Wageningen
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Wageningen
CountryNetherlandsProvinceGelderlandArea (2006) - Municipality32.35 km² (12.5 sq mi) - Land30.53 km² (11.8 sq mi) - Water1.83 km² (0.7 sq mi)Population (1 January 2007) - Municipality35,669 - Density1,168/km² (3,025.1/sq mi) Source: CBS, Statline.Time zoneCET (UTC+1) - Summer (DST)CEST (UTC+2) Wageningen is a municipality and a historical town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which is specialised in life sciences. The city incorporates 34,348 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2006), of which many thousands are students. The university and associated research institutes employ about 7400 people. Wageningen also is the central city in Food Valley. Food Valley is the Dutch food & nutrition cluster concentrated around Wageningen University and comprising of many institutes, companies and state-of-the-art facilities in the food & nutrition field. Food Valley is regarded as the largest food & nutrition R&D cluster in the world.
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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 a 15 minute bus drive connects to the central bus station in the town center.
Founding of the city
 
Wageningen
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 part 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 educational institution, 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 6, 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 honoured for their service. |
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