Gennep () is a

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

and a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in upper southeastern

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It lies in the very northern part of the province of

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

, 18 km south of

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

. Furthermore, it lies on the right bank of the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas 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 total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

river, and south of the forest of the

Klever Reichswald The Klever Reichswald is a state forest in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between the rivers Rhine and Meuse at the German–Dutch border. The forest is located in the municipal territories of Kleve, Goch, Kranenburg and Bedburg-Hau. It is the ...

. The municipality of Gennep has 17,277 inhabitants (2014). The

Niers The Niers (, ) is a river in Germany and the Netherlands, a right tributary of the river Meuse (German and ). Its wellspring is near Erkelenz, south of Mönchengladbach, in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). Course and length The Niers flows thr ...

river flows into the Meuse in Gennep.

Population centres

The city of Gennep

Gennep was the title of a comital family, known descendants of which are the famous Saint Norbert of Gennep and William of Gennep,

Archbishop-Elector of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

. Gennep probably 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 tradition ...

in 1371. However, it remains unclear whether these city rights have really been assigned to Gennep, as the supposed documents burned during a fire in the townhall of Gennep at the end of the 16th century. Gennep lies about southeast of

. In 2001, Gennep had 8306 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was , and contained 3124 residences.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001'' . Statistics are for the continuous built-up area.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Gennep is twinned with:

Notable people

* Norbert of Xanten, Catholic priest and ascetic, was born in Gennep * Marcel van Grunsven (1896 in Gennep - 1969) Mayor of Heerlen from 1926 to 1961 * Theo Blankenaauw (1923 in Gennep – 2011) a Dutch track cyclist, competed at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

Gallery

File:Gennep, de Sint Martinuskerk foto3 2016-03-26 15.40.jpg, Gennep, church: de Sint Martinuskerk File:Stadhuisgennep.jpg, Gennep, former town hall

References

External links

* * Populated places in Limburg (Netherlands) Municipalities of Limburg (Netherlands) {{LimburgNL-geo-stub