Almelo

Almelo
—  Municipality  —
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Netherlands
Province	Overijssel
Area(2006)
• Total	69.40 km2 (26.80 sq mi)
• Land	67.43 km2 (26.03 sq mi)
• Water	1.96 km2 (0.76 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2007)
• Total	72,103
• Density	1,069/km2 (2,770/sq mi)
	Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

The Catholic Church of Almelo

Almelo station

Huize Almelo

Almelo (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑlməˌloˑ] ( listen)) is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie and Bornerbroek.

Almelo has about 72,000 inhabitants in the middle of the rolling countryside of Twente, with the industrial centres of Enschede and Hengelo as close neighbours but also with tourist towns like Ootmarsum, Delden and Markelo only a bicycle ride away. Almelo received city rights in 1394. Within the city limits lies the castle of the Counts of Almelo.

At the end of the 19th century textile emerged as a major employer and drew many workers to Almelo, at first from within the Netherlands. Since the 1960s workers from Spain and Turkey came to Almelo. The first mosque of the Netherlands was built in Almelo in 1976 for the Turkish population of the city.

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.

Currently, a major employer in Almelo is Urenco Nederland. This is a uranium enrichment plant which uses the gas centrifuge method and produces uranium with about five percent U-235, for nuclear reactors. A bakery factory, Bolletje, PANalytical, the Twenteborg hospital and the regional court are also major employers.

Located in the city centre is Huize Almelo, a castle that in its current form dates back to 1662. There are mosaics which decorate the walls of the tunnel close to the railway station.

The city is also known for its local association football club Heracles Almelo, who plays in the Eredivisie, the highest football league in the Netherlands.

Transportation

Almelo has 2 railway stations:

• Almelo railway station
• Almelo de Riet railway station

The main station is Almelo and offers links to Hengelo, Enschede, Amersfoort, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Utrecht, Gouda, Rotterdam, The Hague and Zwolle. There is also a train every 2 hours into Germany serving cities such as Osnabrück, Hannover and Berlin.

Notable people born in Almelo

• Azra Akın (1981) – model and Miss World 2002
• Bert Bakker (1958) – D66-politician
• Kea Bouman (1903–1998) – female tennis player; only Dutch female tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament
• Daphne Bunskoek (1973) – TV-presenter
• Arnold Bruggink (1977) – soccer player
• Tom Egbers (1957) – TV-presenter
• Herman Finkers (1954) – comedian
• Wilfried Finkers (1957) – comedian and brother of Herman
• Cor Galis (1910–1997) – VPRO announcer
• Hendrie Krüzen (1964) – football midfielder
• Marcel Kuijer (1974) – TV-presenter
• Ilse de Lange (1977) – musician and singer
• Brian van Loo (1975) – soccer player (goalkeeper)
• Mark Looms (1981) – soccer player
• Mathieu Ten Dam (1974) – basketball player/ coach
• Wubbo Ockels (1946) – first Dutch astronaut
• Mari Carmen Oudendijk (1968) – TV-presenter
• Fabian Roosenbrand (1988) - darts player
• Cunera van Selm (1964) – TV-presenter
• Marnix Smit (1975) – soccer player
• Henk Jan Smits (1961) – manager, scout and producer
• Berdien Stenberg (1957) – musician
• Jan Tuttel (1943–2006), – Drents nature activist, columnist, publicist en TV-presenter/producer
• Michiel Veenstra (1976) – radio-dj on 3FM
• Eddy Zoëy (1967) – TV-presenter

See also

• Ambt Almelo

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Almelo is twinned with:

• Preston, UK
• Iserlohn, Germany
• Denizli, Turkey

References

• Official website

Notes

External links

• AlmeloNet.nl
• ""Landschap te Almelo" by Marie Vorobieff (scroll down to painting No. 2206)". Archived from the original on 2009-06-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20090620063424/http://hessink.nl/Webalbum/toetanchamon/schilderijen-I/ALBUM8.HTML. Retrieved 2012-05-12. 

v t e Municipalities of Overijssel Almelo Borne Dalfsen Deventer Dinkelland Enschede Haaksbergen Hardenberg Hellendoorn Hengelo Hof van Twente Kampen Losser Oldenzaal Olst-Wijhe Ommen Raalte Rijssen-Holten Staphorst Steenwijkerland Tubbergen Twenterand Wierden Zwartewaterland Zwolle See also Netherlands Provinces Municipalities

Coordinates: 52°21′N 6°40′E / 52.35°N 6.667°E / 52.35; 6.667