Almere's History
The history of a new town
Almere is a lively, fast growing new town you just have to visit! With an amazing six centres/zones, Almere is one of the Netherlands' larger cities.
Possibly the most important day in the history of Almere is of course the day in November 1976 when the very first inhabitants actually stood on Almere soil. This occurred in the brand new (first, and at that time, only) zone, Almere Haven (Haven = Harbour – this zone therefore borders on a large body of water with access to other towns). In1977 Almere's first baby was born here, and our first industrial estate (De Vaart) was also inaugurated. From that moment on, Almere wasn't just for living in, but also for working in. Since 1979 Almere has been findable on maps and in 1984 we got our very own mayor – we're official! Our first major events took place too – The Stoomfestival (all manner of steam machinery, from tractors to locomotives) and the Holland Triathlon were born. Almere also began to be the place to be for Flevoland's Bevrijdingsfestival (Liberation Festival) – one of the many held all around the country every year on Liberation Day, 5 May, which celebrates the end of WWII. It has evolved into some terrific free shows and pop concerts being given – Almere's is among the better ones! Click here for more information
Now too, more than 30 years later there are 192,000+ inhabitants of Almere. As well as the six zones, each with its own centre, we have a brand new town centre, with tens of thousands of square metres of shops and various places of entertainment, thus ensuring Almere's attractiveness to both resident and visitor alike.
Almere is known for its wonderful parks, diverse woods, gorgeous lakes, well maintained canals and enchanting nature reserves. Take for instance the wonderful Oostvaardersplassen or the Lepelaarsplassen. And just try Atlantis Beach (Atlantisstrand - part of the recreational area 'Weerwater'), for a fabulous view of the Almere skyline! (Architecture and all its vagaries is actually a huge leading attraction in Almere and the new skyline is one of the city's treasures.) The Smaragd (Emerald), Lakeside, Side by Side and The wave are the names of projects for which Almere is known throughout the architectural world and you can see them all from there.
Also, right next to the train station at Almere Centrum stands a huge tower with 13,000 m2 of offices, some of which house the World Trade Centre (WTC). You can't miss this 2nd WTC office block because 'The Carlton' is an amazing 120m high with 32 floors. It is of course the highest building in Almere and visible from afar - from the train coming from either Amsterdam or Lelystad as well as from the A6 as you enter Almere by car.
Almere is doing more than expand its recreational facilities within the city. There is also a lot of work being put into proving Almere as a centre for education, study, and business too. Centre for Higher Education (Hogeschool) 'Windesheim' opened here in 2011 with a large selection of advanced courses in a variety of subjects and student accommodation is being built as you read. Almere has something for everyone – come, be pleasantly surprised because...in Almere, anything's possible!