Wageningen

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Wageningen


mapsize = 280px
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Netherlands
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Gelderland
area_footnotes = (2006)
area_total_km2 = 32.35
area_land_km2 = 30.53
area_water_km2 = 1.83
population_as_of = 1 January, 2007
population_note = Source: CBS, [http://statline.cbs.nl/ Statline] .
settlement_type = Municipality
population_total = 35669
population_density_km2 = 1168
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2

. Food Valley is the Dutch food & nutrition cluster concentrated around WUR and comprised of 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 clusters in the world.

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 settlement in the Wageningen municipality was located near the Rhine at the foot of the Wageningse Berg (40 m high). During the early Middle Ages the settlement moved up the hill: Remains of a small church and 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 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 May 5 1945, the German general Blaskowitz surrendered to the Canadian general Charles Foulkes, which 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 May 5, 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 honored for their service.

International Organisations in Wageningen

Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA)

Notable people born in Wageningen

*Eline Flipse (born 1954), film director
*Aletta van Manen (born 1958), field hockey defender
*Ed van Es (born 1959), water polo player
*Annelies Maas (born 1960), freestyle swimmer
*Jacqueline Toxopeus (born 1964), field hockey goalkeeper
*Bart Voskamp (born 1968), road bicycle racer
*Harrie Dechering (born 1938), painter
*Christiaan van de Weerd (born 1953), Experimental Test Pilot
*Li Edelkoort (born 1950), Designer and trend forecaster
*Thomas Diekmans (born 1980) Pig farmer

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

External links

*nl icon [http://www.wageningen.interstad.nl/ Click on panorama to surf over more than 250 panoramic images of Wageningen]
*nl icon [http://www.wageningen.nl Official Website (in Dutch)]
*nl icon [http://www.ddsw.nl/ De Digitale Stad Wageningen]
*nl icon [http://www.foodvalley.nl/english Official Website Food Valley (in English)]
*nl icon [http://www.plattegronden.nl/gemeentewageningen/ Map]