The greenest city

Of all Dutch cities, Enschede scores the highest when it comes to urban green space. It’s part of our roots, really. Because as our great textile industrialists of the past were already well aware: ‘relaxation benefits both body and spirit’. And you need lush greenery for leisure!

Our green gold 

You probably walk, run, cycle and drive through it all the time without noticing, but what if we told you that Enschede’s right atop a veritable goldmine. And all that glimmers is green. We have always found ourselves surrounded by verdant greenery. And so we built our home in our lush surroundings. Now, tufts of green remain in the city, such as Boerenkerkhof, our very own green oasis. It’s one of the silent witnesses that reveals what soil we live on. Estates, cemeteries and parks... they’re all Enschede’s green gold.

Thanks!

Fancy a walk in the park? Take your pick! From the Ledeboerpark, the proud recipient of multiple Green Flag Awards, to the Wooldrikspark. They all have a charm of their own and tell unique stories. We owe virtually all these parks to successful and generous entrepreneurship. Since 1830, we have had a history of large-scale textile industry, and the major textile industrialists of yore had a habit of rewarding their workers with parks. For leisure and entertainment on their Sundays off. The Volkspark, for instance, was a park where you would go to stroll and relax, while the G.J. van Heekpark had a more active reputation, becoming the place to be for a game of korfball. It appears that our age-old employers had mindfulness on their minds long before it became fashionable!