Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau.
The municipality of Enschede consisted of the city of Enschede until 1935, when the rural municipality of Lonneker, which surrounded the city, was annexed after the rapid industrial expansion of Enschede which began in the 1860s and involved the building of railways and the digging of the Twentekanaal.
Enschede is home to football club FC Twente, one-time Dutch champions, the University of Twente, and the last Polaroid film factory.
During the Carnival festivities, which take place in either February or March, Enschede is temporarily renamed as Krekkelstad, which means "cricket town" in English.
Geography
Enschede lies in the eastern part of Overijssel and is the easternmost city of more than 140,000 inhabitants in the Netherlands. The city lies a few kilometres from Germany, which borders the municipality. A few small rivers flow through or surround the city, such as the Roombeek and Glanerbeek.
Enschede contains five official city districts, which also include surrounding villages in the municipality: Stadsdeel Centrum (Binnenstad, Boddenkamp, De Bothoven, 't Getfert, Hogeland Noord, Horstlanden-Veldkamp, Laares, Lasonder-'t Zeggelt) Stadsdeel Noord (for example: Lonneker, Deppenbroek, Bolhaar, Mekkelholt, Roombeek, Twekkelerveld) Stadsdeel Oost (for example: Wooldrik, Velve-Lindenhof, De Eschmarke, 't Ribbelt, Stokhorst, Dolphia, 't Hogeland and Glanerbrug) Stadsdeel Zuid (Wesselerbrink, Helmerhoek and Stroinkslanden) Stadsdeel West (Boswinkel, Ruwenbos, Pathmos, Stadsveld, Bruggert, 't Zwering, 't Havengebied, De Marssteden, Boekelo, Usselo and Twekkelo)
Climate
Like most of the Netherlands, Enschede features an oceanic climate (Cfb in the Köppen classification), however, winters tend to be less mild than the rest of the Netherlands due to its inland location. Although the former military airport is derelict and plans to revive the place were canceled in 2012, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute still maintains a weather station there.
History
Preindustrial Era
The early history of Enschede is largely unknown, but a settlement existed around the Old Marketplace in early medieval times. The name of this settlement is mentioned as Anescede or Enscede meaning either "near the border" (with Bentheim) or "near the Es" and sported a church, a marketplace and a fortified aristocratic house.
Enschede was granted city rights around 1300 which were confirmed in 1325 by Bishop Jan III van Diest and henceforth was allowed to protect itself with a wall. Because a stone wall was too expensive (since stone had to be imported), Enschede had a system of ditches, palisades and hedges instead, which is still reflected in the street-names Noorderhagen and Zuiderhagen (North Hedge and South Hedge, respectively). The city plan of this era is still recognisable in the street-pattern. The city was spared destruction in 1597 at its capture during the Eighty Years' War when after a short siege, the Spanish garrison surrendered the city and the defences were razed.
Because the medieval city was largely built of wood and stone houses were the exception, fire was a constant risk and a series of fires in 1517, 1750 and again on 7 May 1862 earned the people from Enschede the nickname Brandstichters (arsonists).
Industrial era
The last fire coincided with the start of the growth of the city into a large production center for textiles, stimulating a large increase in population, which by 1894 had reached an estimated 18,267: nineteenth-century urban growth was at first rather chaotic. The names of the slums (like De Krim and Sebastopol) are still notorious, although they have long since been torn down. In 1907 the laissez faire mentality was dropped and Enschede was the first city in the Netherlands to draw up an official expansion plan, incorporating the surrounding municipality of Lonneker.
Textile production, originally a cottage industry, reached an industrial scale at the start of the 19th century. In particular, bombazijn (a mixture of cotton and linen) proved a successful export. One such factory to have produced textiles in the late 19th century is the Hardick & Seckel Factory.