| Venlo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |||
| Venlo city centre | |||
|
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | Limburg | ||
| Area(2006) | |||
| • Total | 86.41 km2 (33.4 sq mi) | ||
| • Land | 84.66 km2 (32.7 sq mi) | ||
| • Water | 1.74 km2 (0.7 sq mi) | ||
| Population (1 January 2010) | |||
| • Total | 100,271 | ||
| • Density | 1,186/km2 (3,071.7/sq mi) | ||
| Source: CBS, Statline. | |||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Venlo ([ˈvɛn.lo] ( listen)) is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.
In 2001, the (now former) municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago, whereas Venlo has a past in the Duchy of Guelders. On 1 January 2010, the (now former) municipality of Arcen en Velden, was merged into the municipality of Venlo.
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Roman and Celtic coins and remains of a Roman bridge across the river Meuse have been found in Venlo; it may have been the settlement known as Sablones on the Roman road connecting Maastricht with Xanten. Blerick, on the west bank, was known as Blariacum.
Documents from the 9th century mention Venlo as a trade post; it developed into one of the more important ones in the Meuse-Rhine area, receiving city rights in 1343, and becoming a member of the Hanseatic League in 1375.
Because of its strategic importance, the city of Venlo was besieged several times. The most significant siege was that of 1702, carried on by Menno van Coehoorn. Consequently, Venlo was incorporated into the Generaliteitslanden of the United Provinces and later became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
On November 9, 1939, two British Intelligence Service agents were kidnapped by the Sicherheitsdienst in what became known as the Venlo Incident. The incident was used by the Nazis to link Great Britain to Georg Elser's failed assassination of Hitler at the Burgerbraukeller two days before and to justify their later invasion of the Netherlands, a neutral country, on 10 May 1940.
Because Venlo had both a road and a rail bridge over the river Meuse ("Maas" in Dutch) the city was severely damaged during several bomb raids (13 October – 19 November 1944) on those bridges at the end of the war. The Allied forces made 13 attempts to destroy the bridges to cut the German supply lines and block a retreat of the German army across the river. These failed, and it was the retreating German troops who in the end blew up the bridges in an attempt to stop the allied advance. Allied forces liberated Venlo from the east, from inside Germany itself.
About 300 people were killed due to those raids. The raids also cost Venlo a major part of its historical buildings. However, some old buildings, such as the city hall (the 'Stadhuis') and the 'Römer' house, survived the war relatively unscathed.
Before the War, Venlo had an active Jewish community. After the war several members came back. but the community never returned to its pre-war size.
In 2003 Venlo was awarded the title "Greenest city of Europe". In 2012 it will host the Floriade.
The Venlo railway station is a junction station. It provides regular connections to the Dutch cities of Eindhoven, Roermond, and Nijmegen. Furthermore, it provides regular international connections to Germany, via Kaldenkirchen (the first stop in Germany) and Viersen to Mönchengladbach.
VVV-Venlo is a century-old football club that plays in De Koel Stadium. In the season 2008–2009, VVV-Venlo won the Eerste Divisie (Eerste Divisie) and was promoted to the highest Dutch professional football league: the Eredivisie.
The headquarters of multinational Océ is located in Venlo.
By the late 1990s, drug-related nuisance had become a problem in the centre of Venlo.[1] National and municipal officials launched the Q-4 Project and Tango initiatives that, amongst other measures, included moving the town's largest coffee shops to the outskirts, where they continue to do business in a former rest stop. This was a win-win solution, as the town was freed from disturbances and the coffee shops are now even closer to the expressways. Since Germany prohibits the sale of hashish and marihuana, German citizens cross the nearby border to purchase these substances. Venlo is connected to Germany by two motorways (i.e., Bundesautobahn 40 and Bundesautobahn 61), which connect to Düsseldorf, Cologne, and the Ruhr area within one hour.