Venlo, on the Maas, is the cultural, administrative and economic center of northern Limburg. As an important traffic junction point between Rotterdam and the Ruhr, Venlo has been well placed, particularly since the end of the Second World War, for the development of industry and the establishment of international commercial firms handling the produce of the market gardens in the surrounding area. The main branches of industry are engineering, the production of optical apparatus, wire-drawing, electrical engineering, textiles, building materials and woodworking.
Venlo, originally a little trading town of no particular importance, was granted a municipal charter in 1343. In 1481 it became a member of the Hanseatic League. Lying as it did in a frontier area, it was strongly fortified, but in spite of this it was compelled to surrender on a number of occasions - in 1543 to Charles V's forces, in 1543 to Alexander Farnese, in 1632 to Prince Frederick Henry and in 1702 to Marlborough. In 1713 it was incorporated in the United Netherlands. The development of industry and a rapid increase in population began after the demolition of the old fortifications in 1868. Venlo suffered heavy destruction during the Second World War but was rapidly rebuilt, to become the modern town it is today.
Farther down the Maas valley from Tegelen, 10km/6mi north of Venlo, is the beautifully situated village of Arcen, now a popular summer resort, with a moated castle of 1650, Huis Arcen. The Castle Gardens have been open to the public since 1988, with a magnificent display of flowers and plants, including a rose garden, a futuristic greenhouse for subtropical plants, the Casa Verde, and Japanese and Chinese gardens. The pavilions in the gardens and the house itself are used for art exhibitions and other cultural events.
Address: The Gardens of Castle Arcen, Lingsforterweg 26, Arcen, Limburg 5944, Netherlands
In Grote Kerkstraat is the Hoofdkerk or St Martinuskerk (1411), which was badly damaged in 1944 but subsequently well restored. It has a fine font by Herman Potgieter (1621) and a carved reredos showing Christ and the two thieves.
The Limburgs Museum (formerly the Goltzius Museum), at Goltziusstraat 21 (southeast of the Town Hall), displays a collection of material on the history of the town and surrounding area.
Southeast of Venlo, on the banks of the Maas, lies the little town of Tegelen, with the Jochum Hof botanic garden in the Steyl district. In addition to hothouses with tropical and subtropical plants there are a Regional Garden, which presents a cross-section of the flora of northern Limburg, and the Tiglien Garden, which seeks to reconstruct the prehistoric landscape of the region.
From the church it is a short distance by way of Gasthuisstraat to the picturesque Town Hall (Stadhuis), a rebuilding by Willem van Bommel of Emmerich (1596-1601) of an earlier town hall of 1550. The neo-Renaissance facade and the corner turrets on the rear of the building were added during restoration work in 1888. The Council Chamber, its walls faced with leather, contains a number of good pictures. The market hall on the ground floor now houses the municipal archives.
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