GELDERLAND - Geography and history
Gelderland, the largest province in the Netherlands, is situated in the eastern part of the country and shares a common border with Germany. It has a wide variety of countryside. The easternmost part of the province - the Achterhoek - is a patchwork of little villages, meadows and woodland. Much of the northern part of the province is covered by the 'Hoge Veluwe' nature reserve where boar, wild sheep and stags still roam freely; in the centre of the park is the Kröller-Müller Museum, with its major collection of works by Van Gogh. The central part of the province is dominated by two great rivers, the Rhine and the Waal, which flow from east to west. The province's two main cities, Arnhem, the provincial capital, and Nijmegen, are located on these rivers. The cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen together comprise central Gelderland, the Netherland's largest conurbation after the Randstad. The area between the two rivers, the Rivierenland, is known for its fruit-growing. In the spring, the blossoming orchards which nestle between the winding river dykes are a blaze of colour. The province is crossed by a number of good motorways and international rail links. The river Waal is a busy transport artery between the port of Rotterdam and the Ruhr.
A central yet pleasantly rural location
Abundant in nature, Gelderland is situated midway between the Randstad and the Ruhr, and is an attractive location for both living and working. Its cities are well endowed with medical, cultural and educational facilities.
Despite the province's pleasant living environment, its central position and its good transport services, Nijmegen in particular and Arnhem have to contend with high rates of unemployment which have remained above the national average for many years. Gelderland is increasingly faced by the challenge of balancing economic development with a responsible environmental policy. Much of the province is of great natural beauty and therefore not suited to large-scale development.
A province with many faces
Anyone who travels through Gelderland cannot help but notice the sheer variety which the province has to offer within a radius of no more than 100 kilometres. In addition to the variety of its countryside, Gelderland boasts a wide range of economic activities. Apeldoorn, Arnhem and Nijmegen, which lie in close proximity to each other, are the province's urban nerve centre. Arnhem and Nijmegen, which have overcome their traditional rivalries, together form a single conurbation whose infrastructure and facilities provide a focal point for the region and beyond. Most of the multinational companies which operate in the province have their establishments in one of these two cities. Smaller centres of economic activity are spread throughout the province: intensive livestock breeding (particularly poultry) and the paper industry are dominant in the Veluwe; the Achterhoek is home to a variety of agricultural holdings, agri-businesses and major metal-processing companies; the Rivierenland is a centre of fruit-growing and transport and distribution companies. Of the major cities, the emphasis in Arnhem and Apeldoorn is on the services sector, while Nijmegen, with its university and high-tech industries, is the province's centre of learning.
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