Romeins Masker Ruitermasker Gezichtshelm Romeinse Andreas Hetfeld 2020 Nijmegen

Nijmegen Stadscentrum Kronenburger park zomer

Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

and tenth largest of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as a whole, located on the

Waal river The Waal (Dutch name, ) is the main distributary branch of the river Rhine flowing approximately through the Netherlands. It is the major waterway connecting the port of Rotterdam to Germany. Before it reaches Rotterdam, it joins with the Afg ...

close to the German border. It is about 60 km south east of Utrecht and 50 km north east of

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Hanseatic city. Since 1923 it has been a university city with the opening of a Catholic institution now known as the Radboud University Nijmegen. The city is well known for the International Four Days Marches Nijmegen event. Its population in 2022 was 179,000; the municipality is part of the

Arnhem–Nijmegen metropolitan area The Arnhem–Nijmegen metropolitan area ( nl, Stadsregio Arnhem Nijmegen, ; originally called ''Knooppunt Arnhem-Nijmegen'' ) is a former Dutch plusregio, public body and intermunicipal institution, founded in 1988, for the co-operation in the a ...

, with 736,107 inhabitants in 2011.

Population centres

The municipality is formed by the city of Nijmegen, incorporating the former villages of

Hatert Hatert is a suburb in the south of Nijmegen, in the Netherlandscheesland. As of 2021 it has a population of 10.115. It is situated between the centre of Nijmegen and the suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a m ...

, Hees and Neerbosch, as well as the urban expansion project of Waalsprong, situated north of the river Waal and including the village of

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...

and the hamlet of 't Zand, as well as the new suburbs of Nijmegen-Oosterhout and Nijmegen–Ressen.

Proximity of border with Germany

The city lies a few kilometers from the border with Germany, and to some extent the westernmost villages in the municipality of Kranenburg, Germany, function as dormitories for people who work in the Dutch city of Nijmegen in part due to the immigration of Dutch people from the region who were attracted by the lower house pricing just across the border. The German city of

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in ...

(in the Ruhr region) is about away, while the German town of

Kleve Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...

(in the

Lower Rhine region The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein is a region around the Lower Rhine section of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany between approximately Oberhausen and Krefeld in the East and the Dutch border around Kleve in the We ...

) is about away.

History

Antiquity

The first mention of Nijmegen in history is in the first century BCE, when the Romans built a military camp on the place where Nijmegen was to appear; the location had great strategic value because of the surrounding hills, which give a good view over the river Waal and

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

valley. By 69, when the Batavi, the original inhabitants of the

and

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...

(''Maas'') delta,

revolted In political science, a revolution ( Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically d ...

, a village called ''Oppidum Batavorum'' had formed near the Roman camp. This village was destroyed in the revolt, but when it had ended the Romans built another, bigger camp where the Legio X ''Gemina'' was stationed. Soon after, another village formed around this camp. In 98, Nijmegen was the first of two settlements in what is now the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

to receive Roman city rights. In 103, the X ''Gemina'' was restationed in Vindobona, now

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, which may have been a major blow to the economy of the village around the camp, losing around 5000 inhabitants. In 104 Emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

renamed the town, which became known as ''Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum'', Noviomagus for short, the ultimate origin of the current name. A collection of artifacts from Roman antiquity were compiled by

Johannes Smetius Johannes Smith of Kettenis (10 October 1590 - 30 May 1651), known as Johannes Smetius, was a Dutch minister, collector and archaeologist, particularly known for his collection of Roman antiquities and his studies of the Roman past in the city of ...

in the 17th century, called the Smetius Collection. In January 2022, archaeologists led by Pepijn van de Geer announced the discovery of an intact 2,000-year-old blue glass bowl with a vertical stripe pattern in Nijmegen. Researchers assume that this well-preserved bowl was made in a glass workshop. According to van de Geer, this type of bowl was made by allowing molten glass to cool and harden over a mold.

Middle Ages

Beginning in the latter half of the 4th century, Roman power decreased and Noviomagus eventually became part of

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks du ...

. It also appeared around this time on the Tabula Peutingeriana. In the 8th century Emperor

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

maintained his ''palatium'' in Nijmegen in 777, and possibly on at least three more occasions. During his brief deposition of 830, the emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqu ...

was sent to Nijmegen by his son, Lothair I. Thanks to the Waal, trade flourished. The powerful

Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany ( King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of ...

, was born at Nijmegen in 1165. In 1230 his son Frederick II granted Nijmegen

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

. In 1247, the city was ceded to the count of Guelders as collateral for a loan. The loan was never repaid, and Nijmegen has been a part of Gelderland ever since. This did not hamper trade; Nijmegen even became part of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

in 1364. The arts also flourished in this period. Famous medieval painters like the Limbourg brothers were born and educated in Nijmegen. Some of Hieronymus Bosch's ancestors also came from the city.

Early modern period

During the Dutch Revolt, trade came to a halt and even though Nijmegen became a part of the Republic of United Provinces after its capture from the Spanish in 1591, it remained a border town and had to endure multiple sieges. View on the waal janvangoyen

In 1678 Nijmegen was host to the negotiations between the European powers that aimed to put an end to the constant warfare that had ravaged the continent for years. The result was the

Treaty of Nijmegen The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen ('; german: Friede von Nimwegen) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Repub ...

that, unfortunately, failed to provide for a lasting peace. In the second half of the 19th century, the fortifications around the city became a major problem. There were too many inhabitants inside the walls, but the fortifications could not be demolished because Nijmegen was deemed as being of vital importance to the defence of the Netherlands. When events in the Franco-Prussian war proved that old-fashioned fortifications were no longer of use, this policy was changed and the fortifications were dismantled in 1874. The old castle had already been demolished in 1797, so that its bricks could be sold.

World War II and Modernity

Through the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, Nijmegen grew steadily. The Waal was bridged in 1878 by a rail bridge and in 1936 by a car bridge, which was claimed to be Europe's biggest bridge at the time. In 1923 the current Radboud University Nijmegen was founded and in 1927 a channel was dug between the Waal and

(''Maas'') rivers. In 1940, the Netherlands was invaded by Germany, with Nijmegen being the first Dutch city to fall into German hands. On 22 February 1944, Nijmegen was heavily bombed by American planes, causing great damage to the city centre. It was subsequently claimed by the Allies that the American pilots thought they were bombing the German city of

, while the Germans alleged that it was a planned operation authorised by the Dutch government in exile. The Dutch organization for investigating wartime atrocities, the NIOD, announced in January 2005 that its study of the incident confirmed that it was an accident caused by poor communications and chaos in the airspace. Over 750 people died in the bombardment. During September 1944, the city saw heavy fighting during Operation Market Garden. The objective of the

Battle of Nijmegen The Battle of Nijmegen, also known as the Liberation of Nijmegen, occurred from 17 to 20 September 1944, as part of Operation Market Garden during World War II. The Allies' primary goal was to capture the two bridges over the Waal River at Ni ...

was mainly to prevent the Germans from destroying the bridges. Capturing the road bridge allowed the British Army XXX Corps to attempt to reach the

1st British Airborne Division The 1st Airborne Division was an Airborne forces, airborne infantry Division (military), division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was formed in late 1941 during the World War II, Second World War, after the Prime M ...

in Arnhem. The bridge was heavily defended by over 300 German troops on both the north and south sides with close to 20

anti-tank guns Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first dev ...

and two anti-aircraft guns, supported with artillery. The Germans' late attempt to blow the road bridge was possibly foiled by a local Dutch resistance hero,

Jan van Hoof Jan Jozef Lambert van Hoof (7 August 1922 – 19 September 1944) was a member of the Dutch resistance in World War II, who cooperated with Allied Forces during Operation Market Garden. He is credited with disabling explosives placed by the Ger ...

, who is said to have cut the wires to the bridge. The Germans made repeated attacks on the bridge using bombs attached to driftwood, midget submarines and later resorted to shelling the bridge with

88mm The 8.8 cm Flak 18/36/37/41 is a German 88mm anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery gun, developed in the 1930s. It was widely used by Germany throughout World War II and is one of the most recognized German weapons of the conflict. Deve ...

barrages. Troops were positioned on the bridge giving an excellent arc of fire in case of attack. Troops that couldn't fit onto the bridge were positioned in a bombed-out house slightly upstream of the bridge. During the shelling, the house was hit, killing six soldiers and wounding one. Nijmegen was liberated from German occupation by the British

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

of the Guards Armoured Division, as well as elements of the American

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...

in September 1944. The city would later be used as a springboard for Operation Veritable, the invasion across the Rhine River by Allied Troops.

Post-war period

In the period immediately following the end of the war, a site near Nijmegen was selected to house German nationals who were to be deported from the Netherlands, called the Mariënbosch concentration camp. It operated from 1946 to 1948. On 23 February 1981, the Nijmegen police department and the Dutch Army stormed the Piersonstraat and Zeigelhof, a squatted housing block in the city centre of Nijmegen. Using 200 riot vans, three

Leopard 1 The Leopard 1 (also styled Leopard I, before the Leopard 2 simply known as Leopard) is a main battle tank designed and produced by Porsche in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were though ...

s, three armoured personnel carriers, a helicopter, 1,200 policemen, and 750 members of the armed forces, they evicted the squatters and demolished the block, while clouding the entire area in teargas and CS gas. This received enormous backlash in local politics. While the city government wanted the squatters out to build a parking garage, most of the population wanted affordable housing to be built in the area. The

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural coun ...

was largely dominated by left-wing and progressive parties such as

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

, Democrats 66,

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of ...

, and Labour. At times Nijmegen has been the only major city in the Netherlands with a solely left-wing government. The current mayor is Hubert Bruls. Nijmegen celebrated its 2000th year of existence in 2005. It is considered the oldest city in the Netherlands. In gaining this qualification, it has competed with the city of

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

. In November 2005, the city centre of Nijmegen was the site of the assassination of political activist Louis Sévèke by a former activist, Marcel Teunissen, who was arrested in 2007 in Spain and extradited to the Netherlands. Teunissen has also been accused of bank robbery. He committed his acts out of revenge for a forcible eviction from the squatter scene by Louis Sévèke.

Geography

Climate

Nijmegen has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cfb''). It is one of the warmest cities of the Netherlands, especially during summer, when the highest temperatures in the country are usually measured in the triangle Roermond–Nijmegen–Eindhoven. The lack of north–south oriented mountain ranges in Europe make this area prone to sudden shifts in weather, giving the region a semi-continental climate. Some of the northernmost wineries in the world are found just outside Nijmegen, around Groesbeek, a suburban village south-east of Nijmegen. During the 2006 European heat wave, closest official weather station Volkel reached a high of on 19 July. The heat wave coincided with that year's Four Day Marches, which were cancelled after the first day, when two people died of

hyperthermia Hyperthermia, also known simply as overheating, is a condition in which an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal due to failed thermoregulation. The person's body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. When extrem ...

-related causes. Temperatures on that day, 18 July, reached around in the city.

Sights

Historical remains

Few Roman remains are visible today; a fragment of the old city wall can be seen near the

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

and the foundations of the

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

are traced in the paving of the present-day Rembrandtstraat. The Valkhof Museum, on the Valkhof, has a permanent display of the history of Nijmegen, including artifacts from the Roman era. Additionally, they usually have temporary exhibitions of more and less famous artists. During building works in the Waapsrong area, ruins from the Roman times were found which were identified in 2022 as those of a Roman sauna. This 3,600 year-old sauna is the first of its kind in mainland Europe. Not many very old buildings are left in town: first the Americans carpet-bombed it in February 1944, later the Germans shelled it for about five months after the liberation in September 1944, and finally there were a number of vigorous city planners in the 1950s, 60s and 70s who finished the demolition. There are still a few noteworthy sights, however. Valkhof hill downtown features a Carolingian chapel (eighth, ninth century AD) and a small remainder of an imperial castle that was demolished in 1798. The 750-year old Stevenskerk had to be reconstructed after WWII.

Politics

The city council has 39 seats. After the 2002 municipal elections, the three major parties, GroenLinks (9 seats), PvdA (8 seats) and SP (6 seats) formed a coalition. Because these are all left-wing parties, Nijmegen received the nickname '

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

on the Waal'. Although such majorities are not exceptional (compare

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

) and sometimes also form coalitions (see

Muntendam Muntendam is a village in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, in the Dutch province of Groningen. Until 1990 it was a separate municipality, which boasted the title 'reddest (most socialist) municipality in the Netherlands', with a council of ...

), this is unusual for a city this size. Since such a left-wing coalition might be possible at a national level after the 2006 general election, the achievements of this council are often scrutinised. After the 2006 municipal election such a coalition became possible in many more municipalities, making the example even more interesting. The municipal elections of 7 March 2006 saw an increase of 4,6% of the votes for these three parties taken together, which could be seen as increased support for the coalition. However, nationally these parties scored much better, recovering from an electoral blow of the 2002 elections. Then again, the

Leefbaar Livable Netherlands ( nl, Leefbaar Nederland, LN) was a Dutch political party. Pim Fortuyn began his political career in the party. History Historically there have always been parties in States Provincial (provincial legislatures) and munici ...

parties that caused the loss then and lost most of their votes this time have no branch in Nijmegen, which makes this comparison less valid. Among the three big parties, there was a shift from GroenLinks, who lost 6.5%, to PvdA, who won 6.4% and SP, who won 2.3%. As a result, it is no longer the biggest party. The seat assignment is now as shown in the table. The three-party coalition was returned to office. After the 2010 Dutch municipal election, the PvdA lost three of its eleven seats. Short before the elections, there were problems with the SP. Therefore, GroenLinks and the PvdA formed a coalition with the social-liberal D66. The municipal elections of 19 March 2014 saw the Socialist Party narrowly becoming the largest party in the Nijmegen city council after gaining three more seats. The Greens were only some 200 votes behind, while the Liberal Democrats (D'66) gained another seat, while Labour lost half their support, becoming as small as the liberal-conservative VVD. The coalition government was formed between the three centre-left and leftist parties SP, GroenLinks and PvdA, and a local party called The Nijmegen Group (De Nijmeegse Fractie). It also had informal support from the United Senior Party (VSP). Later in 2014, a city council member of the VVD, Paul Eigenhuijsen, left the VVD group. The former leader of the group, Hayke Veldman, had gone to the House of Representatives, and thus left the city council. Eigenhuijsen had been second on the party list, but he was not elected to the position of leader. Thereafter, he left the group and started his own one-man group, called Liberal Nijmegen.

Twin and sister cities

Nijmegen is twinned with: *

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approxi ...

, Turkey *

Higashimatsuyama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 90,456 in 41,124 households and a population density of 1400 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Higashimatsuyama is located in th ...

, Japan * Masaya, Nicaragua *

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after ...

, Finland *

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...

, Russia *

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trad ...

, China

Culture

Events

Aankomst deelnemers van de Vierdaagse Nijmegen 2019 op de Sint Anna straat St Annastraat Via Gladiola

Four Days Marches

Nijmegen has long been known for its annual Four Days Marches, beginning on the third Tuesday of each July. Over 40,000 participants from about 70 countries undertake four days of walking with distances ranging from . The marches are supplemented with festivities such as '' de-Affaire''.

People

Natives

(1165–1197) * Limbourg brothers (1385–1416) medieval painters *

Giovanni Antoniano Giovanni Antoniano (died 1588) was a Dutch Patristic scholar, and writer and an opponent of Protestantism. Works Antoniano published (Cologne, 1537), the work of Gregory of Nyssa on the creation of man and the ''Hexameron'' of Basil of Caesarea, ...

(died 1588), Patristic scholar * Petrus Canisius (1521–1597), Catholic

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

* Henriette Pressburg (1788–1863), mother of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

* Sophie Pressburg (1797–1854), grandmother of Anton and Gerard Philips who founded Philips Electronics * Pieter Claude Bijleveld (1828–1898), mayor * Carli Biessels (1936–2016), writer * Roosje Glaser (1914–2000), dancer and Holocaust survivor * Daphne Deckers (born 1968), model, host, writer and occasional actress *

Princess Margarita of Bourbon-Parma Princess Margarita Maria Beatrix of Bourbon-Parma, Countess of Colorno ( nl, Margarita Maria Beatrix Prinses de Bourbon de Parme; born 13 October 1972),

(born 1972), member of the Dutch Royal Family * Prince Hugo de Bourbon de Parme (born 1997), member of the Dutch Royal Family *

Saadia Himi Saadia Himi (born February 8, 1984 in Nijmegen) is a model and a beauty queen from the Netherlands. Himi won the Miss Netherlands Earth 2004 beauty pageant and went on to represent the Netherlands in the Miss Earth 2004 pageant held in Quezon City, ...

(born 1984), Miss Netherlands Earth 2004 *

Amira Willighagen Amira Willighagen (born 27 March 2004) is a Dutch soprano singer who won the sixth season of '' Holland's Got Talent'' in 2013, at the age of nine. Early life Amira Willighagen speaks both Dutch and Afrikaans because she was born to a Dutch f ...

(born 2004), classical singer * Jos Hermens (born 1950), athlete * Anne Quist (born 1957), Olympic rower * Ron de Groot (born 1960), footballer * Pie Geelen (born 1972), Olympic swimmer * Frank Demouge (born 1982), footballer * Nacer Barazite (born 1990), footballer *

Frank Boeijen Franciscus Johannes Maria (Frank) Boeijen (born 27 November 1957 in Nijmegen) is a Dutch singer and guitarist. His best known songs are ''Kronenburg Park (Ga die Wereld Uit)'' about a prostitute, ''Zwart Wit'' about the racial murder of Kerwin ...

(born 1957), musician *

Frans de Waard Frans is an Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish given name, sometimes as a short form of ''François''. One cognate of Frans in English is ''Francis (given name), Francis''. Given name * Frans van Aarssens (1572� ...

(born 1965), sound artist, publisher * Roxane van Iperen (born 1976), writer

Other residents

* Titus Brandsma – (1881–1942), a Carmelite friar, philosopher and Resistance member * Dries van Agt – (born 1931), politician * Nina Simone – (1933–2003), jazz musician *

Edward Ka-Spel Edward Sharp, better known by his stage name Edward Ka-Spel, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, born in London on 23 January 1954, to a family with East Anglia connections. He is best known for his work with the band The Legendary Pin ...

– (born 1954), vocalist of The Legendary Pink Dots *

Perry Ubeda Perry M. Johannes Ubeda (born 15 September 1971) is a Dutch former super middleweight kickboxer. Between 1992 and 2008 he won thirteen titles (national and international) in kickboxing, as well as titles in taekwondo and pro-boxing and he is al ...

– (born 1971), kickboxer * Karapet Karapetyan – (born 1982), kickboxer

Religion

In 1968, theologians in the Catholic Church issued what is now known as the Nijmegen Statement, demanding sweeping reforms in the Vatican's Holy Office, previously known as The Inquisition, and calling for greater scope for theological inquiry. Among its signatories was theologian Fr.

Joseph Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

, then a member of the faculty at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...

, but later the head of the successor to the Holy Office, the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsib ...

, and later still

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

. The Nijmegen Statement said: "Any form of Inquisition however subtle, not only harms the development of sound theology, it also causes irreparable damage to the credibility of the church". The signatories, a group of predominantly German-speaking theologians asserted that "the freedom of theologians, and theology in the service of the church, regained by Vatican II, must not be jeopardised again." The signatories pledged their loyalty to the Pope, but argued that the teaching office of pope and bishops "cannot and must not supersede, hamper and impede the teaching task of theologians as scholars."

Sport

Sport in the city is principally focused on its football club

NEC Nijmegen NEC Nijmegen (''Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie''), commonly known as NEC (), is a professional Dutch association football club based in Nijmegen. The club currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, following promotion f ...

or just NEC, short for Nijmegen Eendracht Combinatie, which plays at the 12,500 seat Stadion de Goffert. The club plays in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

. Bandy Vereniging Nijmegen is the biggest bandy club in the country. The national team got celebrated by over a hundred fans and Mayor Hubert Bruls after winning Division B of the 2018 Bandy World Championship. The city is also home to one of the country's oldest

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

clubs, Quick 1888, a current member of the KNCB. Formed in 1888, the club is the largest cricket club in the east of the country and was formed 13 years after the first club, Utile Dulci from

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, ...

. The cricket club has both men's and women's teams. The city also has the Nijmegen Devils, an

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

club. Nijmegen also plays host to the annual

Zevenheuvelenloop Zevenheuvelenloop (''Seven Hills Run'' in English) is an annual 15 kilometres road running race held in Nijmegen, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands;van Hemert, Wim & T ...

(''Seven Hills Run''), an annual run recognised by the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

as a Bronze Label race.

Economy and infrastructure

Economy

The three main employers in Nijmegen are: 1. Radboud University; 2. The three hospitals in the city:

Radboud University Medical Center The Radboud University Medical Center (Dutch: ''Radboudumc''), is the teaching hospital affiliated with the Radboud University Nijmegen, in the city of Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the larg ...

, Sint Maartenskliniek, and Canisius-Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis (CWZ); 3. The semiconductor industry.

Nexperia Nexperia is a semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.It is a subsidiary of the partially state-owned Chinese company Wingtech Technology. It has front-end factories in Hamburg, Germany and Greater Manchester, Engla ...

and

Ampleon Ampleon is a global semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a wh ...

(both spun off from NXP Semiconductors) are headquartered in the city. Multinational companies such as Qualcomm,

Photronics Inc Photronics, Inc is an American semiconductor photomask manufacturer. It was the third largest photomask supplier globally as of 2020. History Founded 1969 at Danbury, Connecticut as "Photronic Labs, Inc." The company has manufacturing facilities ...

, and Applied Materials also have facilities in Nijmegen. Other notable companies headquartered in Nijmegen include Synthon, a Dutch multinational pharmaceutical company and Vaxxinova, an EW group subsidiary which produces animal vaccines.

More room for the river Waal

To prevent flooding in the near future, the Dutch government is changing the course of more than 30 rivers throughout the country. These measures, taken along the rivers IJssel, Lek, Maas and Waal, are known as ‘Room for the River’. Room for the river Waal as it passes Nijmegen is one of these measures. As part of this, the artificial island Veur-Lent was created in 2015. The river Waal not only has a sharp bend near Nijmegen, it also forms a bottleneck. In 1993 and 1995 this led to high water and floods. To prevent this from happening again and to protect inhabitants of the city and its surroundings against the water, work has been done to relocate the Waal dike in Lent and to excavate a large ancillary channel in the flood plains, creating an island in the Waal. The large-scale project involves the construction of three bridges, new dikes and concrete water barriers. On the island, a project of alleged

sustainable urbanism Sustainable urbanism is both the study of cities and the practices to build them (urbanism), that focuses on promoting their long term viability by reducing consumption, waste and harmful impacts on people and place while enhancing the overall wel ...

is giving birth to an urban river park with possibilities for recreation, culture, water and nature.

Transport

Nijmegen has five railway stations: Nijmegen, Nijmegen Dukenburg, Nijmegen Heyendaal, Nijmegen Lent and Nijmegen Goffert. The central station is connected to the national Intercity network. The bus company Breng (a subsidiary of Hermes) operates the city buses in the Arnhem-Nijmegen metropolitan area. Like most Dutch cities, bicycles are an important mode of transport. The city is connected to Arnhem, to the north, by a "fietssnelweg" (fast cycle highway) which crosses the Snelbinder bridge in the city. During 2010–2012 the cycle highway received upgrades to further encourage the use of bicycles for transport between Nijmegen and Arnhem. In May 2016, the Dutch

Fietsersbond The Dutch ''Fietsersbond'' (Cyclists' Union) is an organisation which represents the interests of cyclists in the Netherlands by working towards the expansion and improvement of bicycle friendly infrastructure. The ''Fietsersbond'' does this by ...

(Cyclists' Union) awarded the 2016 Fietsstad (Cycling City) award to the city of Nijmegen. The river is a busy freight transport route, with barges to the city as well as passing through on the way between the industrial regions of Germany and the docks at Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Hook of Holland. The Maas–Waal Canal also carries freight through the city.

Education

Erasmusgebouw Erasmusplein 1 Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen gezien vanaf Heyendaalseweg

Nijmegen is host to Radboud University Nijmegen. Founded in 1923 as the first

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

university in the Netherlands, it used to be called ''Catholic University of Nijmegen'' until 2004, when it took its current name. , it had 22,142 students and 4,921 staff in fte. Radboud University runs the High Field Magnetic Laboratory which is able to achieve some of the highest fields available in Europe at 38 teslas (continuous). The facility is available to outside users, primarily for research purposes. The education and social work departments of the

HAN University of Applied Sciences The HAN University of Applied Sciences, mostly referred to as HAN, is one of the largest universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. It offers bachelor's and master's degree programs to over 36,000 students. HAN is a knowledge institute f ...

, school for higher-level vocational training are also located in Nijmegen, as are that school's medical departments. In addition to these institutions, there is also an intermediate-level vocational school and a number of secondary schools: Groenschool Nijmegen, Kandinsky College, Nijmeegse Scholengemeenschap Groenewoud (NSG), Citadel College, Stedelijke Scholengemeenschap Nijmegen (SSGN), Canisius College, St. Jorisschool, Mondial College, the Stedelijk Gymnasium (formally the "Latijnse school", founded in the 16th century), the Karel de Grote College, Montessori College and the Dominicus College. Of note is also Leefwerkschool Eigenwijs, which caters to students from all over the Netherlands who have been repeatedly expelled from "regular" high schools. Leefwerkschool Eigenwijs has its roots in the local activist movement of the early 1980s and is the only school of its kind recognised in the Netherlands. Nijmegen is also an important centre of Psycholinguistics, home to the

Max Planck Institute Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

of Psycholinguistics and the

F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging The Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (formerly F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging) is one of the four centers which together comprise the Donders Institute. It is located at the campus of the Radboud University Nijmegen and ma ...

. The Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010 was awarded to

Andre Geim , birth_date = , birth_place = Sochi, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union , death_date = , death_place = , workplaces = , nationality = Dutch and British , fields = Condensed matter physics , ...

and Konstantin Novoselov while at Radboud University "for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material

graphene Graphene () is an allotrope of carbon consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice nanostructure.

Notes

References

Literature *

Bibliography

External links

* * https://en.intonijmegen.com *https://www.nijmegenmijnstad.nl {{Authority control Nijmegen, Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of Gelderland Populated places in Gelderland Populated places established in the 1st century 0s establishments in the Roman Empire Free imperial cities Members of the Hanseatic League Roman legionary fortresses in Netherlands Roman fortifications in Germania Inferior