Wageningen () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and a historic city in the central

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, in the province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

. It is famous for

Wageningen University Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

, which specialises in

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...

. The municipality had a population of in , of which many thousands are students from over 150 countries.

Demograpics

Inhabitants by nationality

71,68% is Dutch, 28,32% has a migration background.

Geography

Wageningen is situated on the north bank of the

Nederrijn 300px, Course of the Nederrijn Nederrijn (; "Lower Rhine"; not to be confused with the section called Lower Rhine further upstream) is the name of the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine bend ...

(the Dutch portion of the

Lower Rhine The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...

) part of the Gelderse valley (Dutch: Gelderse Vallei) and the

Veluwe The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes, including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts. The Ve ...

, of which the southwest hill is called the ''Wageningse Berg''. Wageningen can be reached by car from

highways A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

A12 via the N781, A15 via the N233 and N225, and A50 via the N225, and from the

Ede-Wageningen railway station Ede-Wageningen is a railway station located in Ede, Netherlands. It is situated on the Amsterdam–Arnhem railway and the Nijkerk–Ede-Wageningen railway. The station is the main Intercity station, but is not in the centre of the town. The stati ...

via a 20-minute bus drive to the Wageningen central terminal (see below).^, 2013-Wageningen

''Topographic map of the municipality of Wageningen, July 2013 (click to enlarge)''

History

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 Hotel de Wereld (meaning ''Hotel The World'') is a 4-star hotel in Wageningen. It was the site of the capitulation of the German troops in the Netherlands on 5 May 1945, and the end of German occupation during World War II. '' Oberbefehlshaber Ni ...

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 Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1263. The city was protected by a

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

and a moat, 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. The people, city, and institutions of Wageningen suffered greatly during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The central part of Wageningen was destroyed by artillery fire soon after the German invasion of the country in May 1940. The town is also famous for its role at the end of the war: Wageningen was the site of the surrender of '' Oberbefehlshaber Niederlande'' supreme commander ''

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East Germany, East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. ...

Johannes Blaskowitz Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German ''Generaloberst'' during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After joining the Imperial German Army in ...

, to

I Canadian Corps I Canadian Corps was one of the two corps fielded by the Canadian Army during the Second World War. History From December 24, 1940, until the formation of the First Canadian Army in April 1942, there was a single unnumbered Canadian Corps. I ...

commander

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Charles Foulkes, on 5 May 1945, officially ending the war in the Netherlands. The generals negotiated the terms of surrender in the

, near the center of the city. Now, each year on 5 May, celebrated as

Liberation Day Liberation Day is a day, often a public holiday, that marks the liberation of a place, similar to an independence day. Liberation marks the date of either a revolution, as in Cuba, the fall of a dictatorship, as in Portugal, or the end of an oc ...

in the Netherlands, Wageningen hosts a large

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

. On this occasion, veteran soldiers parade through the city and are honoured for their service, and around 120,000 people visit the pop-podia around the city.

Education and research

In 1918 the town acquired its first institution of higher education, the ''Landbouwhogeschool Nederland'' (Netherlands Agricultural College), which was based on the previous agricultural college founded in 1876, and which later became

. This initiated the development from a small historical town into a modern technological community, a process which still continues today.

Wageningen University and Research Centre Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

(WUR), including associated institutes, now employs about 7400 people. Today, Wageningen is also the central city in

Food Valley Food Valley is a region in the Netherlands where international food companies, research institutes, and Wageningen University and Research Centre are concentrated. The Food Valley area is the home of a large number of food multinationals and within ...

, the Dutch food & nutrition cluster concentrated around WUR, and comprising many institutes, companies and facilities in the food & nutrition field. Food Valley is regarded as the largest food & nutrition Research & Development cluster in the world. One such firm, Keygene, a plant research company in Wageningen, developed AFLP in the early 1990s and collaborated with

Beijing Genomics Institute BGI Group, formerly Beijing Genomics Institute, is a Chinese genomics company with headquarters in Yantian District, Shenzhen. The company was originally formed in 1999 as a genetics research center to participate in the Human Genome Project. ...

to sequence the entire genome of ''

Brassica napus Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...

''.

Sports teams

The city had its own professional

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club, FC Wageningen, which won the

KNVB-beker The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. ...

(KNVB Cup) twice. The club went bankrupt in 1992 and played its last match in May 1992 against NAC Breda. The city is also home to the largest

Korfball Korfball ( nl, korfbal) is a ball sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. It is played by two teams of eight players with four female players and four male players in each team. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless bask ...

club in the country, KV Wageningen.

Traffic and transport

Wageningen is situated on the N225 provincial road, between

Driebergen Driebergen is a former village and municipality in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is first mentioned as Thriberghen in 1159. The former municipality of Driebergen existed until 1931, when it merged with Rijsenburg, to create the new municipali ...

and

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

. The N781 provincial road connects Wageningen to the A12 national highway, to the north of the city. A small ferry (for cars, bikes, and pedestrians) crosses the

to the south of the city, at Lexkesveer; from there, drivers can connect to the A15 national highway, via the N836 provincial road. Several firms provide public bus service in and to Wageningen. From the Wageningen central bus terminal, lines connect to

Rhenen Rhenen () is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, Remmerden, Elst and Laareind. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, namely on the southernmost par ...

Tiel Tiel () is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centres Kapel- ...

Veenendaal Veenendaal () is a municipality and a town in central Netherlands, located in the province of Utrecht. Veenendaal is the only population centre within its administrative borders. The municipality had a population of 67.601 inhabitants on 1 january ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

Oosterbeek Oosterbeek is a village in the eastern part of Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Renkum in the province of Gelderland, about west of Arnhem. The oldest part of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp (Lower Village), on the northern bank o ...

, and

, and the

. Further connections via bus, including to the

Hoge Veluwe National Park De Hoge Veluwe National Park (, "The High Veluwe") is a Dutch national park in the province of Gelderland near the cities of Ede, Wageningen, Arnhem and Apeldoorn. It is approximately in area, consisting of heathlands, sand dunes, and woodlands. ...

and the

Kröller-Müller Museum The Kröller-Müller Museum () is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The museum, founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller within the extensive grounds of ...

, also may be made at the Ede-Wageningen station. Bus service includes the following:

Politics

Municipal council

Composition of the Wageningen municipal council since 1982: *Participated in 1986 with the name PPCE, the abbreviation of PSP-PPR-CPN-EVP.
**Participated in 1998 as a combination of the RPF and the

GPV The Reformed Political LeagueTranslation used by Andeweg and Irwin in ''Governance and Politics of the Netherlands'' (2002: 45) ( nl, Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond, GPV) was an orthodox Protestant political party in the Netherlands. The GPV is o ...

Mayor

Wageningen's mayor Floor Vermeulen (m) (

VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberalRudy Andeweg, Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingsto ...

), will be installed on Friday 18 June 2021.

Notable residents

Johannes de Raey Johannes de Raey (also: ''Raei'') (Wageningen, 1622 – Amsterdam, 1702) was a Dutch philosopher and an early Cartesian. Early life and education De Raey was born in 1622 in the Dutch town of Wageningen as son to Jan Jansz van Ray and Hendersken v ...

(1622 in Wageningen – 1702) a Dutch philosopher, an early Cartesian *

Gerrit Zegelaar Gerrit Zegelaar (born Loenen aan de Vecht 16 July 1719 – Wageningen 24 July 1794) was a Dutch painter. Zegelaar was born as son of the carpenter and alderman Hendrik Zegelaar and Johanna ter Bruggen. Gerrit was a deaf mute. He settled in Amste ...

(1719 – 1794 in Wageningen) a Dutch painter * August Falise (1875 in Wageningen – 1936) was a Dutch sculptor and minter of medals *

Li Edelkoort Lidewij de Gerarda Hillegonda Edelkoort, often called Li, (born 29 August 1950) is a Dutch trend forecaster, someone who anticipates future fashion and design trends.Euronews August 2008 She has been the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Trend ...

(born 1950 in Wageningen) a Dutch fashion and design trend forecaster *

Eline Flipse Eline Flipse (born in 1954 in Wageningen, the Netherlands) is a film director of documentaries. Flipse studied at the Film Academy in Amsterdam, where she got her degree in 1978. In 1982, she made her first documentary, ''Het Verschijnsel B'', ab ...

(born 1954 in Wageningen) a film director of documentaries *

Alexander Pechtold Alexander Pechtold (born 16 December 1965) is a retired Dutch politician and art historian. He is a member of Democrats 66. Pechtold studied Archaeology and History of Dutch Art at the Leiden University obtaining a Master of Arts degree. Pecht ...

(born 1965), politician, former local Mayor, lives in Wageningen *

Jeroen Dijsselbloem Jeroen René Victor Anton Dijsselbloem (; born 29 March 1966) is a Dutch politician and economist serving as Mayor of Eindhoven since 13 September 2022, succeeding John Jorritsma (VVD). A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he has also been Ch ...

(born 1966) a Dutch politician and economist, went to

1985/1991 *

Lisa Hordijk Lisa Lois (born 22 June 1987 as Lisa Hordijk) is a Dutch singer who rose to prominence after winning the second season of talent show ''X Factor''. In 2009, she changed her stage name to Lisa Lois and released her debut album ''Smoke''. Early l ...

(born 1987 in Wageningen) a Dutch singer, won the second season of

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

Nikkie de Jager Nikkie de Jager-Drossaers (; born 2 March 1994), better known by her YouTube channel name NikkieTutorials, is a Dutch makeup artist and beauty vlogger. She gained online popularity in 2015 after her YouTube video "The Power of Makeup" became p ...

(born 1994 in Wageningen) a Dutch

makeup artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions incl ...

beauty vlogger A beauty YouTuber, commonly referred to as a "beauty vlogger", "beauty guru", "beauty influencer," or "Beautuber", is a person who creates and posts videos to YouTube about cosmetics, fashion, hair-styling, nail art, and other beauty-related topi ...

, and co-host of

Eurovision Song Contest 2021 The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's win at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was set to host the ...

Sport

* Aletta van Manen (born 1958 in Wageningen) a retired Dutch field hockey defender, team gold medallist at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Ed van Es Eduard ("Ed") van Es (born 28 June 1959 in Wageningen) is a former water polo player from the Netherlands, who finished in sixth position with the Dutch National Men's Team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, L ...

(born 1959 in Wageningen) a former water polo player, competed at the

Annelies Maas Annelies Maas (born 25 January 1960 in Wageningen) is a former Freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands, who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in Swimming at the ...

(born 1960 in Wageningen) freestyle swimmer, bronze medallist at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

* Jacqueline Toxopeus (born 1964 in Wageningen) a former Dutch field hockey goalkeeper *

Bart Voskamp Bertus ("Bart") Voskamp (born 6 June 1968 in Wageningen, Gelderland) is a retired road bicycle racer from the Netherlands, who was a professional rider from 1993 to 2005. He competed in five Tours de France. He also competed in the team time tria ...

(born 1968 in Wageningen) a retired road bicycle racer *

Annemiek van Vleuten Annemiek van Vleuten (born 8 October 1982) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . Van Vleuten is a two-time winner of both the road race (2019 and 2022) and the time trial (2017 and 2018) at the UC ...

(born 1982 in Vleuten) a Dutch road racing cyclist *

Botic van de Zandschulp Botic van de Zandschulp (; born 4 October 1995) is a Dutch professional tennis player. Van de Zandschulp has a career high ranking of world No. 22 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 29 August 2022. He is the ...

(born 1995 in Wageningen) a Dutch tennis player, was in the quarterfinals 2021 US Open

Places of interest

(Including nearby) * International Club Association *

Airborne Museum 'Hartenstein' The Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek, The Netherlands is dedicated to the Battle of Arnhem in which the Allied Forces attempted to form a bridgehead on the northern banks of the Rhine river in September 1944. Hartenstein served as ...

, Oosterbeek * Botanical Gardens in Wageningen * De Casteelse Poort Museum * Het Depot Museum *

, Ede *

, Ede/Otterlo *

Netherlands Open Air Museum The Netherlands Open Air Museum ( nl, Nederlands Openluchtmuseum) is an open-air museum located in Arnhem with antique houses, farms, and factories from different parts of the Netherlands. It is a national museum focusing on the culture associated ...

, Arnhem * Ouwehands Zoo, Rhenen * Wageningen University Campus

Twin towns

Wageningen has two twin towns: The city has a project relation with the towns:

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and Ndiza, (

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

). Evaluatierapport stedenbanden

Gallery

Image:Grote Kerk Wageningen.jpg, Main church of Wageningen Image:Hotel de wereld wageningen.JPG,

Image:Stadsmuur Wageningen1.jpg, Old city ruins of the castle and city walls Image:Schip van Blaauw.jpg, Schip van Blaauw Image:'t Venster 1.jpg, 't Venster Image:Le Rhin à Wageningen.jpg, Panorama of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

river in Wageningen

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of Gelderland Populated places in Gelderland