Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2026 the municipality of Deventer had a population of 105,111. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but it also has a small part of its territory on the west bank. In 2005 the municipality of Bathmen (with a population of about 5,000 people) was merged with Deventer as part of a national effort to reduce bureaucracy in the country.
Deventer is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. The place is mentioned in 9th-century sources from the Diocese of Utrecht. A charter from 877 AD mentions seven farmsteads in Daventre portu (the Deventer harbor). In 952 AD, Deventer is mentioned as a city in a gift certificate from King Otto I. After the place had acquired more and more rights and privileges over time, it received the municipal lands from Emperor Henry V in 1123. This is considered by historians to be the moment of Deventer obtaining the city rights by the inhabitants. The city has the oldest stone house, the oldest walking park and with the Athenaeum library also the oldest scientific library in the Netherlands.
History Foundation and development in the Middle Ages Deventer was probably founded around 768 AD by the English missionary Lebuinus, who built a wooden church on the east bank of the river IJssel. In January 772 AD the sack and burning of this church by a Saxon expedition was the cause for the first punitive war waged by Charlemagne to the Saxons, in which, in retribution, the Irminsul (the Saxon sacred tree, probably near modern Paderborn) was destroyed. This was not the first human settlement at the location; between 1981 and 2006, remains of a late Roman Iron Age settlement (dated to c.300 AD) were excavated at Colmschate, 4 km east of the current city.
The village of Deventer, already important because of a trading road crossing the river IJssel, was looted and burnt down by the Vikings in 882. It was immediately rebuilt and fortified with an earthen wall (in the street Stenen Wal remains of this wall have been excavated and restored).
Deventer received city rights in 956, after which fortifications were built or replaced by stone walls around the city for defense. Between 1000 and 1500, Deventer grew to be a flourishing trade city because of its harbour on the river IJssel, which was capable of accommodating large ships. The city eventually joined the Hanseatic League.
One of the commodities it traded in, dried haddock and cod from Norway, gave the citizens the nickname they carry to this day: "Deventer Stokvis". In the 15th century, Deventer had a common mint, where coins for the three IJssel cities Deventer, Zwolle, and Kampen were made.
Deventer is the birthplace of Geert Groote and home to his Brethren of the Common Life, a school of religious thought that influenced Thomas a Kempis and Erasmus in later times. Together with Haarlem it was among the first cities to have printing presses, dating back to as early as 1477. From around 1300, it also housed a Latin School, which became internationally renowned, and remained in service in changing forms until 1971. Its most well-known student was the scholar Desiderius Erasmus, who was born in 1466 and attended the school from 1475 to 1484.
16th–18th centuries
Between 1500 and 1800, the volume of water flowing through the IJssel decreased, decreasing the importance of Deventer's harbour. The competition with trade centres in Holland, as well as the religious war between 1568 and 1648, brought a decline in the city's economy.
In the 18th century, the iron industry came to Deventer. East of the town, so-called "oer", river sand containing iron, was found as early as 900. From this material, ore was produced and brought to town. The main road of the villages Okkenbroek, Lettele and Schalkhaar is still named Oerdijk (Ore Dyke).
Modern times
In the 19th century, Deventer became an industrial town. Bicycles (Burgers), carpets (Koninklijke Deventer Tapijtfabriek), tins and cans for food and drinks (Thomassen & Drijver), cigars (Horst & Maas en Bijdendijk & Ten Hove), foundry and heavy machinery (Nering Bögel), and textiles (Ankersmit)Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: were produced until the mid to late 20th century. Some of these industries are still thriving today, such as beds and accessories (Auping) and publishing (Wolters Kluwer, now headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn).
The city's trade and industry are still of some importance. The city is host to a factory producing central heating systems, as well as Wolters Kluwer, a global information services and publishing company.
The Deventer honey cake (Bussink Deventer Koek), produced in Deventer for over 500 years, is still manufactured locally and sold all over the Netherlands and beyond.
World War II
Deventer has seen few military engagements throughout its long history, although it was a garrison city of the Dutch cavalry. The IJssel bridge area and harbour were bombed heavily during World War II. The city centre has been largely spared, but many Allied bombs, meant to shell the IJssel railway bridge, came down on buildings in the city centre. The Deventer railway bridge was considered strategically important, being a part of the main railway connection between Amsterdam and the German city of Osnabrück, leading from there to either Berlin, Hamburg or Bremen. The railway bridge, constructed of steel, was difficult to hit. Many bombs were bounced down into the river or its banks, exploding in the areas around the bridge or failing to explode at all. The three heaviest of about 15 attacks were on October 28, 1944 causing 35 fatalities; on December 15, 1944 killing 33 people; and on February 6, 1945 causing the death of 61 people. In the aftermath of this last bombardment, the German occupying forces committed a war crime. The German army used a cool warehouse in Deventer for its military food supplies. In the city centre, the retirement home of the United Foundations, originally dating back as far as the 13th century, caught fire by the shellings, as well as the army food warehouse. The Germans allowed local fire fighters only to extinguish the fire in the cool warehouse. The retirement home burnt down as good as totally. Over twenty of the elderly living there perished in the flames.Source: Klakkende laarzen aan de IJssel (...) by K.H. Vos, 1995, Arko Editors, ISBN 90-72047-26-5 (in Dutch), pp. 71-82, 93
The Jewish poet and writer Etty Hillesum lived in Deventer during the war before being deported to Auschwitz.
In Schalkhaar, a village only 2 km northeast of the city centre, barracks were used by the German occupying forces to train Nazi policemen. The compound is now a centre for asylum seekers.
In a forested area between Lettele and Okkenbroek, about 10 kilometres east of Deventer, the Germans operated a V-1 flying bomb launching ramp. It was used from December, 1944, until March, 1945. Some of the 400 V-1 missiles launched there hit already liberated Belgium, including the city of Antwerp, killing many people. A war monument in the village of Lettele consists of concrete blocks from this launching site, that is a war monument itself as well.
Deventer has been somewhat popular with the film industry. During the production of the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far, all of the scenes taking place in nearby Arnhem were filmed in Deventer - as Arnhem itself had lost its historic centre.
By the end of the 1950s, the buildings had reached the boundaries of the municipality. In 1960, for further expansion, the part of the municipality of Diepenveen was annexed that now covers the Keizerslanden, Borgele and Platvoet districts, all three realized in the 1960s; all together roughly the area up to (west of) the Zandwetering.
After a plan to expand the city across the IJssel, the so-called Double City Plan, was deemed unfeasible at the end of the 1960s, Deventer turned its attention to the east again: in 1974 part of Diepenveen was once again annexed. On January 1, 1999, the municipality of Diepenveen was dissolved and added to Deventer. The same happened with the municipality of Bathmen on 1 January 2005.
Demographics Deventer has 101,378 Inhabitants on 1 July 2021.
Inhabitants by nationality 77.37% is Dutch 9.23% western migration background 13.4% non western migration background
Geography
Associated hamlets at second level
The population centres in the municipality are: Deventer (see below) Snippeling (a small community about 2 km east of the city centre) De Worp, the quarter west of the IJssel river Colmschate (Deventer suburb quarters surrounding eponymous village 4 km east of the city centre, ice skating hall, small railway station) De Bannink Oxe Diepenveen, a village 4 km to the north, surrounded by forest Molenbelt Rande Tjoene Lettele, in a forest area Linde Oude Molen (old mill) Zandbelt Okkenbroek Schalkhaar (former centre of Diepenveen municipality including Lettele and Okkenbroek until 1999) Averlo Frieswijk Bathmen (independent municipality until 2005) Apenhuizen Dortherhoek Loo Pieriksmars Zuidloo
Climate Deventer is in the Northern Hemisphere. Summer here starts at the end of June and ends in September. Deventer experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) similar to almost all of the Netherlands.
Water
The Deventer settlement was founded on a river dune on the IJssel. This river has played a major role for the city over the centuries, because of the trade that this waterway brought with it. In 1241 the city had received the Katentol on long lease from the Elten stift. This toll, which is named after the Katerveer under Zwolle, had to be paid in the Deventer toll house near the Zandpoort, and generated a lot of money in the Middle Ages.
The IJssel has also caused many problems over the centuries, because it often overflowed its banks. Nowadays Deventer has a flood defence, but the Welle ('wal', the name of the street over the quay) is still regularly under water during high water. Dike breaches of the IJssel have created many gullies in and around the city, such as the Douwelerkolk and the Klinkenbeltskolk.
In addition to the IJssel, Deventer has a number of smaller rivers. The Schipbeek is a stream partly dug on behalf of the city that rises in Germany and flows into the IJssel near Deventer. In the past, the stream was navigable, so that wood and Bentheimer sandstone could be brought in, among other things. Another waterway that was built for shipping and which flows into the IJssel in Deventer is a branch of the Overijssels canal, through which Deventer was connected to a large system of canals through Overijssel. It was dug in the mid-19th century and opened in 1858.
Culture
Sights
The Grote Kerkhof square (Grand Churchyard). The Saint Lebuïnuskerk (St. Lebuin's Church) in Gothic style, with ceiling paintings and an organ. Its tower can be climbed in summer. The City Hall with a façade built in 1693 in Dutch Baroque style. The Brink (market square) with houses, shops, and cafes dating from 1575 to 1900. The market square is also the centre of Deventer nightlife. Alongside this square there is the Bussink "Koekhuisje", where the honey-cake Deventer Koek is sold. Markets take place every Friday (including one on Good Friday, following a medieval tradition) and Saturday.
The Waag (Weighing-house) on the edge of the Brink square, built in 1550 and restored in 2003. The Deventer City Museum is housed inside the Waag. The Museum's collections include industrial and trading history, paintings by Gerard Terborch and Han van Meegeren, silver objects, and prehistoric findings). Thea Beckman's novel Het wonder van Frieswijck ("The Frieswijck Miracle") features the Waag.