Almere
Almere | |||
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Municipality | |||
![]() Skyline of Almere
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![]() Location in Flevoland |
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Coordinates: 52°22′N 5°13′E / 52.367°N 5.217°ECoordinates: 52°22′N 5°13′E / 52.367°N 5.217°E | |||
Country | Netherlands | ||
Province | Flevoland | ||
Government[1] | |||
• Body | Municipal council | ||
• Mayor | Franc Weerwind (D66) | ||
Area[2] | |||
• Total | 248.77 km2 (96.05 sq mi) | ||
• Land | 129.60 km2 (50.04 sq mi) | ||
• Water | 119.17 km2 (46.01 sq mi) | ||
Elevation[3] | −3 m (−10 ft) | ||
Population (May 2014)[4] | |||
• Total | 196,290 | ||
• Density | 1,515/km2 (3,920/sq mi) | ||
Demonym(s) | Almeerder | ||
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Postcode | 1300–1379 | ||
Area code | 036 | ||
Website | www |
Almere (Dutch pronunciation: [ɑlˈmeːrə] ( listen)) is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere compromises 6 official districts and boroughs.[5] These are the districts Almere Stad (which is further split up into Almere Stad Oost, Almere Stad West and Almere Centrum), Almere Buiten and Almere Pampus (which is currently being designed),[6] and the boroughs of Almere Haven, Almere Hout and Almere Poort. 4 of them also feature official district/borough offices.[7] Furthermore, it also compromises of the unofficial historic district and neighborhood Oostvaardersdiep,[8] which has an active semi-self-governing community,[9] and the planned district of Almere Oosterwold.
Almere is the newest city in the Netherlands: the land on which Almere sits, the Southern Flevoland Polder, was reclaimed from the IJsselmeer in 1959-68. The first house was finished in 1976, and Almere became a municipality in 1984. It has the largest population of the municipalities in Flevoland with 196,290 citizens in 2014 and the 7th largest in the Netherlands.[10] In October 2007, the city council of Almere made agreements with the government to expand the city to 350,000 inhabitants by 2030.[11]
Contents
History[edit]
The original plans for the IJsselmeerpolders saw the land being used for agriculture. However, after World War II housing was needed for the rapidly growing population of Amsterdam and two towns were planned in the polders Oostelijk Flevoland and Zuidelijk Flevoland. The town in Oostelijk Flevoland became Lelystad. The town in Zuidelijk Flevoland was still called Zuidweststad (English: South West City) on the first sketches, but in the 1970s it became called Almere, named after the lake Almere, the early medieval name of the Zuiderzee. The first house in Almere was finished in 1976. At that time the town was still controlled by the Openbaar Lichaam Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders (Z.IJ.P.), with a Landdrost. In 1984 Almere became an official municipality. Originally, Almere was envisioned as a town with multiple centres. This idea was later abandoned in favor of allowing neighbourhoods like Tussen de Vaarten to be built. There is also a difference between the way houses are built in the oldest and the newest parts of the city. The housing plan in Almere in the 1970s was basic functionality and a levelling of social status. However, starting in the 1990s more exclusive homes with striking designs were built (e.g., in the Regenboogbuurt).
Governance[edit]
Local executive[edit]
Franc Weerwind (D66) has been the mayor of Almere since 9 September 2015. On 20 May 2010 the new council was inaugurated. The populist Party for Freedom had won the most seats in the local elections, which was both national and international news due to the controversial statements of its leader Geert Wilders. Even though the largest party they didn't take part in the local administration.
List of mayors:
- 1984–1986 Han Lammers (PvdA)
- 1986–1993 Cees de Cloe (PvdA)
- 1993–1994 Cees Roozemond (PvdA, acting)
- 1994–1998 Ralph Pans (PvdA)
- 1998–2003 Hans Ouwerkerk (PvdA)
- 2003–2003 Jaap van der Doef (PvdA, acting)
- 2003–2015 Annemarie Jorritsma-Lebbink (VVD)
- 2015–present Franc Weerwind (D66)
City council[edit]
The first local council was installed on 2 January 1984 in the presence of the then minister of the Interior Koos Rietkerk. The council elections took place on 21 September 1983. Prior to 1984 Almere had an Adviesraad, which was chosen every 2 years (1978–1980, 1980–1982, 1982–1984). This Adviesraad was made up of different political parties similar to a local council. On 11 March 1977 the first adviescommissie was elected. It consisted of 5 people that were chosen on personal title. Since 1998, the council of Almere has comprised a total of 39 members.
Party | 1984 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PVV | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 8 (9) |
D66 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
PvdA | 10 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
VVD | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
Leefbaar Almere | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
SP | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 2 | 4 |
GroenLinks | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
CDA | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
ChristenUnie | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Almere Partij | - | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | 1 |
Faction Eekhuis | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 (0) |
Trots op Nederland | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - |
Verenigde Senioren Partij | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
Stadspartij Almere | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
CP/CD | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
Stap '84 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Total | 23 | 27 | 33 | 37 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 |
International relations[edit]
Twin towns — Sister cities[edit]
Almere maintains international relations with the following twin cities:[12][13]
Aalborg, Denmark[14]
České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Dmitrov, Russia
Yaroslavl, Russia[citation needed]
Haapsalu, Estonia[citation needed]
Kumasi, Ghana
Port Sudan, Sudan (1986)
Lancaster, United Kingdom
Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Rendsburg, Germany
Växjö, Sweden
Tainan City, Taiwan (2009)
Geography[edit]
Almere is located in the polder of Southern Flevoland (Dutch: Zuidelijk Flevoland). It is the most western municipality of the province Flevoland. It borders with Lake Marken in the west and north, Lelystad in the northeast, Zeewolde in the east, and Lake Gooi in the south.
Almere consists of three boroughs and three districts (Dutch: stadsdelen), three of which are under construction.[15]
Name | Year[16] | Location |
---|---|---|
Almere Haven | 1976 | |
Almere Stad | 1980 | |
Almere Buiten | 1984 | |
Almere Hout | 1991 | |
Almere Poort | 2000 | |
Almere Pampus | - |
Climate[edit]
Almere has an oceanic climate characterized by mild to cool winters, and warm summers with fair precipitation year round.
Climate data for Almere | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | 4.9 (40.8) |
5.5 (41.9) |
8.2 (46.8) |
9.6 (49.3) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.3 (66.7) |
20.8 (69.4) |
21.0 (69.8) |
18.5 (65.3) |
14.2 (57.6) |
8.9 (48) |
5.9 (42.6) |
12.75 (54.95) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.2 (36) |
2.5 (36.5) |
4.8 (40.6) |
6.7 (44.1) |
11.9 (53.4) |
14.9 (58.8) |
16.5 (61.7) |
16.6 (61.9) |
14.3 (57.7) |
10.6 (51.1) |
6.1 (43) |
3.4 (38.1) |
9.21 (48.58) |
Average low °C (°F) | −0.4 (31.3) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
1.5 (34.7) |
3.8 (38.8) |
7.6 (45.7) |
10.5 (50.9) |
12.3 (54.1) |
12.2 (54) |
10.1 (50.2) |
7.1 (44.8) |
3.4 (38.1) |
0.9 (33.6) |
5.72 (42.29) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 68.0 (2.677) |
47.0 (1.85) |
59.0 (2.323) |
45.0 (1.772) |
53.0 (2.087) |
62.0 (2.441) |
75.0 (2.953) |
77.0 (3.031) |
76.0 (2.992) |
80.0 (3.15) |
78.0 (3.071) |
76.0 (2.992) |
838.2 (33) |
Source: climatedata.org (1981–2010 normals)[17] |
Demography[edit]
Inhabitants by origin[edit]
In 2011[18]
2011 | Numbers | % |
---|---|---|
Dutch natives | 118,902 | 62.3 |
European immigrants | 18,617 | 9.8 |
Non European immigrants | 53,136 | 27.9 |
Suriname | 21,183 | 11.1 |
Morocco | 6,900 | 3.6 |
Turkey | 3,262 | 1.7 |
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba | 4,750 | 2.5 |
Others | 17,041 | 8.9 |
Almere Haven | Almere Stad | Almere Buiten | Almere Hout | Almere Poort | Almere Pampus | Almere in total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1970 | 52 | ||||||
1975 | 47 | ||||||
1980 | 6596 | 6632 | |||||
1985 | 21410 | 17240 | 1559 | 40297 | |||
1990 | 22355 | 37024 | 11499 | 71087 | |||
1995 | 22376 | 58816 | 22740 | 564 | 104496 | ||
2000 | 22237 | 83934 | 35290 | 1336 | 142797 | ||
2005 | 22590 | 103560 | 47358 | 1366 | 175008 | ||
2007 | 22507 | 105261 | 51751 | 1345 | 134 | 180998 | |
2016[19] | 22037 | 109863 | 55663 | 1678 | 10920 | 200812 |
Sport[edit]
Almere is the home of Almere City FC.
Transport[edit]
The traffic infrastructure in Almere is recognisable because of its separate infrastructure for cycles (which, in most cases, have separate cycle paths), cars and buses (the buses drive on a separate bus lane in most parts of the city). Almere is connected to the motorways A6 and A27.
Railway[edit]
In 1987 Almere was connected to the national railway system (see NS) with the fully completed Flevolijn which connected Weesp to Lelystad Centrum.
Almere currently has six railway stations:
- Almere Poort (opened December 9, 2012)
- Almere Muziekwijk (opened May 30, 1987)
- Almere Centrum (opened May 30, 1987)
- Almere Parkwijk (opened on February 1, 1996)
- Almere Buiten (opened May 30, 1987)
- Almere Oostvaarders (opened December 12, 2004)
A seasonal-use station, Almere Strand, was set up for certain events, such as Libelle Zomerweek. The station was made up of iron platforms. It was opened in May 1996 under the name Muiderzand. The station was closed after June 1996 but re-opened in June 1999 under the name Muiderstrand and closed again in July 1999. It re-opened again in 2001 under the name Almere Strand as an official seasonal-use station, meaning it was now open certain seasons every year. Because of the rapid development of the adjacent borough Almere Poort, it was decided to open an official station there (see Almere Poort), thus making the station of Almere Strand obsolete. Almere Poort station opened on December 9, 2012. Therefore, Almere Strand station was officially closed just after the summer of 2012 and its iron platforms were torn down in the weekend of October 6–7, 2012.[20] There are no remains of the station, although passengers can still see where the platforms once stood from the windows of Flevolijn trains.[clarification needed]
Public buses[edit]
Local/City bus lines[edit]
In Almere there are 10 bus lines which service the urban area:
Line # | Route | Notes |
---|---|---|
1 | Almere Buiten Oostvaarders - Almere Centrum Station - Almere Haven De Marken - Almere Haven Centrum | Runs every 10–12 minutes Mon-Sat during daytime hours (every 15 minutes on evenings and Sundays). The intervals are intertwined with those of line 3, so that one can take a bus every 4–6 minutes along the route. |
2 | Almere Centrum Station - Almere Gooisekant - Almere Poort Topsporthal - Almere Poort Station | Mon-Fri only; does not run on evenings and weekends and during the Summer. |
3 | Almere Buiten Oostvaarders - Almere Centrum Station - Almere Haven De Gouwen - Almere Haven Centrum | Runs every 10–12 minutes Mon-Sat during daytime hours. The intervals are intertwined with those of line 1, so that one can take a bus every 4–6 minutes along the route. - Mon-Sat only; does not run on evenings and Sundays. |
4 | Almere Centrum Station - Almere Literatuurwijk - Almere Gooisekant-West - Almere Poort Homeruskwartier - Almere Poort Station | Runs every 7 minutes Mon-Sat during daytime hours (every 15–30 minutes on evenings and Sundays). On Saturdays (except during the Summer), half of the runs terminate halfway at Gooisekant-West. |
5 | Almere Stripheldenbuurt - Almere Centrum Station | |
6 | Almere Parkwijk Station - Almere Centrum Station - Noorderplassen | Runs every 7 minutes Mon-Fri (every 15 minutes on Saturdays and every 30 minutes on Sundays). Mon-Sat (except during the Summer), half of the runs terminate halfway at Almere Centrum Station. |
7 | Almere Componistenpad (Muziekwijk) - Almere Centrum Station - Almere Parkwijk Station - Almere Tussen de Vaarten - Almere Sallandsekant | |
10 | Almere De Vaart/PIA - Almere Buiten Station - Almere Tussen de Vaarten - Almere Veluwsekant - Busstation 't Oor - Almere Gooisekant - Almere Poort Station | Mon-Fri only; does not run on evenings and weekends. During summer, all buses terminate at Gooisekant-West instead of Almere Poort Station. |
14 | (Almere Buiten Molenbuurt-Noord -) Almere Centrum Station - Almere Muziekwijk Station - Almere Poort Station | Mon-Fri, rush hours only. Only runs during the winter months outside of official holidays and school breaks. During morning rush hour, 2 runs begin at Almere Buiten Molenbuurt-Noord. |
17 | Almere Sallandsekant - Almere Nobelhorst | Mon-Fri, rush hours only (with the exception of a few runs around noon). The only city bus line to operate with a 8-passenger van (Mercedes-Benz Sprinter). In the near future, line 7 will be extended to Nobelhorst, thus replacing line 17. |
Monday to Friday, most city buses run about every 7,5 minutes (8 times every hour) during daytime hours. Saturdays, only a few city bus lines run every 7,5 minutes during daytime hours; most of them run every 12–15 minutes. Sunday, almost all city buses run every 30 minutes (with some buses running extra runs during certain hours), except for line 1 which runs every 15 minutes during daytime hours (every 30 minutes outside of daytime hours).
There are a few overnight bus lines (Friday and Saturday night only): N11, N12 and N13. They run under the Connexxion internal name Niteliner (but are operated by Maxx Almere branded city buses).
The bus company running almost all buses is Connexxion. Local buses (city buses) run under the name Maxx Almere. In the buses one can use the national transportation chipcard (smart card), subscriptions or one can buy bus tickets of Maxx Almere in the bus or at TVM's (the latter only Downtown).
Regional bus lines[edit]
Besides the local bus lines, there are regional and rush hour bus lines to towns and cities in the area.
Line | Route | Notes |
---|---|---|
151 | (Almere Haven Centrum -) Almere Haven De Steiger - Busstation 't Oor - (Almere Poort Midden Kant -) Muiderberg P+R - Naarden - Bussum | Mon-Fri only. Does not run on evenings and weekends. During extended rush hours (7-10 AM, 2-6 PM), line 151 also serves Almere Poort Midden Kant. Outside of rush hours, all buses terminate and start at Almere Haven De Steiger. |
153 | Almere Buiten Station - Almere Muziekwijk - Almere Literatuurwijk - Almere Poort Station - Muiden P+R - Diemen Stammerkamp - Amsterdam Bijlmer - Amsterdam Holendrecht | Mon-Fri, rush hours only. Express bus (meaning it skips some of the stops along the route). Closed-system in Amsterdam. In the near future, this line will begin to run every day as part of R-NET. |
155 | Almere Parkwijk Station - Almere Filmwijk - Almere Flevoziekenhuis - Almere Gooisekant - Almere Gooisepoort - Muiden P+R - Diemen Stammerkamp - Amsterdam Bijlmer - Amsterdam Holendrecht | Mon-Fri, rush hours only. Closed-system in Amsterdam. |
156 | Almere Centrum Station - Busstation 't Oor - Almere De Kemphaan - Blaricum Carpoolplaats (- Hilversum Station) | Mon-Fri only; does not run on evenings and weekends. In rush hours, 156 terminates halfway at Blaricum Carpoolplaats where it provides a direct transfer to line 320 to Hilversum Station. |
159 | Almere Centrum Station - Almere Veluwsekant - Almere De Kemphaan - Almere Hout - Zeewolde - Harderwijk | Mon-Fri only; does not run on evenings and weekends. The last two buses of the day terminate halfway at Zeewolde Kwartiermakerslaan. Closed-system in Almere. |
160 | Almere Centrum Station - Busstation 't Oor - Almere De Kemphaan - Zeewolde De Eemhof - Amersfoort Vathorst Station | Runs 7 days a week, but only every 2 hours and only between 10 AM-10:30 PM. |
216 | Almere Buiten Molenbuurt-Noord - Almere Buiten Station - Almere Parkwijk Station - Almere Filmwijk - Almere Flevoziekenhuis - Almere Gooisekant - Almere Gooisepoort - Muiden P+R - Amstelveen - Schiphol-Oost Stationsplein - Schiphol-Oost Zuideinde | Mon-Fri, rush hours only (2 runs to Schiphol during morning rush hours, 2 runs to Almere during evening rush hours). Closed-system in Almere. All stops between Schiphol-Oost Stationsplein and Schiphol-Oost Zuideinde are only accessible by employees who own a Schipholpas. |
322 | Almere Parkwijk Station - Almere Flevoziekenhuis - Almere Gooisepoort - Almere Poort Station - Muiden P+R - Diemen Diemerknoop - Amsterdam Amstel | Is allowed to use the emergency lanes on the highway parts of the route to maneuver past traffic jams. |
327 | Almere Haven Centrum - Busstation 't Oor - Muiden P+R - Diemen Diemerknoop - Amsterdam Amstel | Does not run on late nights (meaning not past 9 PM). Is allowed to use the emergency lanes on the highway parts of the route to maneuver past traffic jams. |
328 | Almere Haven Centrum - Busstation 't Oor - Muiden P+R - Diemen Diemerknoop - Amsterdam Bijlmer - Amsterdam Holendrecht | Closed-system in Amsterdam. Is allowed to use the emergency lanes on the highway parts of the route to maneuver past traffic jams. |
Line 159 is operated by the bus company OV Regio IJsselmond. Line 322, 327 and 328 are operated by Connexxion using the R-NET branding and concept.
There's also an overnight bus (Saturday night only) from Amsterdam to Almere Haven Centrum (N27). It start at Amsterdam Leidseplein. From there on, it uses the route that line 327 uses during daytime hours/early evenings. It only runs one way (only from Amsterdam to Almere Haven Centrum).
Since April 2012, there's a rush hour bus line, 150, to Utrecht which connects Almere directly with the University Area of Utrecht called De Uithof. (This was previously done by former bus line 295[21]). Due to budget cuts, line 150 was scrapped on July 9, 2016. [22]
Notable residents[edit]
- Ali B (16 October 1981), rapper, show host presenter, music label owner
- Raymzter, rapper
- Rob Verlinden, gardener and TV host
- Annemarie Jorritsma, former mayor of Almere, former minister of the Dutch government
- Arie Koomen, comedian and stand-up comedian
- Caroline de Bruijn, actress
- Erik de Vogel, actor
- Berdien Stenberg, former international flute player, local politician
- Tineke Schouten, stand-up comedian
- Klaas Wilting, TV host and politician
- Jeroen van Inkel, radio DJ
- Danny Holla (31 December 1987), footballer
- Hedwiges Maduro (14 February 1985), footballer
- Yfke Sturm (19 November 1981), international model
- Danny Masseling also known as Angerfist (20 June 1981), hardcore producer and DJ
- Jörgen Raymann, TV host
- Quinty Trustfull, TV host
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ "The municipal executive". Gemeente Almere. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten" [Key figures for neighbourhoods]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
- ^ "Postcodetool for 1315HR". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
- ^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ https://www.almere.nl/over-almere/stadsdelen/
- ^ http://almere20.almere.nl/gebiedsontwikkeling/pampus/
- ^ https://www.almere.nl/contact/gebiedskantoren/
- ^ https://www.almerebuiten.info/locatie/het-oostvaardersdiep
- ^ http://oostvaardersdiep.net
- ^ (Dutch) Lijst van grooste gemeenten in Nederland. Retrieved on 2010-12-31.
- ^ (Dutch) Schaalsprong Almere 2030, PDF. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
- ^ (Dutch) Gemeente Almere: Partnersteden[dead link]. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ (Dutch) Algemene Informatie. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ "Aalborg Twin Towns". Europeprize.net. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
- ^ (Dutch) Gemeente Almere: Stadsdelen. Retrieved on 2015-08-29.
- ^ (Dutch) Sociale Atlas 2007 Bevolkingsopbouw[dead link]. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ "Almere Climate Data 1981–2010".
- ^ Etniciteit
- ^ https://www.almere.nl/over-almere/feiten-en-cijfers/
- ^ http://www.stationsweb.nl/station.asp?station=almerestrand&vraag=almere%20strand
- ^ http://wiki.ovinnederland.nl/wiki/Lijn_295_Almere-Stad_Station_Centrum_-_Utrecht_AZU
- ^ http://www.rtvutrecht.nl/nieuws/1484019/
External links[edit]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Almere. |
![]() |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Almere. |
- Gemeente Almere (official website)
- (Dutch) Geheugen van Almere (people's stories about Almere)
- Oldest location in Almere
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Markermeer | Lelystad | ![]() |
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IJmeer | ![]() |
Zeewolde | ||
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Gooise Meren (NH) / IJmeer | Gooimeer Huizen (NH), Blaricum (NH) |
Gooimeer / Eemnes (UT) |