| Wageningen | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Motto: City of Life Sciences | |||
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| Coordinates: 51°57′52″N 5°39′47″E / 51.96444°N 5.66306°ECoordinates: 51°57′52″N 5°39′47″E / 51.96444°N 5.66306°E | |||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | Gelderland | ||
| Municipality | Wageningen | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | G.J.M. (Geert) van Rumund (PvdA) | ||
| - Aldermen | S.L. (Stella) Efdé M.H. (Mariëtte) Kroes I.A. (Ingeborg) Stadhouders M.S.G. (Minie) Walma-Schreur |
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| - Secretary | J. (Jaap) Diepeveen | ||
| Area (2006) | |||
| - Total | 32.35 km2 (12.5 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 30.57 km2 (11.8 sq mi) | ||
| - Water | 1.88 km2 (0.7 sq mi) | ||
| Population (31 May 2009) | |||
| - Total | 36,492 | ||
| - Density | 1,198/km2 (3,102.8/sq mi) | ||
| Source: Wageningen, wageningen.nl | |||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal codes | 6700 - 6709 | ||
| Area code(s) | 0317 | ||
| Website | www.wageningen.nl | ||
Wageningen is a municipality and a historical town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specializes in life sciences. The city has 36,224 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2009), of which many thousands are students. The university and associated institutes, now consolidated in Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR), employs about 7400 people. Wageningen also is the central city in Food Valley. Food Valley is the Dutch food & nutrition cluster concentrated around WUR and comprising many institutes, companies and state-of-the-art facilities in the food & nutrition field. Food Valley is regarded as the largest food & nutrition Research & Development cluster in the world. The current mayor of Wageningen is mr. Geert van Rumund.
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Location
Wageningen is situated on the north bank of the Lower Rhine, ("Nederrijn" in Dutch) and at the border between the Gelderse valley and the Veluwe, of which the southwest hill is called the Wageningse berg. Wageningen can be reached by car from highways A12, A15 and A50, and from railroad station Ede-Wageningen where a 15 minute bus drive connects to the central bus station in the town center.
Founding of the city
The oldest known settlements in the Wageningen area were located north of today's town centre. They were mentioned as early as 828. During the early Middle Ages a small church was built on the hill east of the town. Several wood farms have been found near the top of the hill. In the twelfth century people settled at what is currently the Bergstraat. Close to Hotel de Wereld a stone floor has been found dating back to this period. After the construction of a dike to protect the city from the acidic water from the moors that then occupied the Gelderse Vallei (the current Hoogstraat), the oldest part of the present city was built to the south. The parts of the city north of the Hoogstraat were built later. Wageningen received city rights in 1263. The city was protected by a city wall and a ditch, and in 1526 a castle was built. The castle was dismantled during the 18th century, but the foundations of three of the towers and part of the wall remain visible today.
Recent history
In 1918 the town acquired its first institution of higher education, Landbouwhogeschool Wageningen, which was based on the previous agricultural college founded in 1876, and which later became Wageningen University. This initiated the development from a small historical town into a modern technological community, a process which still continues today. Wageningen has now become the center of Food Valley, a large agglomeration of companies and research institutes specializing in food innovation.
Wageningen is also world famous for its military history. On 5 May 1945, the German general Blaskowitz surrendered to the Canadian general Charles Foulkes, which officially ended the Second World War in the Netherlands. The Generals negotiated the terms of surrender in the Hotel de Wereld, which since 2004 has again been serving as a hotel. On 5 May, which in the Netherlands is Liberation Day, the city hosts a large festival to celebrate the liberation. At this festival, veteran soldiers parade through the city and are honoured for their service.
Notable people born in Wageningen
- Harrie Dechering (born 1938), painter
- Li Edelkoort (born 1950), Designer and trend forecaster
- Ed van Es (born 1959), water polo player
- Eline Flipse (born 1954), film director
- Annelies Maas (born 1960), freestyle swimmer
- Aletta van Manen (born 1958), field hockey defender
- Johannes de Raey (born 1622), philosopher
- Jacqueline Toxopeus (born 1964), field hockey goalkeeper
- Bart Voskamp (born 1968), road bicycle racer
Trivia
- The city had its own professional football (soccer) club, FC Wageningen, which won the KNVB-beker twice. The club went bankrupt in 1992 and played its last match in May 1992 against NAC Breda.
Gallery
 Plate made by Wenzel Hollar (1607-1677) |
 Wageningen 1575 (by Jacob van Deventer) |
 Wageningen 1649 (by J. Blaeu) |
 Wageningen 1867 (by J. Kuyper) |
 Wageningen 1906 (by Kadaster) |
 Main Church of Wageningen |
 Townhall of Wageningen |
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 Museum The Casteelse poort |
 Schip van Blauw |
 Hinkeloord |
 't Venster |
 Haagsteeg |
 Stone factory 'De bovenste polder' |
 Water tower at the Wageningse Berg in Wageningen |
 Jewish graveyard |
 Statue De Zaaier |
 National Liberty monument |
 Monument Prince Bernard |
 Wageningen during fall |
 Wageningen from the river side |
 Panorama of the North side Wageningen |
 Panorama of the Rhine river in Wageningen |
 Panorama of Wageningen at dusk |
 Lightning over Wageningen |
 Rhine near Wageningen |
External links
- (Dutch) Click on panorama to surf over more than 250 panoramic images of Wageningen
- (Dutch) Official Website (in Dutch)
- (Dutch) De Digitale Stad Wageningen
- (Dutch) Official Website Food Valley (in English)
- (Dutch) Map
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