Description : Nijmegen is a city in the Netherlands' province of Gelderland, on the Waal river close to the German border. Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands, the second to be recognized as such in Roman times, and in 2005 celebrated 2,000 years of existence. The municipality is part of the Arnhem–Nijmegen metropolitan area, with 736,107 inhabitants in 2011. Antiquity The first mention of Nijmegen in history is in the 1st century BC, when the Romans built a military camp on the place where Nijmegen was to appear; the location had great strategic value because of the surrounding hills, which gave (and continue to give) a good view over the Waal and Rhine valley. By 69, when the Batavians, the original inhabitants of the Rhine and Maas delta, revolted, a village called Oppidum Batavorum had formed near the Roman camp. This village was destroyed in the revolt, but when it had ended the Romans built another, bigger camp where the Legio X Gemina was stationed. Soon after, another village formed around this camp. In 98, Nijmegen was the first of two settlements in what is now the Kingdom of the Netherlands to receive Roman city rights. In 103, the X Gemina was re-stationed to Vindobona, modern day Vienna, which may have been a major blow to the economy of the village around the camp, losing around 5000 inhabitants. In 104 Emperor Trajan renamed the town, which now became known as Ulpia Noviomagus Batavorum, Noviomagus for short (the origin of the current name Nijmegen). A collection of artifacts from Roman antiquity were compiled by Johannes Smetius in the 17th century, called the Smetius Collection. Middle Ages Beginning in the second half of the 4th century, Roman power decreased and Noviomagus eventually became part of the Frankish kingdom. It also appeared around this time on the Peutinger Map. In the 8th century Emperor Charlemagne maintained his palatium in Nijmegen in 777, and possibly on at least three more occasions. During his brief deposition of 830, the emperor Louis the Pious was sent to Nijmegen by his son Lothar I. Thanks to the Waal river, trade flourished. The powerful Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor was born at Nijmegen in 1165. In 1230 his son Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor granted Nijmegen city rights. In 1247, the city was ceded to the count of Guelders as collateral for a loan. The loan was never repaid, and Nijmegen has been a part of Gelderland ever since. This did not hamper trade; Nijmegen even became part of the Hanseatic League in 1364. The arts also flourished in this period. Famous medieval painters like the Limbourg brothers were born and educated in Nijmegen. Some of Hieronymus Bosch's ancestors also came from the city.
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