Kampen

Geschiedenis

Kampen is a municipality, a city and an old Hanseatic city at the lower reaches of the river IJssel in the Dutch province of Overijssel.The municipality of Kampen had a population of in and covers an area of. Kampen is located in the North West of Overijssel and is the largest city in this region. The city of Kampen itself has around 35,000 inhabitants.Kampen has one of the best preserved old town centres of the Netherlands, including remains of the ancient city wall (of which three gates are still standing) and numerous churches. Also notable are the three bridges over the IJssel which connect Kampen with IJsselmuiden and Kampereiland, the agricultural area between the branches which form the IJssel delta, and a windmill (d' Olde Zwarver – the Old Vagabond).Traditionally people in Kampen speak a variation of the Sallands dialect, known as Kampers.HistoryMiddle AgesBy 1150, there were already wooden buildings on the site where Kampen is currently located. The name Kampen, however, is not mentioned until 1277. The city has had city rights since 1236. As a result of its convenient location on the busy trade route between the Zuiderzee and the Rhine, Kampen quickly developed from simple settlements into a prosperous trading town, to become one of the most powerful and leading cities of northwestern Europe. In the 14th century, Kampen exchanged with the bishop of Utrecht, Jan van Arkel, the Mastenbroek polder against the right to increase the IJsseldelta.