in Nordrhein-Westfalen 407 and 412.

Enschede has a combined regional civil airport, Enschede Airport, and Airbase Twenthe of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The latter will be closed in 2007; whether the former can remain open is under consideration. Enschede is situated at the south-east terminus of the Twentekanaal.

[edit] Culture

There are several museums in Enschede, among them the Rijksmuseum Twenthe for art. A museum of natural history and a museum dedicated to the history of the textiles industry, both closed in January 2007, have merged, and will reopen in December 2007 on a new location under the name Twentse Welle ( Wave of Twente).

[edit] Sports

Enschede is well-known for its local association football club, FC Twente. The city also hosts the – since 1991 – annual Enschede Marathon. The Student Rowing Club D.R.V. Euros has produced several national champions and one Olympic Champion.

[edit] International cooperation

Palo Alto in California (USA) is a siter city of Enschede since 1980.

[edit] Notable people born in Enschede

See also People from Enschede
  • Willem Wilmink (1936-2003) – poet and writer
  • Jan Cremer (1940) – writer and traveller
  • Bert Doorn (1949) – politician
  • Noor Holsboer (1967) – field hockey defender
  • Sander Westerveld (1974) – football (soccer) goalkeeper
  • Nico Molenkamp (1920) – artist latterly of Tilburg
  • Joost Doevelaar (1980) – renowned intercultural scholar

[edit] References

    [edit] External links

    [edit] Literature

    • Alfred Hagemann/Elmar Hoff (Hg.): Insel der Träume. Musik in Gronau und Enschede (1895-2005), Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2006.


     
    Overijssel Province

    Almelo | Borne | Dalfsen | Deventer | Dinkelland | Enschede | Haaksbergen | Hardenberg | Hellendoorn | Hengelo | Hof van Twente | Kampen | Losser | Oldenzaal | Olst-Wijhe | Ommen | Raalte | Rijssen-Holten | Staphorst | Steenwijkerland | Tubbergen | Twenterand | Wierden | Zwartewaterland | Zwolle
    Netherlands | Provinces | Municipalities| map

    Coordinates: 52°13′N, 6°54′E

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