Arnhem

Arnhem, or Arnheim, the capital of the province of Gelderland, Holland, on the right bank of the Rhine (here crossed by a pontoon bridge), and a junction station 35 m. by rail E.S.E. of Utrecht. Pop. (1900) 57,240. It is connected by tramway with Zutphen and Utrecht, and there is a regular service of steamers to Cologne, Amsterdam, Nijmwegen, Tiel, ’s Hertogenbosch and Rotterdam. Arnhem is a gay and fashionable town prettily situated at the foot of the Veluwe hills, and enjoys a special reputation for beauty on account of its wooded and hilly surroundings, which have attracted many wealthy people to its neighbourhood. The Groote Kerk of St Eusebius, built in the third quarter of the 15th century, contains the marble monument to Charles (d. 1538), the last duke of Gelderland of the Egmont dynasty. High up against the wall is an effigy of the same duke in his armour. The fine lofty tower contains a chime of forty-five bells. The Roman Catholic church of St Walburgis is of earlier date, and a new Roman Catholic church dates from 1894. The town hall was built as a palace by Maarten van Rossum, Duke Charles’s general, at the end of the 15th century, and was only converted to its present use in 1830. Its grotesque external ornamentation earned for it the name of Duivelshuis, or devil’s house. The provincial government house occupies the site of the former palace of the dukes of Gelderland. Other buildings are the court-house, a public library containing many old works, a theatre, a large concert-hall, a museum of antiquities (as well as a separate collection of Spanish antiquities), a gymnasium, a teachers’ and art school, a building (1880) to contain the provincial archives, a hospital (1889) and barracks. On account of its proximity to the fertile Betuwe district and its situation near the confluence of the Rhine and Ysel, the markets and shipping of Arnhem are in a flourishing condition. A wharf for building and repairing iron steamers was constructed in 1889. The manufactures include woollen and cotton goods, paper, earthenware, soap, carriages, furniture and tobacco, which is cultivated in the neighbourhood. Wool-combing and dyeing are also carried on, and there are oil and timber mills.

The environs of Arnhem are much admired. Following either the Zutphen or the Utrecht road, numerous pleasing views of the Rhine valley present themselves, and country houses and villas appear among the woods on every side. At Bronbeek, a short distance east of the town, is a hospital endowed by King William III. for soldiers of the colonial army. Beyond is the popular summer resort of Velp, with the castle of Biljoen built by Charles, duke of Gelderland, in 1530, and the beautiful park of the ancient castle of Rozendaal in the vicinity. The origin of the castle of Rozendaal is unknown. The first account of it is in connexion with a tournament given there by Reinald I., count of Gelderland, in the beginning of the 14th century, and it ever after remained the favourite residence of the counts and dukes of Gelderland. About the beginning of the 18th century fountains and lanes in the style of those at Versailles were laid out in the park, and soon after the castle itself, of which only the round tower remained (and is still standing), was rebuilt. The park is open to the public, and is famous for the beauty of the beech avenues and fir woods. Beyond this is De Steeg, another popular resort, whence stretches the famous Middachten Allee of beech trees to Dieren. On the Apeldoorn road is Sonsbeek, with a wooded park and small lakes, formerly a private seat and now belonging to the municipality. On the west of Arnhem is another pleasure ground, called the Reeberg, with a casino, and the woods of Heienoord. Close by is the ancient and well-preserved castle of Doornwerth with its own chapel. It was the seat of an independent lordship until 1402, after which time it was held in fief from the dukes of Gelderland. Beyond Doornwerth, at Renkum, is the royal country seat called Oranje-Nassau’s Oord, which was bought by the crown in 1881.

History.—Arnhem, called Arnoldi Villa in the middle ages, is, according to some, the Arenacum of the Romans, and is first mentioned in a document in 893. In 1233 Otto II., count of Gelderland, chose this spot as his residence, conferred municipal rights on the town, and fortified it. At a later period it entered the Hanseatic League. In 1473 it was captured by Charles the Bold of Burgundy. In 1505 it received the right of coining from Philip, son of the emperor Maximilian I. In 1514 Charles of Egmont, duke of Gelderland, took it from the Spaniards; but in 1543 it fell to the emperor Charles V., who made it the seat of the council of Gelderland. It joined the union of Utrecht in 1579, and came finally under the effective government of the states-general in 1585, all the later attacks of the Spaniards being repulsed. In 1586 Sir Philip Sidney died in the town from the effects of his wound received before Zutphen. The French took the town in 1672, but left it dismantled in 1674. It was refortified by the celebrated Dutch general of engineers, Coehoorn, in the beginning of the 18th century. In 1795 it was again stormed by the French, and in 1813 it was taken from them by the Prussians under Büllow. Gardens and promenades have now taken the place of the old ramparts, the last of which was levelled in 1853.

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