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Enschede

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Ltspkr.png[Enschede] or Eanske in the local dialect (Twents) is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel, in the Twente region. The municipality of Enschede consisted of the city of Enschede until 1935, when the rural municipality of Lonneker, which completely enclosed the city was annexed after the rapid industrial expansion of Enschede, which had begun in the 1860's and involved the building of railways and the digging of the Twentekanaal. Latitude and longitude = 52° 22' north 6° 89' east

Contents

Population centres

The city of Enschede

History

The early history of Enschede is largely unknown, but a settlement existed around the Old marketplace in early medieval times. The name of this settlement is mentioned as Anescede or Enscede meaning either "near the border" (with Bentheim) or "near the Es) and sported a church, a marketplace and a fortified aristocratic house. 

Enschede was granted city rights in 1325 by Jan van Diest, the Bishop of Utrecht and henceforth was allowed to protect itself with wall. Since a stone wall was too expensive (Stone had to be imported) Enschede had a system of ditches, palisades and hedges instead, which is still reflected in the street-names Noorder-hagen and Zuiderhagen (North Hedge and South Hedge, respectively). The city plan of this era is still recognisable in the street-pattern.



Fire


Since the medieval city was largely built of wood and stone houses were the exception, fire was a constant risk and a series of fires 1517, 1750 and again on May 7, 1862 earned the people from Enschede the nickname Brandstichters (arsonists).



Industrialisation


The last fire coincided with the start of the growth of the city into a large production center of textiles, originally as a cottage industry, but since the start of the 19th century on an industrial scale, especially the manufacture of bombazijn (a mixture of cotton and linen) proved an export hit.


The industrialisation stimulated a large increase in population, which at first was rather chaotic. The names of the slums (like De Krim and Sebastolpol) are still notorious, although they have long since been torn down. In 1907 the laissez faire mentality was dropped and Enschede was the first city in the netherlands to draw up an official expansion-plan, incorporating the (surrounding) municipality of Lonneker.



The end of the industrial age


In the 1970 the textile production in Enschede came to a halt and was transferred to the far east. This had a profound effect on the populace and Enschede became one of the poorest municipalities in the netherlands and (de facto) went bankrupt. Large area's of industrial wasteland now marked the city, which fell prey to speculation by  real estate developers.


With the support of the government, this property was acquired and rebuilt, the city center was rendered a car-free zone and the importance of Enschede as a Euregional Centre was stimulated and Enschede managed to rise from the ashes.



The Fireworks Disaster


On May 13, 2000, a fireworks factory in Enschede exploded, destroying an entire neighbourhood and killing 23 people, including 4 firemen. This catastrophe is known in the Netherlands as the Vuurwerkramp, Dutch for fireworks disaster.


In 2001 a referendum confirmed the proposal of the city council to expand the built-up area into the Usseler Es, an area of some historic (agri-)cultural importance.


On September 30, 2004, two police officers were shot (one fatally) by a German drug dealer.


In 2005 large scale construction and renovation activities in the city center, which had stretched for over a decade, were almost completed.



Economy


The city is a former centre of textile production. When this industry left the area for cheaper production centers in South-East Asia, Enschede became one of the poorest municipalities in the Netherlands. The biggest challenge of the city is to prevent higher educated (wealthy) citizens from moving to the west (Randstad). Decades of renovation work in the city center have been carried out with the goal of making Enschede more attractive to this group. Modern shopping centers and department stores that until now were only found in much larger cities have been opened. Enschede is host to many yearly festivals and the Old Market Square is often the venue for events, live music and other activities on the weekend. After some hesitation on the part of the city council, Enschede was able to host Roze Zaterdag in the summer of 2004 which was a huge success. This not only gave the local economy a boost, but also drew positive attention to Enschede's gay community, the largest in the east of the Netherlands. In many aspects, Enschede is admittedly trying to present itself as the Amsterdam of the east.


The proximity to Germany has, historically, been another major factor in economic activity, ranging from the smuggling of coffee and tobacco in the 19th and 20th century, to large numbers of Germans, who visit the cities shops and (especially) the weekly markets. Natives of Enschede can therefore be expected to speak German more or less fluently.


The city is cooperating with the nearby municipalities of Almelo, Borne and Hengelo as Netwerkstad Twente. A governmental plan to merge with Hengelo was discarded by local opposition.



Education


The Universiteit Twente, a university with mostly technical studies, is located in Enschede. It is one of the three technical universities in the Netherlands (besides Delft University of Technology and Eindhoven University of Technology) and there are plans to merge them for cost saving reasons. 
The university both has courses in pure technical studies such as Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, but also courses in Communication, Psychology, Applied Medicine and Biomedical Technology which attracts a broader public. 


Enschede is also home to one of the three campuses of Saxion University (Saxion Hogeschool Enschede), a polytechnical school offering internationally recognized Bachelors and Masters degrees in a wide range of fields including engineering, economics and health care. The other campuses are located in Deventer and Apeldoorn.


The International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (known by its abbreviation ITC) is famous for its MSc, Masters, Diploma and PhD courses in Geo-information Science for developing countries. Students from all over the world are attending ITC.


Enschede also has a conservatory and an academy of arts and design.



Transport and airbase


Enschede is a terminal station of the NS railway network on the west.


On the east there is a line to Gronau, Germany, with two more stations of the latter in the Netherlands: "Enschede De Eschmarke" and "Glanerbrug". The line is served by:


See also [de] and [railway services in Nordrhein-Westfalen] 407 and 412.


Enschede has a combined regional civil airport, Enschede Airport, and  Airbase Twenthe of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The latter will be closed in 2007; whether the former can remain open is under consideration. Enschede is situated at the south-east terminus of the Twentekanaal.



Culture


Enschede is well-known for its local association football club, FC Twente. There are several museums in Enschede, among them the Rijksmuseum Twenthe for art, a museum of natural history and a museum dedicated to the history of the textiles industry.



Notable people born in Enschede



See also



External links




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