Talk:Nijmegen

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When we say that Nijmegen is a city of 150,000 does that include the other towns in the municipalty? Or should this be "Nijmegen is a municipality" not a city? Rmhermen 14:19 21 Jul 2003 (UTC)

I agree that this was a bit unclear, I changed it. - Patrick 14:42 21 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Contents 1 WWII History 2 Charlemagne 3 Oldest city? 4 Taipei101

[edit] WWII History

I added the casulty count from the US bombing and slightly reworded the para. It would actually be nice to have a subsection on WWII history. The current paragraph should at least be split into 1) Invasion 2) Bombing 3) Market Garden and any other notable incidents. Numbers from http://www.godutch.com/windmill/newsItem.asp?id=684 (over 750 - I've also seen 800 quoted).

[edit] Charlemagne

The article presently states: "It has been contended that in the 8th century Emperor Charlemagne built a castle in Nijmegen. Research has demonstrated that it is a historical fallacy.". However, German wikipedia states that Charlemagne built a castle from the deserted castellum in 777, and Dutch wikipedia states that Charlemagne built the castle in 770, and Louis the Pious had a conference there in 830. I would like to know which statement is right, and what research is referred to. Markussep 11:12, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

It is "general knowledge" that he built a castle in Nijmegen. nl:Karel de Grote has an external link at the bottom to a "highly controversial" theory of Albert Delahaye that several events from early Dutch history in fact took place in Flanders or the north of France.

The location of Charlemagne's castle is known to be "Noviomagus". According to Delahaye, this also refers to the town of Noyon, which is close to the birth place of Charlemagne, and a more logical place for him to build a castle early in his life.

I have heard of this controversy before; I don't think his theories are widely accepted. The scale of his claims makes them quite hard to believe. -- Eugene van der Pijll 11:29, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

I read some of Delahaye's statements, it all seems pretty paranoid to me. The statement about continuous flooding and lack of human activity in the region between the 4th and 11th century (as presently in the article) seems far fetched to me as well. Better change it to something more widely accepted. Markussep 10:08, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Although I disagree with Delahaye's conclusions, I agree that there is no evidence for the claim that Charlemagne actually built a palace, or ever resided in Nijmegen. There has been no or very little archeological research on this site, known as Valkhof. I also found on the dutch version of this page Charlemagne's name in the list of famous people from Nijmegen. As with it's Roman past, in my view, these popular historical claims have little scientific foundation. Wvdc 14:14, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

I have removed the line "Due to climate changes that caused continuous flooding there was, during the time-span between the 4th century and the 11th century, hardly any human activity in Nijmegen or its region" as there really isn't any evidence other than the decline of Nijmegen to support this theory. Speaking against it, however, is the fact that Nijmegen lies at an altitude of about 30m above sea level - that's some serious flooding Delahaye is suggesting.

May I refer you to the book in 3 parts: Nijmegen. Geschiedenis van de oudste styad van Nederland. Forget Delahaye. Electionworld = Wilfried (talk 07:18, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. Delahaye is not taken seriously by any respected historian. Let's keep his crazy theories out of this article. Venetian 21:36, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Oldest city?

In 'History' it reads:

   Nijmegen is celebrating its 2000 year existence in 2005. With
   its history going back to the 0's it is considered the oldest
   city in the Netherlands. In gaining this qualification, it has
   competed with the city of Maastricht.

The 'dispute' over which city is actually the oldest is not quite settled yet. It appears to be a question of definition whether Maastricht or Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands. Perhaps it would be better to reflect this 'unresolved' status in this article as well?

That is not necesary since Maastricht recognized some time ago Nijmegen was elder. Electionworld = Wilfried (talk 16:50, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Taipei101

"Building: The Erasmus Tower, famous for its architecture. The Taipei 101 was based upon the architecture of the Erasmus."

I hope someone can provide a source, because it sounds ridiculous. --Venetian 00:28, 18 November 2006 (UTC)