Today, I finally make it to Nijmegen. I have been planning on going over there for about a month now but never made it till now. It is only about 10 km away on the other side of the river. (Almost everything is across some river or other.)
Nijmegen is said to be the oldest and once the largest town in the Netherlands. Two thousand years ago the Romans settled there and later Emperor Charlemagne chose the Valkhof as the site to build a palace and it became one of the most important places in the empire. It's riverside location made the transportation of goods an attractive location. But because of it's strategic location, it has often been the center of many conflicts. During World War II the city was heavily damaged but careful rebuilding has kept the history alive.
In 1856, a cholera epidemid killed thousands and there was an urgent need for clean water. Kronenburgerpark became an was found to be highly suitable for supplying water and is still used today. (I tried to put a picture here of the water ways and the water tower - not like our water towers, more like castle towers.)
Nijmegen is not only a great place to go to view a little history, it also has a great shopping area. The Lange Hezelstraat was an important thoroughfare even back in Roman times so when you glance down little alley and up interesting stairs, there are surprising little glimpses of ancient architecture. This street and several surrounding streets are pedestrian only roads and have all kinds of interesting large and small shops along them. Alas, not having a car curtails an excessively large shopping sprees but I was able to find a few little things that didn't break the bank or my back. I can't wait to go back and explore further.
2 comments:
Beautiful pictures Annette! Thanks for sharing - so we can live vicariously :)
You haven't updated your blog in quite a while mom... you gotta keep on topo of these things!
Post a Comment