Arnhem

Arnhem is the capital of the province of Gelderland, in the east of the Netherlands near the German border, a city on the banks of the Lower Rhine (Nederrijn) set on the foothills of the Veluwe, with more than 160,000 inhabitants. First mentioned in 893, it received city rights in 1233 and joined the Hanseatic League in 1443; in September 1944 it was the scene of the Battle of Arnhem, part of Operation Market Garden, and its rebuilt bridge now bears the name of John Frost. The north of the municipality is part of De Hoge Veluwe National Park, and the Netherlands Open Air Museum lies on its outskirts. In sport, Vitesse play at the GelreDome, a stadium built for Euro 2000 with a retractable roof and a slide-out pitch, while Papendal is home to the National Sports Centre of the Netherlands, whose first major event was the 1980 Summer Paralympics. Arnhem was recognised by ACES Europe as European City of Sport 2018, within the Dutch representation in the ACES network.