Netherlands
Nijmegen
Nijmegen: Roman Roots on a Hill Above the Waal
Nijmegen claims to be the oldest city in the Netherlands, but heavy war damage in 1944 means its Roman and medieval past survives mainly in museums and a few old buildings. Expect a rebuilt city with some old landmarks rather than a preserved old town.
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Arriving in Nijmegen
River cruise ships moor along the Waalkade, the riverside quay below the old town between the Waal road bridge and the railway bridge. From the quay, the Veerpoorttrappen steps lead up to the Valkhof park, and the Grotestraat connects the waterfront with the shopping streets.
- Nijmegen is the largest city in the province of Gelderland and lies a few kilometers from the German border.
- Behind the quay wall are restaurants, cafés and a casino, with a broad stone stairway and lawn by the water.
- When the river is high, the lower parts of the Waalkade often flood and barriers go up, which can change the route from the ship.
- The National Bicycle Museum Velorama is on the Waalkade itself.
Nijmegen on Your Own
Nijmegen's old center is compact, and its main sights sit on or near the hill above the Waalkade, so a morning on foot covers the Valkhof park, the main square and the great church. Much of the old center was destroyed in 1944, so expect a mix of rebuilt streets and surviving monuments.
- Valkhof park: On the hilltop stand the Sint-Nicolaaskapel, the oldest building still standing in Nijmegen and one of the oldest stone buildings in the country, and the Barbarossa ruin, the apse of a chapel from the castle. The hill looks out over the Waal.
- Valkhof Museum: At Kelfkensbos 59, on the edge of the park, the museum shows archaeology, with a strong focus on the Roman frontier, alongside old and modern art.
- Grote Markt: The main square has the Waag, a weigh house finished in 1612, and In de Blaauwe Hand, said to be the city's oldest pub.
- Stevenskerk: The great church, consecrated in 1273, lost most of its tower in the bombing of February 1944 and reopened after restoration in 1969. Entry has been free; check before you go.
- Velorama: The National Bicycle Museum on the Waalkade traces the bicycle from the first running machines of the early 1800s to the modern city bike.
- Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.
Getting Around
Nijmegen's center is easy to walk, and the city is built for cycling, with fast cycle routes such as the RijnWaalpad to Arnhem. Nijmegen station is within about 20 minutes' walk of anywhere in the center.
- Trains leave several times an hour for Arnhem, 's-Hertogenbosch and Utrecht, and some continue to Amsterdam.
- City buses link every neighborhood with the center.
- Groesbeek, in the wooded hills east of the city, is where American paratroopers landed in September 1944.
Tipping in the Netherlands
Dutch restaurant and café prices already include service and taxes by law. A tip is welcome but never required, and the currency is the euro.
- For a small bill, rounding up to the next euro is fine.
- On a restaurant bill, 5 to 10 percent counts as a generous tip.
Festivals and City Life
In the third week of July the Four Days Marches bring tens of thousands of walkers to Nijmegen, and the ten-day Summer Festival around them turns the center into one big festival. Nijmegen is also a university city, home to Radboud University.
- Walkers in the Four Days Marches cover 30, 40 or 50 km a day depending on age and sex, and military teams march 40 km a day carrying at least 10 kg. Finishers receive a medal, the Vierdaagsekruis.
- If your ship calls during the marches, expect crowds, closed roads and full restaurants in the center.
- The medieval painters known as the Limbourg brothers were born in Nijmegen, and a festival named after them brings medieval re-enactors into the streets.
- The Nijmeegse Kermis, a street fair said to date back to 1272, comes to the city every year.
A Brief History
Nijmegen grew from Roman army camps on the hills above the Waal, and the town has sat on frontiers ever since, from the edge of the Roman Empire to the front line of 1944. Bombing and fighting in the Second World War destroyed much of the historic center.
- First century BC: The Romans built a military camp here, valued for the view the hills gave over the Waal and Rhine valley.
- 69 and 98: A Batavian village beside the camp, Oppidum Batavorum, was destroyed in the Batavian revolt of 69. In 98 the settlement became the first in what is now the Netherlands to receive Roman town rights, and in 104 Emperor Trajan renamed it Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum.
- 777: Charlemagne stayed at his palace in Nijmegen.
- 1165 and 1230: Henry VI, later Holy Roman Emperor, was born in Nijmegen in 1165, and his son Frederick II granted the town its charter in 1230.
- 1247: Nijmegen was pledged to the Count of Guelders as security for a loan that was never repaid, and it has been part of Gelderland ever since.
- 1678 and 1679: European powers negotiated the Treaties of Nijmegen here.
- Late 18th century and 1874: The old castle on the Valkhof was pulled down so its bricks could be sold, and the city walls were dismantled in 1874.
- 1936: Queen Wilhelmina opened the Waal Bridge on 16 June. Its arch was the longest in Europe when it was built.
- 1944: On 22 February, American bombers hit the city center in error. In September, during Operation Market Garden, Allied troops fought for the bridges and captured the Waal Bridge on 20 September; a member of the Dutch resistance, Jan van Hoof, is remembered for preventing its demolition.
- To learn more ashore: The Valkhof Museum, at Kelfkensbos 59, covers Nijmegen's Roman army camps, Charlemagne's palace and Barbarossa's castle.
Nijmegen with Children
Nijmegen is an easy, low-key city for families: the riverside quay, the bicycle museum and the hilltop park are all close to the moorings. Keep a hand on young children by the water, because the Waal is a busy shipping river.
- Younger children: Velorama, the bicycle museum on the Waalkade, has hundreds of historic bikes, from early wooden running machines to tricycles and four-wheelers.
- School age: Climb the steps from the quay to the Valkhof park, look inside the Sint-Nicolaaskapel, then see Roman finds in the Valkhof Museum next to the park.
- Teenagers: The Freedom Museum in Groesbeek, east of the city, tells the story of the 1944 to 1945 liberation of the Dutch and German border region in a building shaped like a parachute. Groesbeek lies in the wooded hills east of the city, so allow time to get there and back.
- On the river: The Waal carries heavy shipping, so keep out of the water.
Shopping
Nijmegen's shopping center is car-free, with chain stores on the Marikenstraat and Moenenstraat and smaller independent shops in the streets around them. Most shops open late on Thursdays and close at 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
- The Lange Hezelstraat is often called the oldest shopping street in the country, but its shops date only from 1880.
- There are general markets in the center on Mondays and Saturdays.
- On the first Sunday of each month, shops in the center open in the afternoon.
- Opening hours vary from shop to shop; check before you go.
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