Editing Venlo (section)

==History==

=== Early history ===
[[File:RivierenkaartVenlo.jpg|thumb|left|Map circa 1850]]
Roman and Celtic coins have been found in Venlo; it was speculated to have been the settlement known as ''[[Sablones]]'' on the Roman road connecting [[Maastricht]] with [[Xanten]], but the little evidence there is concerning the location of Sablones speaks against this thought while there is no evidence in support of it. Blerick, on the west bank, was known as ''Blariacum''.

Documents from the 9th century mention Venlo as a trade post; it developed into one of the more important ones in the [[Meuse]]-[[Rhine]] area, receiving [[City rights in the Netherlands|city rights]] in 1343, and becoming a member of the [[Hanseatic League]] in 1375.
 
Because of its strategic importance, the city of Venlo was besieged several times. The most significant siege was that of 1702, carried on by [[Menno van Coehoorn]]. Consequently, Venlo was incorporated into the [[Generaliteitslanden]] of the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]] at the [[Peace of Utrecht|Treaty of 1713]]. After the [[Napoleonic Wars]] it became part of the [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]].

In 1839-1866 Venlo was not a part of [[German Confederation]], completely surrounded by its territory.

=== World War II ===
On 9 November 1939, two British Intelligence Service agents were kidnapped by the ''[[Sicherheitsdienst]]'' in what became known as the [[Venlo Incident]]. The incident was used by the Nazis to link [[UK|Great Britain]] to [[Georg Elser]]'s failed assassination of [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] at the [[Bürgerbräukeller]] the day before and to justify their later [[Battle of the Netherlands|invasion of the Netherlands]], a neutral country, on 10 May 1940.

Venlo had both a road and a railway bridge over the [[Meuse]] ({{langx|nl|Maas}}). The city was severely damaged by bombing raids (13 October – 19 November 1944) on the bridges at the end of the war. [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] made 13 attempts to destroy the bridges to cut the German supply lines and block a retreat of the German army across the river. These failed, and it was the retreating German troops who in the end blew up the bridges in an attempt to stop the allied advance. Allied forces liberated Venlo from the east, from inside Germany itself.

About 300 people were killed due to those raids. The raids also cost Venlo a major part of its historical buildings. However, some old buildings, such as the city hall (the 'Stadhuis') and the 'Römer' house, survived the war relatively unscathed.

Before the war, Venlo had a small Jewish community.  In 1930 there were 86 Jewish people living in Venlo. In the next decade this number rose to about 248, because German Jews were trying to evade the discriminatory laws and growing hate in Germany. 6 years after the end of [[The Holocaust]] and the first wave of Jewish immigration to [[Israel]] there were 32 Jewish people left in Venlo.

=== Post-Second World War era ===
[[File:Venlo-plaats-OpenTopo.jpg|thumb|Topographic map of the city of Venlo, as of March 2014]]
By the late 1990s, drug-related nuisance had become a problem in the centre of Venlo.<ref>{{citation | last1 = Snippe | first1 = J. | last2 = Naayer | first2 = H. | last3 = Bieleman | first3 = B. | title = Hektor in 2005. Evaluatie aanpak drugsoverlast in Venlo | publisher = Interval/WODC | place = Groningen/Rotterdam | year = 2006 | url = http://www.wodc.nl/onderzoeksdatabase/hektor-vervolgonderzoek.aspx}}</ref> National and municipal officials launched the Q-4 Project and Tango initiatives that, amongst other measures, included moving the town's largest [[Coffeeshop (Netherlands)|coffeeshops]]<ref>In the Netherlands, coffeeshops are establishments where it is allowed to sell cannabis to adults for their personal consumption.</ref> to the outskirts, where they continue to do business, while the city centre was freed from disturbances.

In 2001, the municipalities of [[Belfeld]] and [[Tegelen]] were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the [[Duchy of Jülich]] centuries ago, whereas Venlo has a past in the [[Duchy of Guelders]]. On 1 January 2010, the municipality of [[Arcen en Velden]], was merged into the municipality of Venlo.

In 2003 Venlo was awarded the title "Greenest city of Europe". Venlo was the host of [[Floriade 2012]], the world's largest horticultural exhibition.

In 2013, Venlo won the prestigious 'Best City Centre of the Netherlands' award. It amazed the jury by all the investments which have been made in the last couple of years in the Maas Boulevard, the railway station, the tunnel in the centre and the Maas bridge.<ref name="Best city centre">{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.fontysvenlo.nl/pages/posts/venlo-has-best-city-center-in-the-netherlands-285.php
 |title        = Venlo has Best City Centre in the Netherlands
 |trans-title  = Venlo has Best City Centre in the Netherlands
 |date         = 2013
 |publisher    = Fontys Venlo
 |access-date   = 20 December 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140324232628/http://www.fontysvenlo.nl/pages/posts/venlo-has-best-city-center-in-the-netherlands-285.php
 |archive-date = 24 March 2014
 |url-status     = dead
 |df           = dmy-all
}}</ref>