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Enschede, the Netherlands

Enschede, the Netherlands


​Enschede is a charming city of 150,000 in the province of Overijssel in the eastern part of the Netherlands, very close to the German border and about two hours by train from Amsterdam. Enschede and Palo Alto have been sister cities since 1980.
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As far back as 800 AD, Enschede served as a busy marketplace, eventually becoming an important textile center. Today, it is a modern, vibrant, and very livable city, home to the University of Twente. Some of the beautiful old textile factories have been converted to modern uses, and the city boasts a new museum center, a philharmonic orchestra, an academy of arts, and a performing arts center. Enschede is also the manufacturing home of the world-famous Grolsch beer.

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The city is filled with young people from all over the world who come to study at the university. The lively Old Market Square is host to frequent live musical events and serves as a central gathering place during the warm summer months.
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One of the more recent collaborations between our two cities is the Leendert Overduin Essay Contest, designed to shed light on a little-known hero of World War II. The contest culminated in a student trip to Enschede in June 2023, during which teens from Palo Alto and Bloomington, Indiana met Holocaust survivors, forged friendships with their Dutch and German counterparts, lived with host families, attended a Dutch high school for a day, appeared on the local news, took a day trip to Münster, Germany, visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and participated in a host of other activities and experiences. For a photo gallery of trip highlights click here. To read our Enschede VP's ruminations on the significance of the essay contest and teen trip, click here. 

In May 2022, Palo Alto welcomed a delegation of municipal leaders and others from Enschede. 

Through the decades, Neighbors Abroad has organized many exchanges between high school students from Enschede and Palo Alto, and has hosted visits from Enschede musical groups. For example, in 2005, the Enschede Fraggles Jazz Orchestra visited Palo Alto and gave a number of concerts, including in San Juan Bautista. The Enschede Music School's high school chorus also has visited Palo Alto. 
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Other Links

Enschede Tourist Information
Enschede Wikipedia Page
University of Twente
Rijksmuseum Twenthe
Trip Advisor Top Things to Do in Enschede

ABOUT NEIGHBORS ABROAD

Neighbors Abroad fosters Palo Alto's domestic and international engagement through friendship, education, commerce, and sustainability. 

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  • Home
  • Sister and Sibling Cities
    • Albi, France >
      • 2023 Albi Delegation to Palo Alto
      • 30th Anniversary Celebrations - 2024
    • Bloomington, Indiana
    • Enschede, Netherlands
    • Heidelberg, Germany
    • Linköping, Sweden
    • Oaxaca, Mexico
    • Palo, Leyte, Philippines >
      • Palo, Leyte, 2022 Delegation
    • Tsuchiura, Japan >
      • 15th Anniversary - Tsuchiura and Palo Alto
    • Yangpu District, China
  • Friendship Cities
    • Narok, Kenya
  • Programs
    • Art and Sustainability
    • Climate Offsets and Network
    • 60th Anniversary Party & SustainCity Summit
    • Overduin Essay Contest >
      • Overduin Student Trip
    • Student Exchanges
    • Palo Alto/Enschede Photo Project >
      • Photographer Bios
    • Ukraine Relief Fund
    • Yaxe Rainwater Capture Project
    • We Are What We Eat Art Exhibit
    • Young Artists and Authors Contest
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Shop
  • About
    • Palo Alto
    • Board Members
    • In Memoriam
    • Partners
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • Newsletter Archives
  • Blog