Almelo

Municipality

Almelo city centre

Flag

Coat of arms

Location in Overijssel

Coordinates: 52°21′N 6°40′E / 52.350°N 6.667°ECoordinates: 52°21′N 6°40′E / 52.350°N 6.667°E

Government

• Body

Municipal council

• Mayor

Jon Hermans-Vloedbeld (VVD)

Area

• Total

69.41 km² (26.80 sq mi)

• Land

67.42 km² (26.03 sq mi)

• Water

1.99 km² (0.77 sq mi)

Elevation

12 m (39 ft)

Population (May 2014)

• Total

72,511

• Density

1,076/km² (2,790/sq mi)

Demonym(s)

Almeloër

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postcode

7600–7614, 7627

Area code

0546

Website

www.almelo.nl

Almelo (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑlməloː]) is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie and Bornerbroek.

Almelo has about 72,000 inhabitants in the middle of the rolling countryside of Twente, with the industrial centres of Enschede and Hengelo as close neighbours but also with tourist towns like Ootmarsum, Delden and Markelo only a bicycle ride away. Almelo received city rights in 1394. Within the city limits lies the castle of the Counts of Almelo.

Located in the city centre is Huize Almelo, a castle that in its current form dates back to 1662 (This castle is not open to the public). There are mosaics which decorate the walls of the tunnel close to the railway station.

The city is also known for its local association football club Heracles Almelo, which plays in the Eredivisie, the highest football league in the Netherlands. The club uses the Polman Stadion.

At the end of the 19th century textile emerged as a major employer and drew many workers to Almelo, at first from within the Netherlands. Since the 1960s workers from Spain and Turkey came to Almelo. The first mosque of the Netherlands was built in Almelo in 1976 for the Turkish population of the city. Almelo also has a sizeable number of Armenians.

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Wikipedia