The municipality of Renkum

The municipality of Renkum consists of the villages of Oosterbeek, Renkum, Heelsum, Wolfheze, Doorwerth and Heveadorp. Set in the lateral moraine of the Veluwezoom,  the contours of Renkum were formed in the ice age. Melting ice carved several valleys in the lateral moraine. The steep lateral moraine forms a spectacular transition between the woodlands and the forelands of the river on the southern side of the municipality. The streams were not formed until later, when the local inhabitants tapped the underground watercourses. In the winter the flat forelands of the Lower Rhine are home to thousands of geese. It was not without reason that the village of Oosterbeek won the national green competition Entente Florale in 2004. Indeed, a year later Oosterbeek was even proclaimed the ‘Greenest village of Europe’!

Characteristic of the municipality of Renkum are the country estates and parks, such as the Mariëndaal, Oorsprong and Hemelse Berg estates and the Hartenstein, Heidestein and Bato’s Wijk parks, several of which are now listed. On many of these estates the streams powered watermills. Following the development of the steam engine however, the stream water acquired a more recreational function and a lot of waterfalls were built. 

There is little industry or business activity in green Renkum. Local employment opportunities are particularly in the service and care sectors. The unique project ‘Renkumse Poort’, in which the Municipality is collaborating closely with provincial and national governments, attracts worldwide attention. The assignment certainly is ambitious: for the first time in the Netherlands, an industrial estate is being given back to nature. The businesses situated in the Renkums Beekdal are being bought up. Once the site has been remediated it will be redeveloped to let flora and fauna to migrate freely from the Veluwe to the river region. The pure stream water led to the rise of the paper industry in the area. Paper giant Norske Skog in Renkum and Schut paper mill in Heelsum are present reminders of those bygone days. 

Airborne; vivid memories of the Battle of Arnhem
During the Second World War more than ten thousand British and Polish airborne troops fought the Battle of Arnhem.  The objective was to capture the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem. This was part of the allied operation ‘Market Garden’, when British, American and Polish airborne troops aimed to capture the bridges between Belgium and Arnhem. Only six hundred troops managed to reach the bridge at Arnhem.  They bravely stood their ground in Oosterbeek for five days before finally having to retreat. Just two thousand troops managed to make it back to Britain. During the Battle of Arnhem the Hartenstein hotel in Oosterbeek was Headquarters of the British Commander Major General R.E. Urquhart and the 1^st Airborne Division. This building now houses the Airborne Museum. The museum presents the Battle of Arnhem in all its aspects. It is also the starting point for the Perimeter Route (walk), which leads past the sites where the Battle was fiercest. 

In the weekend nearest to 17 September the municipality of Renkum commemorates the Battle of Arnhem in an annual ceremony of remembrance on the Airborne cemetery in Oosterbeek. Every first weekend of September the traditional Airborne March is held, an event which stems from the post-Second World War remembrance marches. Over 30,000 people from home and abroad take part in this one-day march, with a choice of distances.

Interesting links with background information  

The Municipality of Renkum website: www.renkum.nl
Twin city of Debno in Poland, bond of friendship since 1990; www.debno.pl
Cultural bond of friendship since 2005 with Tervuren (B) and Dachau (D): www.tervuren.be, www.dachau.de 
The Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek: www.airbornemuseum.nl 
The annual Airborne March in September: www.airbornewandeltocht.nl 
Information about the annual Airborne Commemoration in September: www.airborne-herdenkingen.nl 
Annual art route through the whole municipality: www.kunst-veluwezoom.nl 
The poetry festival: www.hetparkvertelt.nl 
Information about the Midsummer festival: www.scarabee-art.nl 
Summer programme Art on Sunday at the Everwijnsgoed in Renkum: www.everwijnsgoed.nl 
Stichting Zomerconcerten (Summer Concert Foundation) programme: www.geldersemuziekzomer.nl, search by region: Renkum
De Klaproos open-air theatre in Wolfheze: www.degelderseroos.nl/klaproos 
Doorwerth Castle: www.geldersekastelen.nl 
Veluwezoom Museum in Doorwerth Castle: www.museumveluwezoom.nl 
Filmhuis Oosterbeek (cinema): www.filmhuisoosterbeek.nl 
The current programme of events at Doorwerth Castle: www.mooigelderland.nl