Almelo () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

and a city in the eastern

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 ...

. The main population centres in the town are

Aadorp Aadorp is a village on the northern side of Almelo, Netherlands with a population of about 1500; it has been part of the Almelo municipality since 2001. The villagers of Aadorp are very close, since there are so few of them. The central meeting po ...

, Almelo,

Mariaparochie Mariaparochie a'riaːpaˌrɔxiis a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. The greater part of it belongs to the municipality of Tubbergen while a small part, with the local church, belongs to Almelo Almelo () is a Municipalities of the Ne ...

, and

Bornerbroek Bornerbroek () is a church village in the municipality of Almelo in Twente, the Dutch province of Overijssel. Up to the municipal reorganisation of 1 January 2001, the village was part of the municipality of Borne. History The village was first ...

. Almelo has about 72,000 inhabitants in the middle of the rolling countryside of

Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...

, with the industrial centres of

Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...

and

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the international Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service. ...

as close neighbours but also with tourist towns like

Ootmarsum Ootmarsum is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is a part of the municipality of Dinkelland, and lies about 10 km north of Oldenzaal. In 2001, the city of Ootmarsum had 4227 inhabitants. The built-up area of the city was 1.5 ...

, Delden and Markelo only a bicycle ride away. Almelo received

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 1394. Within the city limits lies the castle of the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

s of Almelo. Located in the city centre is Huize Almelo, a castle that in its current form dates back to 1662 (This castle is not open to the public). There are

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s which decorate the walls of the tunnel close to the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

. The city is also known for its local

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to ...

, which 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 ...

, the highest football league in the Netherlands. The club uses the Erve Asito.

History

At the end of the 19th century

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...

emerged as a major employer and drew many workers to Almelo, at first from within the Netherlands. Since the 1960s workers from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

came to Almelo. The first

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

of the Netherlands was built in Almelo in 1976 for the Turkish population of the city. Almelo also has a sizeable number of Armenians who built their own

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

in 2003. In the 1970s the industry dwindled and most factories were relocated to countries with cheaper labour. Some factories remain in the city centre and are now in use for apartments or offices.

Topography

Topographic map of Almelo, Sept. 2014

Economy

Currently, a major employer in Almelo is Urenco Nederland. This is a uranium enrichment plant which uses the gas centrifuge method and produces

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

with about five percent U-235, for

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

s. An industrial bakery, Bolletje,

Malvern Panalytical Malvern Panalytical is a Spectris plc company. The company is a manufacturer and supplier of laboratory analytical instruments. It has been influential in the development of the Malvern Correlator, and it remains notable for its work in the adv ...

, the Stichting Ziekenhuisgroep Twente (a hospital) and the regional court are also major employers.

Transport

Almelo has 2 railway stations: * Almelo railway station * Almelo de Riet railway station The main station is Almelo and offers links to

, Amersfoort,

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the provinc ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

, Gouda,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

and

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is on ...

. There is also a train every 2 hours into

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

serving cities such as Osnabrück,

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

Sport

Football

, a professional football club playing in the

is based in Almelo.

Cycling

Since 1983 Almelo has organised the Profronde van Almelo, an elite men's and women's professional

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

event.

Notable people

Catharina Julia Roeters van Lennep Catharina Julia Roeters van Lennep (1813–1883) was a Dutch artist. Life She was born in 1813 in Almelo, the daughter of the merchant, also consul in Königsberg, Jacob Roeters van Lennep and Johanna Hermina Coster. She was educated at the Ro ...

(1813–1883) a Dutch artist *

Bertha Tideman-Wijers Albertha Wilhelmina Tideman-Wijers (8 January 1887 – 1 January 1976) was a Dutch composer who lived in Indonesia for almost two decades and incorporated Indonesian elements into her compositions. She published her music under the name Bertha Tide ...

(1887-1976) composer *

Izaak Kolthoff Izaak Maurits (Piet) Kolthoff (February 11, 1894 – March 4, 1993) was an analytical chemist and chemistry educator. He is widely considered the father of analytical chemistry for his large volume of published research in diverse fields of anal ...

(1894–1993) an analytical chemist and chemistry educator * Judith Ledeboer OBE (1901–1990) architect * Evert Willem Beth (1908-1964) philosopher and logician * Gerritdina Benders-Letteboer (1909–1980) an active member of the Dutch Resistance * Wubbo Ockels (1946-2014) a physicist and astronaut of the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...

Herman Finkers Hermenegildus Felix Victor Maria "Herman" Finkers (; born December 9, 1954) is a Dutch comedian, who is well known in the Netherlands for his friendly, dry-witted humour and his ambiguous style of storytelling. In his way of telling a story the ...

(born 1954) comedian, known for his friendly, dry-witted humour *

Tom Egbers Tom Egbers (18 October 1957 in Almelo) is a Dutch journalist of Irish descent, writer and TV presenter (Studio Sport)Tom Egbers
on ...

(born 1957) a Dutch English journalist, writer and TV presenter * Liesbeth van Tongeren (born 1958) a Dutch politician, Director of Greenpeace Netherlands 2003–2010, grew up in Almelo *

Hero Brinkman Hero Brinkman (born 29 December 1964, in Almelo) is a police officer and former Dutch politician. He was a member of parliament from 30 November 2006 to 19 September 2012, after being elected as the number four on the electoral list for the Part ...

(born 1964) a police officer and former Dutch politician * Jos de Blok, Dutch Wiki (born 1960) founder and CEO of Buurtzorg *

Michiel Veenstra Arjan Michiel Sander Veenstra (Almelo, 6 March 1976) is a Dutch radio DJ on KINK. He presents the program Michiel every Monday to Friday, between 9.00 and 12.00 Career He started with his own show at ''Regio FM'', the local radio station o ...

(born 1976) Radio-dj on KINK * Ilse de Lange (born 1977) a Dutch country and pop rock singer-songwriter *

Loes Haverkort Loes Haverkort (born 1981) is a Dutch actress. She has performed in movies, television shows and theaters. Career Haverkort did her acting course at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has performed in the musical Soldier of Orange a ...

(born 1981) a Dutch movie, TV and theater actress *

Azra Akın Azra Akın (born 8 December 1981) is a Turkish-Dutch actress, dancer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World 2002 in London on December 7, 2002. Biography Akın was born in Almelo, Netherlands, to Turkish parents. Her father (Nazı ...

(born 1981) Miss Turkey World 2002 and

Miss World 2002 Miss World 2002, the 52nd edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 7 December 2002 at the Alexandra Palace in London, United Kingdom. It was initially intended to be staged in Abuja, but due to religious riots in the nearby city of Kad ...

IMDb Database
retrieved 25 October 2019 * Bram Schreuder (born 1996) a Dutch master of arts in recreational weekend activities and allround professional in boisterous buffoonery, currently residing in Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Sports

* Kea Bouman (1903 – 1998) female tennis player; only Dutch female tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament * Lex Mullink (born 1944) a retired rower, bronze medallist at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

* Hendrie Krüzen (born 1964) football midfielder, over 500 club caps *

Brian van Loo Brian van Loo (, born 2 April 1975) is a Dutch former professional footballer. He has played for FC Groningen and Heracles Almelo. In September 2013, Van Loo retired from professional football. He has since worked as the goalkeepers coach at his ...

(born 1975) retired soccer goalkeeper, 261 club caps * Marnix Smit (born 1975) retired soccer player, 231 club caps with

Arnold Bruggink Arnold Bruggink (born 24 July 1977) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Club career Born in Almelo, Overijssel, Bruggink started his professional career at FC Twente, where he became the club's leadin ...

(born 1977) retired soccer player, 447 club caps * Mark Looms (born 1981) soccer player, 329 club caps *

Kirsten Wild Kirsten Carlijn Wild (born 15 October 1982) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2021, for eight professional teams. During her track cycling career, Wild rode at the Summer Olympic Games in 2012 ...

(born 1982) track and road race cyclist; multiple National Champion * Marc Höcher (born 1984) a Dutch football player with over 350 club caps * Dennis Kuipers (born 1985) a Dutch rally driver * Anouk Dekker (born 1986) a Dutch footballer with over 250 club caps * Fabian Roosenbrand (born 1988) a Dutch professional darts player * Maret Balkestein-Grothues (born 1988) a Dutch volleyball player * Maud Roetgering (born 1992) a football defender 184 caps with FC Twente Vrouwen

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Almelo is twinned with:

Gallery

File:Sint Georgiuskerk Almelo.JPG, The Catholic St. Georgius church in Almelo File:Almelo - Sculptuur op de hoek van de Oranjestraat en de Molenstraat - 1.jpg, Almelo - Sculptuur op de hoek van de Oranjestraat en de Molenstraat File:Huize Almelo.jpg, Huize Almelo File:Almelo, spoorviadukt bij de Wierdensestraat foto2 2012-09-10 13.01.jpg, Almelo, spoorviadukt bij de Wierdensestraat File:Afbeelding 403Aadorp22-12-2007.jpg, Afbeelding File:Almelo, sculptuur van een vogel bij het Marktplein IMG 5768 2020-05-31 13.14.jpg, Bird sculpture by artist Anne Wenzel at the Marktplein File:Almelo, restaurant in voormalige fabriek IMG 5759 2020-05-31 13.00.jpg, Restaurant in former factory File:Almelo, het Twentekanaal (zijkanaal naar Almelo) vanaf de Wierdensebrug IMG 5748 2020-05-31 12.37.jpg, Twentekanaal (branch to Almelo)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of Overijssel Populated places in Overijssel Twente