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Nijmegen is celebrating its 2000 year existence in 2005. With its history going back to the 0's it is considered the oldest city in the Netherlands. In gaining this qualification, it has competed with the city of
Maastricht .
The first mention of Nijmegen in history is in the
0s BC , when the
Romans built a military camp on the place where Nijmegen was to appear; the location had great strategic value because of the surrounding hills, which gave (and give) a good view over the Waal and
Rhine valley.
By
69 , when the
Batavians , the original inhabitants of the Rhine and
Maas valley, revolted, a village called ''Oppidum Batavorum'' had formed near the Roman camp. This village was destroyed in the revolt, but when the revolt had ended, the Romans built another, bigger camp, where the
Legio X ''Gemina'' was stationed. Soon after, another village formed around this camp.
In
103 , the X ''Gemina'' was removed to
Vienna , which may have been a major blow to the economy of the village around its camp. In
104 , Emperor
Trajan renamed the town, which now became known as ''Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum''. (The old theory that Nijmegen received market rights is incorrect.) Few Roman remains are visible today; a fragment of the old city wall can be seen near the
Casino , and the foundations of the
Amphitheatre are traced in the paving of the present-day Rembrandtstraat. However, the Valkhof Museum has a large collection of Roman artifacts that have been dug up over the ages.
In the
4th Century , Roman power decreased and Nijmegen became part of the
Frankish kingdom. It has been contended that in the
8th Century Emperor
Charlemagne built a castle in Nijmegen. Due to climate changes that caused continuous flooding there was, during the time-span between the
4th Century and the
11th Century , hardly any human activity in Nijmegen or its region.
Thanks to the Waal river, trade flourished and in
1230 , Nijmegen was given
City Rights by
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor . In
1247 , the city was ceded to the count of
Guelders as safety for a loan. The loan was never repaid, and Nijmegen has been a part of Gelderland ever since. This did not hamper trade; Nijmegen even became part of the
Hanseatic League in
1364 .
The arts also flourished in this period. Famous medieval painters the
Limbourg Brothers were born and educated in Nijmegen.
During the
Dutch Revolt , trade came to a halt and even though Nijmegen became a part of the Republic of United Provinces in
1585 , it remained a border town and had to endure multiple sieges.
In
1678 Nijmegen was host to the negotiations between the European powers that aimed to put an end to the constant warfare that had ravaged the continent for years. The result was the
Treaty Of Nijmegen that, unfortunately, failed to provide for a lasting peace.
In the second half of the
19th Century , the fortifications around the city became a major problem; there were too many inhabitants inside the walls, but the fortifications could not be demolished because Nijmegen was deemed as being of vital importance to the defence of the Netherlands. When, however, events in the
Franco-Prussian War proved that old-fashioned fortifications were no more of use, this policy was changed and the fortifications were dismantled in
1874 . The old castle had already been demolished in
1797 , so that its bricks could be sold.
Through the second half of the
19th Century and the first half of the
20th Century , Nijmegen grew steadily. The Waal was bridged in
1878 by a rail bridge and in
1936 by a car bridge, in
1923 the current
Radboud University Nijmegen was founded and in
1927 a channel was dug between the Waal and Maas rivers.
In
1940 , the Netherlands were invaded by
Germany with Nijmegen being the first Dutch city to fall into German hands. On 22 February,
1944 , Nijmegen was heavily bombed by
American planes, causing great damage to the city centre. Allegedly the pilots thought they were bombing the German city of
Kleve , although it has also been claimed to have been a deliberate act. The
NIOD announced in January 2005 that its study of the incident confirmed that it was an accident caused by poor communications and chaos in the airspace. Over 750 people died in the incident. During
1944 , the city saw heavy fighting during
Operation Market Garden .
In recent history, one of the darkest pages was written in the early 80's.
On
February 23 ,
1981 , the Nijmegen
Police Department and the Dutch
Army stormed the
Piersonstraat and
Zeigelhof , a squatted housing block, in Downtown Nijmegen. Using 200
Riotvans , 3
Leopard MBT Armoured Vehicles, 3
Armoured Personnel Carrier s, a
Helicopter , 1200 policemen, and 750 members of the
Armed Forces , they evicted the squatters and demolished the block, while clouding the entire area in
Teargas and
CX Gas . This had an enormous backlash into local politics. While the city government wanted the squatters out to build a parking garage, most of the population wanted affordable housing to be built in the area.
As to this date Nijmegen is still known as ''
Havana on the
Waal '' among some
Right-wing ers. The
Socialist Party , the
Green Party and
Labour have a solid two-third majority in
City Council , making Nijmegen the only major city in
The Netherlands with a solely
Left-wing government. The current mayor is Mrs Dr
Guusje Ter Horst .
In November 2005, downtown Nijmegen was the site of the assassination of political activist
Louis Sévèke .
Nijmegen is host to a university, the
Radboud University Nijmegen , which was founded in 1923 as the first Catholic university in the Netherlands. The education and social work departments of the
Hogeschool Van Arnhem En Nijmegen school for higher level vocational training are also located in Nijmegen, as are that school's medical departments.
In addition to these institutions, there is also an intermediate level vocational school (, which caters to students from all over the Netherlands who have been repeatedly expelled from "regular" high schools. Leefwerkschool Eigenwijs has its roots in the local activist movement of the early 1980's and is the only school of its kind recognised in the Netherlands.
Nijmegen is famous for the
International Four Days Marches Nijmegen also known as the "
Vierdaagse ", an annual event starting on the third Tuesday in July, comprising four days of
Walking (distances ranging from 30 to 50 km a day), and the accompanying festivities, which have been drawing the largest crowds for any Dutch event in the past few years.
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