Wageningen () is a

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

and a historic city in the central

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, in the province of

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

. It is famous for

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

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

Demographics

Inhabitants by nationality

71,68% is Dutch, 28,32% has a

migration background In the Germanosphere, ''migration background'' () is a term used to describe people on the basis of Identity politics, identity and ancestry. Migration background is a variably defined Social structure, socio-demographic characteristic that desc ...

Geography

Wageningen is situated on the north bank of the

Nederrijn 300px, Course of the Nederrijn The Nederrijn (; "Lower Rhine"; distinct from the Lower Rhine or further upstream) is the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine bend of Oude Rijn (Gelderland ...

(the Dutch portion of the

Lower Rhine Lower Rhine (, ; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bonn in Germany and the North Sea at Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, including the '' Nederrijn'' () within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta; alternat ...

) part of the and the

Veluwe The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2; 420 sq. mi.) 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 ...

, of which the southwest hill is called the ''

Wageningse Berg The Wageningse Berg () is the southernmost part of the Veluwe, a range of hills that originated as a glacial moraine. It lies just north of the Nederrijn and to the east of the town of Wageningen and has an elevation of 42 m above mean sea level ...

''. Wageningen can be reached by car from

highways A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

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 st ...

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 N ...

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 (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank w ...

Johannes Blaskowitz Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German ''Generaloberst'' during World War II. After joining the Imperial German Army in 1901, Blaskowitz served throughout World War I, where he earned the Iron Cross for brav ...

, 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 Ca ...

commander

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...

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, but differing from it because it does not involve the original creation of statehood. It commemorates the end of an occupation ...

in the Netherlands, Wageningen hosts a large

festival A festival is an event 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, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

. 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 WUR) is a public research university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally important center fo ...

(WUR), including associated institutes, now employs about 7400 people. Today, Wageningen is also the central city in Food Valley, 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, Shenzhen, Yantian, Shenzhen. The company was originally formed in 1999 as a genetics research center to participate in the Human Genome Pro ...

to sequence the entire genome of ''

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

''.

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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club,

FC Wageningen FC Wageningen (before 1978 ''Wageningen'' and ''WVV Wageningen'') was a Dutch football club which was founded on 27 August 1911., The club played its matches in the Wageningse Berg stadium. History FC Wageningen spent most of its history in ...

, which won the

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

twice. The club went bankrupt in 1992 and played its last match in May 1992 against

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eredivisi ...

. The city is also home to the largest

Korfball Korfball ( ) is a ball sport, with similarities to netball, basketball, and ringball. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless basket that is mounted on a pole. Each team is composed of four female players and four male players. The s ...

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 municipa ...

and

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

. 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 Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, and Elst (Utrecht), Elst. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, n ...

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

Veenendaal Veenendaal () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in central Netherlands, located in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. Veenendaal is the only population centre within its administrative borders. The municipal ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

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 ...

, 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 woodland ...

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.

Mayor

Wageningen's mayor Floor Vermeulen (m) (

VVD The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a conservative-liberal political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party, is a party of the centre-right that tries to promote private enterprise and ...

), 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 René Descartes, Cartesian. Early life and education De Raey was born in 1622 in the Dutch town of Wageningen as son to Jan Jansz van Ray ...

(1622 in Wageningen – 1702) a Dutch philosopher, an early Cartesian * Gerrit Zegelaar (1719 – 1794 in Wageningen) a Dutch painter *

August Falise Augustinus Franciscus Henri Falise (26 January 1875 – 7 January 1936) was a Dutch sculptor and medailleur (minter of medals). Next to smaller sculptures he designed large monuments of public figures in stone or messing which are still present ...

(1875 in Wageningen – 1936) was a Dutch sculptor and minter of medals *

Willem Rudolfs Willem Rudolfs (February 13, 1886 – February 20, 1959) was a Dutch-born biochemist in entomology and pioneer in the field of sanitary sciences. Rudolfs was born in Wageningen, the Netherlands, and moved to the United States. In 1921, he earned ...

(born 1886 in Wageningen) pioneer in the field of sanitary sciences at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. * Li Edelkoort (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'', abo ...

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

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

(born 1965), a Dutch politician and 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 Cha ...

(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 (Netherlands), X Factor''. In 2009, she changed her stage name to Lisa Lois and released her debut a ...

(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'' (2001–200 ...

. *

Laura Hospes Laura Hospes (born 1994) is a Dutch photographer who specialises in black-and-white self-portraits. Early life and education Hospes was born in Wageningen in the Netherlands in 1994. She worked as a part-time model between the ages of 14 and 16, ...

(born 1994 in Wageningen) a Dutch photographer *

Nikkie de Jager Nikkie de Jager-Drossaers (; born 2 March 1994), known online as NikkieTutorials, is a Dutch make-up artist, model and beauty YouTuber. She gained online popularity in 2015 after her YouTube video "The Power of Makeup" became popular and ins ...

(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 inc ...

beauty vlogger A beauty YouTuber is an individual who creates content for YouTube, publishing videos in the realm of cosmetics, fashion industry, fashion, Hairstyle, hairstyling, and nail art. In 2016, there were more than 5.3 million beauty videos on YouTube, wit ...

, 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 (song), Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was se ...

Volkert van der Graaf Volkert van der Graaf (born 9 July 1969) is a Dutch convicted murderer who assassinated politician Pim Fortuyn, the leader of the Pim Fortuyn List (LPF) party, on 6 May 2002. Van der Graaf shot Fortuyn outside a radio studio in Hilversum short ...

(born 1969 in

Middelburg, Zeeland Middelburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the south-western Netherlands serving as the Capital (political), capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, ...

), environmental activist and convicted left-wing terrorist and murderer, attended

and lived at the Droevendaal student commune. In 2002, shot and killed politician

Pim Fortuyn Wilhelmus Simon Petrus Fortuijn, known as Pim Fortuyn (; 19 February 1948 – 6 May 2002), was a Dutch politician, author, civil servant, businessman, sociologist and academic who founded the party Pim Fortuyn List (Lijst Pim Fortuyn or LPF) in ...

Sport

Aletta van Manen Aletta van Manen (born 20 October 1958) is a retired Dutch field hockey defender, who won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics, and a bronze at the 1988 Games. From 1983 to 1988 she played a total number of 81 international matches for Hol ...

(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 commonly 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 ...

* Ed van Es (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 swimmer from the Netherlands, who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 1976 Events January * Janu ...

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

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

* 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 tri ...

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

Annemiek van Vleuten Annemiek van Vleuten (; born 8 October 1982) is a retired Dutch professional Bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who most recently rode for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam . Van Vleuten is twice a winner of both the UCI Road World Cha ...

(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 ATP rankings, ranking of world No. 22 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, achieved on 29 August 20 ...

(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 () is a national open-air museum located in Arnhem. It focuses on the culture associated with the everyday lives of ordinary people, and demonstrating the old way of life in the Netherlands. The park was establishe ...

, 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 (, ) 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 (with Quanzhou) surrounding the prefecture of Xiamen. Nam ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and Ndiza, (

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

). 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 The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

river in Wageningen

References

External links

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