Arnhem ( ; ; Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is 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 ...

and

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' ...

situated in the eastern part of the

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 ...

, near the German border. It is the capital of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

, located on both banks of the rivers

Nederrijn 300px, Course of the Nederrijn The Nederrijn (; "Lower Rhine"; distinct from the Lower Rhine or further upstream) is the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine bend of Oude Rijn (Gelderland ...

and

Sint-Jansbeek The Sint-Jansbeek () is a stream in Arnhem, which streams down from the hills of Zijpendaal through the Sonsbeek park and the inner city of Arnhem to the river Rhine. The Sint-Jansbeek has always been an open stream, but the part in the inner c ...

, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem is home to the

Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen 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 degree, bachelor's and Master's degree, master's degree programs to over 35,000 stu ...

ArtEZ Institute of the Arts ArtEZ University of Arts () is an art academy in Netherlands. ArtEZ combines several art institutes and art disciplines with branches in Arnhem, Enschede, and Zwolle. In its name the A stands for Arnhem, the E for Enschede, and Z for Zwolle. Aca ...

Netherlands Open Air Museum The Netherlands Open Air Museum () is a national open-air museum located in Arnhem. It focuses on the culture associated with the everyday lives of ordinary people, and demonstrating the old way of life in the Netherlands. The park was establishe ...

Airborne Museum 'Hartenstein' The Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek, The Netherlands is dedicated to the Battle of Arnhem in which the Allied Forces attempted to form a bridgehead on the northern banks of the Rhine river in September 1944. Hartenstein served as ...

Royal Burgers' Zoo Royal Burgers' Zoo () is a zoo in Arnhem, Netherlands, and is one of the biggest zoos in the country. Arnhem is a city that lies partially in the Veluwe, a nature park in the east of the Netherlands. The zoo is popular with both Dutch and Ge ...

NOC*NSF The Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation, () generally abbreviated NOC*NSF, is the overall coordinating Dutch sports organisation that also functions as the Dutch National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee. NOC*NSF, ...

and

National Sports Centre Papendal Olympic Training Centre Papendal () is the national training centre of the Netherlands, located in the Veluwe woods from Arnhem. Papendal is the home base of NOC*NSF and football club SBV Vitesse SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voet ...

. The north corner of the municipality is part of the Hoge Veluwe National Park. It is approximately in area, consisting of heathlands, sand dunes, and woodlands.

History

Early history

The oldest archeological findings of human activity around Arnhem are two firestones of about 70,000 years ago. These come from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

, when the

Neanderthal Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...

s lived in this part of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In Schuytgraaf, remnants of a hunters camp from around 5000 BC have been discovered. In Schaarsbergen, twelve grave mounds were found from 2400 BC, which brought the so-called

Neolithic Revolution The Neolithic Revolution, also known as the First Agricultural Revolution, was the wide-scale transition of many human cultures during the Neolithic period in Afro-Eurasia from a lifestyle of hunter-gatherer, hunting and gathering to one of a ...

to the area of Arnhem, which meant the rise of the farmers. The earliest settlement in Arnhem dates from 1500 BC, of which traces have been found on the Hoogkamp, where the Van Goyenstraat is currently located. In the inner city, around the

, traces of settlement have been found from around 700 BC, while the first traces south of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

have been found dating to around 500 BC, in the ''Schuytgraaf''. Though the early tracks of settlements did show that the early residents of Arnhem descended from the forests on the hills, Arnhem was not built on the banks of the river Rhine, but a little higher along the Sint-Jansbeek. Arnhem arose on the location where the road between

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 ...

and

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in the 11th centur ...

split. Seven streams provided the city with water, and only when the flow of the Rhine was changed in 1530, was the city located on the river.

Middle Ages

Arnhem was first mentioned as such in 893 as ''Arneym'' or ''Arentheym''. In 1233, Count

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

from

, conferred

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 ...

on the town, which had belonged to the abbey of Prüm, settled in, and fortified it. Arnhem entered the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

in 1443. In 1473, it was captured by

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

of Burgundy.

16th and 17th century

In 1514, Charles of Egmond,

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, took it from the dukes of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

; in 1543, it fell to the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

. As capital of the so-called "Kwartier van Veluwe" it joined the

Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht () was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces ...

during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

in 1579. After its capture from the Spanish forces by Dutch and English troops in 1585 the city became part of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands. The French occupied the town from 1672 to 1674.

18th and 19th century

From 1795 to 1813, it was reoccupied by the French, by both revolutionary and imperial forces. In the early 19th century, the former fortifications were almost completely dismantled, to give space for town expansion. The ''Sabelspoort'' (Sabresgate) is the only remaining part of the medieval walls. In the 19th century, Arnhem was a genteel resort town famous for its picturesque beauty. It was known as "het Haagje van het oosten" (The Little Hague of the East), mainly because a number of rich former sugar barons or planters from the Indies settled there, as they did in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. Even now the city is famous for its parks and greenery. The urbanization in the north on hilly terrain is also quite unusual for the Netherlands.

20th century

World War II

During the German occupation (

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

), the occupiers operated a subcamp of the

Herzogenbusch concentration camp Herzogenbusch (; ) was a Nazi concentration camp located in Vught near the city of 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. The camp was opened in 1943 and held 31,000 prisoners. 749 prisoners died in the camp, and the others were transferred to othe ...

in the city. During Operation Market Garden (September 1944), the British 1st Airborne Division, under the command of Major-General

Roy Urquhart Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Robert Elliot "Roy" Urquhart, (28 November 1901 – 13 December 1988) was a British Army officer who saw service during the Second World War and Malayan Emergency. He became prominent for his role a ...

, and the

Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade The 1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute infantry brigade of the Polish Armed Forces in the West under the command of Major General Stanisław Sosabowski, created in September 1941 during the Second World War and based in ...

were given the task of securing the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

at Arnhem.

Glider infantry Glider infantry (also referred to as airlanding infantry esp. in British usage) was a type of airborne infantry in which soldiers and their equipment were inserted into enemy-controlled territory via military glider. Initially developed in the ...

and

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

units were landed into the area on 17 September and later. The bulk of the force was dropped rather far from the bridge and never met their objective. A small element of the British 1st Airborne, the 2nd Parachute Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel John D. Frost, managed to make its way as far as the bridge but was unable to secure both sides. The British troops encountered stiff resistance from the German 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions, which had been stationed in and around the city. John Frostbrug 2017

The British force at the bridge eventually ran out of ammunition and was captured on 21 September, and a full withdrawal of the remaining forces was made on 26 September. These events were dramatized in the 1977 movie '' A Bridge Too Far''. (The bridge scenes in the movie were shot in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...

, where a similar bridge over the

IJssel The IJssel (; ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediatel ...

was available, as the area around Arnhem bridge had changed too much to represent WWII-era Arnhem). As a tribute, the rebuilt bridge was renamed '

John Frost Bridge John Frost Bridge (''John Frostbrug'' in Dutch language, Dutch) is the road bridge over the Lower Rhine at Arnhem, in the Netherlands. The bridge was inaugurated after the end of World War II, and is named after Major-General (United Kingdom), Ma ...

' after the commander of the paratroopers. The official commemoration is 17 September. The current bridge is the third almost-identical bridge built at the same spot. The Dutch Army destroyed the first bridge when the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

invaded the Netherlands in 1940. The second bridge was destroyed by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

shortly after the 1944 battle. A second battle of Arnhem took place in April 1945 when the city was liberated by the British

49th (West Riding) Infantry Division The 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. The division fought in the World War I, First World War in the Trench warfare, trenches of the Western Front (World War I), Western Front ...

fighting as part of the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army () was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 until May 1945. It was Cana ...

. The inhabitants of the city, who had been forcibly evacuated by the Germans during and after the battle, returned in the summer of 1945. The reconstruction of Arnhem took until 1969 to finally be completed. Just outside Arnhem, in the town of Oosterbeek the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

built the Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery which contains the graves of most of those killed during the September landings, and many of those killed in later fighting in the area.

1945–1999

Arnhem hosted the

1980 Summer Paralympics The 1980 Summer Paralympics (), branded as the Olympics for the Disabled, were the sixth Summer Paralympic Games. They were held in Arnhem, Netherlands, from 21 to 30 June 1980. Background The Soviet Union, hosts of the 1980 Summer Olympics, wer ...

21st century

On 6 March 2025, a major city fire broke out in Arnhem. The fire destroyed a block of shops and upstairs apartments in the historic city center.

Geography

Neighbourhoods

The municipality of Arnhem consists of the city of Arnhem and the following surrounding suburbs and former villages: * Elden, Netherlands (former village, now totally surrounded by other Arnhem neighbourhoods) * Schaarsbergen Arnhem consists of three districts (''stadsdelen'') and 24 neighbourhoods (''wijken''). Each neighbourhood has a number which corresponds to its

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

. # Arnhem Centrum ''(Binnenstad)'' # Arnhem-North ''(Spijkerkwartier, Arnhemse Broek, Presikhaaf-West, Presikhaaf-East, St. Marten/Sonsbeek-Zuid, Klarendal, Velperweg, Alteveer en Cranevelt, Geitenkamp, Monnikenhuizen, Burgemeesterswijk/Hoogkamp, Heijenoord/Lombok, Klingelbeek)'' # Arnhem-South ''(Malburgen-West, Malburgen-East (North), Malburgen-East (South), De Laar East/West, Vredenburg/Kronenburg, Elderveld, Rijkerswoerd, Schuytgraaf)''

Neighbouring villages

The outlying areas of the following villages are bordering the municipality of Arnhem directly, which means among others that in many a case a considerable number of their inhabitants originate from Arnhem. * Velp *

Oosterbeek Oosterbeek is a village in the eastern part of Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Renkum in the province of Gelderland, about west of Arnhem. The oldest part of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp (Lower Village), on the northern bank ...

Driel Driel is a village in the municipality of Overbetuwe, approximately four kilometers southwest of Arnhem on the south bank of the Rhine, in the Netherlands. History On 21 September 1944, Driel was the drop zone of the Polish 1st Independent Pa ...

* Elst *

Huissen Huissen () is a city with city rights in the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. The town is located in the Betuwe region and belongs to the municipality of Lingewaard, in the area between the major cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen. Huissen ...

* Wolfheze *

Rozendaal Rozendaal () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. The town, next to Arnhem and Velp, Gelderland, Velp, is known for the Rozendaal Castle (''Kasteel Rosendael'') ...

Westervoort Westervoort () is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. The town has two rivers inside its borders, the Rhine and the IJssel. It is a commuter town closely linked to Arnhem, the capital of Gelderland, which is situated on the west b ...

Proximity of border with Germany

The city lies approximately 15 kilometers from the border with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and to some extent the westernmost villages in the municipality of Elten,

, function as dormitories for people who work in the Dutch city of Arnhem in part due to the immigration of Dutch people from the region that were attracted by the lower house pricing just across the border.

Climate

Arnhem features the same climate (Cfb, oceanic climate) as all of the Netherlands; however, its location on the foothills of the Veluwe, the largest forest in the Netherlands, contributes to some higher precipitation values.

Demographics

Inhabitants by nationality

Places of interest

The '' Grote Kerk'' (St. Eusebius' Church), built 1452–1560, lost most of its tower during World War II, of which a part has been reconstructed to a modern design and opened in 1964. Officially the tower is not part of the church and is owned by the municipality. The house of Maarten van Rossum, a general serving Duke Charles van Gelre, has been the town hall since 1830: The

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr (, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( ), and sileni (plural), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. ...

s in its

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

ornamentation earned it the name ''Duivelshuis'' (devil's house). The

is located outside the city. It includes antique houses, farms, factories, and

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

s from different parts of the Netherlands. Two other windmills stand in Arnhem itself, De Hoop and De Kroon. The

in Arnhem is one of the biggest and most-visited zoos in the Netherlands, featuring an underwater walkthrough, desert, mangrove, and rainforest. The GelreDome, the home of

Vitesse Arnhem SBV Vitesse Arnhem (''Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse Arnhem, Eng: Professional Football Foundation Vitesse Arnhem''), widely known as Vitesse () or internationally known as Vitesse Arnhem, is a Dutch professional association football, footba ...

, the city's

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

team in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, is a unique facility that features a retractable roof and a slide-out grass pitch. The concept has been fully duplicated since then by the

Veltins-Arena Arena AufSchalke (), currently known as Veltins-Arena () for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof and pitch, football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the new home ground for FC S ...

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...

, Germany, and

State Farm Stadium State Farm Stadium is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Glendale, Arizona, United States, west of Phoenix. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl. It replaced Sun Devi ...

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...

, U.S., and partially by the

Sapporo Dome The , currently known as for sponsorship reasons, is a stadium located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and is primarily used for association football. It is the home field of the association football club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and was also h ...

in Japan (which has a sliding pitch but a fixed roof). The KEMA Toren (formerly known as ''SEP Control Tower'') is the highest structure of the town. It is a 140-m-high TV tower.

Parks

File:Park sonsbeek.jpg, Sonsbeek Park (Urban park) File:20140822 Beuken bij Huis Zypendaal Arnhem.jpg, Zypendaal Park File:Nationaal Park Veluwezoom near Posbank.jpg, Veluwezoom National Park File:Sand Area Hoge Veluwe.jpg, Hoge Veluwe National Park

Museums in and around Arnhem

File:Openma04.JPG, Netherlands Open Air Museum File:Airborne Museum Hartenstein.jpg, Airborne Museum 'Hartenstein' File:Arnhem - Utrechtseweg 87 - 3.jpg, Gemeentemuseum File:Bronbeek Arnhem 5.JPG, Museum Bronbeek

Buildings and locations

File:Musis Sacrum - panoramio.jpg, Musis Sacrum File:Arnhem - Voormalig postkantoor 2.JPG, Arnhem Centrum File:23 april 2016 CS Arnhem.jpg, Central Station File:Springtime at the entrance of Burgers Zoo Arnhem-Schaarsbergen at 19 March 2015 - panoramio.jpg, Burgers Zoo

Events

Arnhem Airborneplein Gemeentearchief Ede GA55141

*Airborne Commemoration (17–26 September) *World Statues Festival (The World Championship of

Living Statue A living statue, also known as a human statue, usually refers to a performer who poses as a statue or mannequin, usually with realistic statue-like makeup. ''Living statue'' may also refer to art installations created by an artist using living ...

s) *Sonsbeek Theater Avenue *Free Your Mind Festival *Dancetour *8Bahn *De Rabo Bridge to Bridge (Marathon) *UITboulevard (Cultural Festival) *Sprookjesfestival (Fairy tale Festival) *

King's Day () or King's Day is a public holiday, national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27th is a Sunday), the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. When the Monarchy of the Netherlands, D ...

Sinterklaas Sinterklaas () or Sint-Nicolaas () is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include ''De Sint'' ("The Saint"), ''De Goede Sint'' ("The Good Saint") and ''De Goedheiligman'' (derive ...

*Hoogte80 *ASM Festival

Sport

The

is the national sports development centre of the

, located in Arnhem. The first event held at Papendal was the

, from 21 June to 5 July. However the site was formally adopted and developed from 1993, after the merger of the Dutch National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Nederlandse Sport Federatie (NSF).

have 90 affiliated national sports organizations, representing about 2700 individual sports clubs. Papendal is also the training location of

club

, and the club's youth development system. Supporting facilities include a conference centre and hotel. In preparation for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, in 2011 the facility built a replica of the proposed

BMX racing BMX racing is a type of bicycle racing which features BMX riders sharing a short single-lap circuit or point-to-point course, with multiple banked corners, jumps and rollers. The format of BMX was derived from motocross racing, and sanctione ...

track at the

London Velopark Lee Valley VeloPark is a cycling centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, England. It is owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, and it was opened to the public in March 2014. The facility was one of the pe ...

venue. The track will host the second event on the 2011 UCI BMX World Championships, on 27 and 28 May 2011. Since January 2013 Sports Centre Papendal officially split from NOC * NSF and thus as organization demerges. This split offers Sports Centre Papendal many commercial benefits. There are facilities for various sports, including athletics, cycling and more. Sport in the city is principally focussed on its association football club

and its stadium the GelreDome built for the

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

. The club has enjoyed some success in the

and has featured in the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

competition. Their best result in the

was third place in 1997 –98. The club won the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

in 2016–17. Introdans is a dance company based in the city of Arnhem. In 2009 the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science designated Introdans part of the basic national infrastructure. In 2016 was the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

in Arnhem.

Transport

Due to its central location in Eastern Netherlands, Arnhem is a hub for water, road, and rail traffic. Arnhem is bikeable. The RijnWaalpad is a 17 km long bicycle highway and connects Arnhem with

. It is the region's first fast-paced cycling route. In 2018 the second fast bike route was opened and Arnhem connects with

Wageningen Wageningen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a ...

. Arnhem has had a main central railway station since 1845 –

Arnhem Centraal railway station Arnhem Centraal railway station is the largest railway station in the city of Arnhem in Gelderland, Netherlands. It was opened on 14 May 1845 and is located on the Amsterdam–Arnhem railway, the Arnhem–Leeuwarden railway and the Arnhem–Nijmeg ...

, which is serviced by several intercity lines and the

Intercity-Express Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE () and running under this Train categories in Europe, category) is a high-speed rail in Germany, high-speed rail system in Germany. It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland an ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

and further on to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. Until 2016, there were also

NS International NS International, formerly ''NS Hispeed'', is a Rail transport in the Netherlands, passenger railway operator based in the Netherlands that operates international InterCity, intercity and High-speed rail, high-speed connections to several Europea ...

trains to other destinations abroad, with some coaches going as far as

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The intercity lines provide direct connections to

and

. It is also the terminus for several local railway services. Arnhem has three other stations, namely Arnhem Velperpoort (since 1953), Arnhem Presikhaaf (since 1969) and Arnhem Zuid (since 2005).

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

operates a bus from the train station to

Schiphol Airport Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport (, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands, and is one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municip ...

for its customers until April 2025. Arnhem is unique in the Netherlands with its trolleybus system.

Notable people

* Karel Aalbers (1949), Business man and club president * Truus van Aalten (1910–1999), actress * Afro Brothers (2016), electronic/urban DJ duo * Blaudzun (1974), singer-songwriter *

Marion Bloem Marion Bloem (born 24 August 1952 in Arnhem, the Netherlands) is a Dutch writer and film maker of Indo (mixed Dutch and Indonesian) descent, best known as author of the literary acclaimed book ''Geen gewoon Indisch meisje'' (''No Ordinary Indo ...

(1952), writer and film maker * Hetty Blok (1920–2012), cabaret artist, singer, and actress * Edmond Classen (1938–2014), actor * Ien Dales (1931–1994), politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) *

Esmée Denters Esmée Denters (born 28 September 1988) is a Dutch singer and YouTuber. Denters started promoting herself as a musician online in 2006, covering songs by artists including Justin Timberlake and Natasha Bedingfield. Denters was signed by Timberlak ...

(1988), singer and YouTube celebrity * Eva Duldig (born 1938), Austrian-born Australian and Dutch tennis player, author * Henk Guth (1921-2002), artist * Jan van Hooff (1936), biologist * Aarnoud van Heemstra (1871–1957), politician and maternal grandfather of

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

Kenny van Hummel Kenny Robert van Hummel (born 30 September 1982) is a retired road bicycle racer from the Netherlands, who specialised in sprint finishes. He competed professionally between 2006 and 2014, with the , and teams. Career Born in Elden, Gelderl ...

(1982), bicycle racer * Rudolf Jansen (1940–2024), pianist * Tania de Jong, Dutch-born Australian soprano and entrepreneur; daughter of Eva Duldig *

Ferdi Kadıoğlu Ferdi Erenay Kadıoğlu (; born 7 October 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a full back, midfielder or winger for club Brighton & Hove Albion. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Turkey national team. Kadıoğlu began h ...

, (1999), Dutch-born Turkish player * Antonie Kamerling (1966–2010), actor and musician * Herman Koch (1953), writer and actor *

Hendrik Lorentz Hendrik Antoon Lorentz ( ; ; 18 July 1853 – 4 February 1928) was a Dutch theoretical physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for their discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He derive ...

(1853–1928), physicist and

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

laureate * Mark van der Maarel (1989), former Dutch football player * Goos Meeuwsen (1982), circus artist * Leo Peelen (1968–2017), track cyclist * Estavana Polman (1992), handballer * Eveline Saalberg (1998), Track and Field Runner, 4x400m Relay European Indoor Champion (2023), 4x400m Relay European Outdoor Champion (2022, 2024), 4x400m Relay World Outdoor Champion (2023), 4x400m Relay World Indoor Champion (2024), 4x400m Relay Silver Medalist at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

* Joran van der Sloot (1987), convicted murderer *

Mart Smeets Jan Marten “Mart” Smeets (born 11 January 1947, in Arnhem) is a Dutch radio and television personality, writer, and columnist. Television Mart Smeets is a long-time sports presenter and commentator with the Dutch public broadcaster NOS. He i ...

(1947), radio and television host, and writer * Saar de Swart (1861–1951), sculptor * Rik Toonen (1954), water polo player, bronze medalist at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

* Linda Wagenmakers (1975), singer and voice actress * William H. Machen (1832-1911), Dutch-born American artist

Facts and figures

* ''Arnhem'' is the name of a march composed by A.E. Kelly. *

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

in Australia is named after the

VOC VOC, VoC or voc may refer to: Science and technology * Open-circuit voltage (VOC), the voltage between two terminals when there is no external load connected * Variant of concern, a category used during the assessment of a new variant of a virus * ...

-ship ''Arnhem''. * '' Theirs is the Glory'' (a.k.a. ''Men of Arnhem''), is a 1946 British war film about the British 1st Airborne Division's involvement in the

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was fought during the Second World War, as part of the Allies of World War II, Allied Operation Market Garden. It took place around the Netherlands, Dutch city of Arnhem and vicinity from 17 to 26 September 1944. The Alli ...

(17 to 25 September 1944) during Operation Market Garden in the Second World War. Another film, ''A Bridge Too Far'', tells the story of the failure of Operation Market Garden in Arnhem.

Twin towns – sister cities

Arnhem is twinned with: *

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Gera Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...

, Germany *

Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...

, Czech Republic *

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

, South Africa *

Villa El Salvador Villa El Salvador is an urban, largely residential coastal district on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. It borders the district of Chorrillos on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the southwest; Lurín on the southeast; Villa María del Triunfo on the ...

, Peru * Airdrie, Scotland, United Kingdom

References

External links

Municipality
Official website (English version)
VVV Arnhem
Tourist Office (English version)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The CWGC Page for the cemetery. {{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of Gelderland Populated places in Gelderland Populated places on the Rhine Provincial capitals of the Netherlands Members of the Hanseatic League

History

Early history

Middle Ages

16th and 17th century

18th and 19th century

20th century

World War II

1945–1999

21st century

Geography

Neighbourhoods

Neighbouring villages

Proximity of border with Germany

Climate

Demographics

Inhabitants by nationality

Places of interest

Parks

Museums in and around Arnhem

Buildings and locations

Events

Sport

Transport

Notable people

Facts and figures

Twin towns – sister cities

See also

References

External links