Venlo

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Venlo

---

mapsize = 280px
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = Netherlands
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Limburg
area_footnotes = (2006)
area_total_km2 = 86.41
area_land_km2 = 84.66
area_water_km2 = 1.74
population_as_of = 1 January, 2007
population_note = Source: CBS, [http://statline.cbs.nl/ Statline] .
settlement_type = Municipality
population_total = 92080
population_density_km2 = 1088
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2

Venlo (Pronunciation|166 Venlo.ogg) is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands. It is situated in the province of Limburg.

On January 1, 2003, the municipalities of Tegelen and Belfeld were added to that of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago, whereas Venlo has a past in the Duchy of Guelders.

Population centres

* Belfeld
* Blerick
* Boekend
* Hout-Blerick
* Steyl
* Tegelen
* 't Ven
* Venlo

The city of Venlo

History of the city

Venlo's history goes back to Roman times. Then it developed into an important trade post on the river Meuse and was a member of the Hanseatic League. It received city rights in 1343. Blerick, also founded in Roman times, on the other side of the river, was known as Blariacum.

Because of its strategic importance, the city of Venlo was besieged several times. The most significant siege was that of 1702, carried on by Menno van Coehoorn. Consequently, Venlo was incorporated into the Generaliteitslanden of the United Provinces and later became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Venlo in the 2nd World War

On November 9, 1939, two British Intelligence Service agents were kidnapped by the "Sicherheitsdienst" in what became known as the Venlo Incident. The Incident was used by the Nazis to link Great Britain to Georg Elser's failed assassination of Hitler at the Burgerbraukeller two days before and to justify their later invasion of the Netherlands, a neutral country, on 10 May 1940.

Because Venlo had both a road and a rail bridge over the River Meuse (Maas) the city was severely damaged during several bomb raids on those bridges at the end of the war.The allied forces needed 13 attempts to destroy the bridges. About 300 people were killed due to those raids. The raids also cost Venlo a major part of its historical buildings. However, some medieval buildings, such as the city hall (the 'Stadhuis') and the 'Römer' house, survived the war.

Culture

*Theatre "De Maaspoort"
*Museum "Limburgs Museum" and "Museum Van Bommel - Van Dam"
*Popvenue Perron55
*Major annual cultural events
**Carnaval called "Vastelaovend" in February/March (6 weeks before Easter).
**Summer park festivities called "Zomerparkfeest" in August held in and around the main park of Venlo, a 4 days podium for a broad audience, including live music, film, dance, art etc.

In 2003 Venlo was awarded the title "Greenest city of Europe". In 2012 it will host the Floriade.

Sports

VVV-Venlo is a century-old football club that plays in De Koel stadium. VVV-Venlo are currently playing in the Eerste divisie.

Born in Venlo

* Henri Alexis Brialmont , Dutch-born Belgian military engineer.
* Jeu Sprengers , Dutch chairman of the Royal Netherlands Football Association
* Glenn Corneille , Acclaimed Dutch jazz pianist
* Paul Cox, award-winning Australian-based Film director.
* Teun van Dijck , Dutch politician and one of the members of the PVV.
* Evert Dudok, President of EADS Astrium Space Transportation
* Michael Evans, Dutch footballer.
* Maico Gerritsen, Dutch footballer
* Bart Hendrikx, Producer in Film and Television
* Rick Hoogendorp, Dutch footballer
* Jens Janse, Dutch footballer
* Saskia Linssen, Dutch model and actress
* Jos Luhukay, Dutch football coach and former player.
* Will Sanders, an acclaimed Hornist.
* Frank Scheffer, Dutch cinematographer and producer of documentary film,
* Paul van der Sterren, chess Grandmaster
* Boris Titulaer, Dutch singer. He was the winner of the second season of Idols in the Netherlands.
* Geert Wilders, Dutch politician. He has been a member of the Dutch Parliament since 1998

Coffee shops

By the late nineties drug-related nuisance had become a problem in the center of Venlo. [citation | last1 = Snippe | first1 = J. | last2 = Naayer | first2 = H. | last3 = Bieleman | first3 = B. | title = Hektor in 2005. Evaluatie aanpak drugsoverlast in Venlo [Hektor in 2005. Evaluation drugs nuisance policy in Venlo] | publisher = Interval/WODC | place = Groningen/Rotterdam | year = 2006 | url = http://www.wodc.nl/onderzoeksdatabase/hektor-vervolgonderzoek.aspx . [http://www.wodc.nl/images/1456_summary_tcm44-59463.pdf English summary] ] City officials together with The Hague launched the Q-4 Project and Tango initiatives that, amongst other measures, included moving the town's largest coffee shops to the outskirts, where they continue to do business in a former rest stop. This was a win-win solution, as the town was freed from disturbances and the coffee shops are now even closer to the expressways. Since Germany prohibits the sale and ownership of soft-drugs (weed), her citizens cross the nearby border in order to legally acquire substances unavailable in their own country. Venlo is connected to Germany by two motorways (Bundesautobahn 40 and Bundesautobahn 61). This allows for citizens of Düsseldorf, Cologne and the Ruhr Area - Germany's largest metropolitan area - to travel there in about 30 minutes.

References

External links

* [http://www.venlo.nl/ Official Website]
* [http://www.perron55.nl/ Website of Popvenue Perron55]
* [http://www.maaspoort.nl/ Website of Theatre De Maaspoort]
* [http://www.jocus.nl Website carnaval organisation Venlo]
* [http://www.wortelepin.nl Website carnaval organisation Blerick]
* [http://www.faassen.nl/oeles/test/index.htm Website carnaval organisation Tegelen]
* [http://www.belhamels.nl/ Website carnaval organisation Belfeld]
* [http://www.kaetelaers.nl/ Website carnaval organisation Steyl]
* [http://www.zomerparkfeest.nl Website zomerparkfeest]
* [http://public.fotki.com/DoubleVision/cities/tegelen/ Tegelen in some pictures]
* [http://www.koekoek.de/ Koekoek Q4]
* [http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/Misc/driving/s16p4.htm]
* [http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/Misc/driving/s16p4.htm] .
* http://www.intraval.nl/en/b/b23_sum.html