Assen, Netherlands

 

Assen is a municipality and city in the north of the Dutch province of Drenthe, of which it is the capital. The area of the municipality is 83.5 km². On August 1, 2020, the municipality had 68,798 inhabitants (source: CBS). A resident of Assen is called an Assenaar. Assen is part of the Groningen-Assen region partnership.

 

Getting here

By train
Station Assen. Assen has one train station, where both the intercity trains and the slow trains on the Zwolle-Groningen route stop. There were plans to build a second station in Assen-Zuid, but the other station was renovated instead.

By bus
Nowadays, Assen is fairly easy to reach by bus. From the bus station at the Station, buses depart for Groningen, Leeuwarden, Heerenveen, Meppel and more. The rest of the public transport (city, regional transport and train) also departs from here. Furthermore, there are two forms of city buses in Assen, the Cityline and bus line 1 of Qbuzz. All city buses pass the station, and the Cityline 8B and Qbuzz line 1 also pass the transferium Marsdijk, from here buses to Groningen also depart.

Bus station Assen, Stationsplein. Buses depart in several directions from the bus station near the station
Bus station Marsdijk, Martin Luther Kingweg. City buses and regional buses depart from here to Groningen.

By car
The A28 motorway from Hoogeveen to Groningen runs along the western edge of the city. The N33 towards Veendam starts from this highway on the south side of Assen.

By boat
After large-scale work around the Vaart, it has been possible to receive boats in the center of Assen since 2008. The Canal was also made navigable again between 2012 and 2017, allowing pleasure craft to sail from Groningen through the center of Assen to Smilde and beyond.

 

Travel around

There is only one regular bus line in the city, operated by Qbuzz. This line runs from bus station M.L. Kingweg in the north via the station to the TT circuit. There is also the Cityline, a local bus service.

 

Sights

Buildings

On the polygonal Brink, formerly the forecourt of the monastery, are several important buildings, such as the former Government building (now Drents Museum), the Drents Archief and the Abbey Church.

A little further north is the large neoclassical Palace of Justice, with the inscription: Sine justitia nulla libertas (No freedom without justice). In 1892 the Johan Willem Frisokazerne was built along the Vaart, which is still in use today.

Other special buildings are:
Overcingel, an 18th century estate
Joseph Church in neoclassical style
Detention house from 1840

In 2012, the De Nieuwe Kolk cultural center was opened by Princess Margriet. This building contains, among other things, five cinema halls, theater halls, the public library, an apartment complex and an underground parking garage.

 

Monuments

Several parts of Assen are a protected cityscape: Brink, an extension to it, Markt and even further expansion. There are also more than a hundred national monuments, municipal monuments and a number of war monuments in the city and municipality, see:

 

Museums

Drenthe Museum
Shock Troops Museum
Bommel and Tom Poes museum Assen
Barrel Organ Museum (Assen) (1987-2008, closed)
DeFKa / Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art (2009-2017, defunct)

 

Events

Some annual events in Assen are:
Assen International Film Festival
TT Assen
Liberation Festival Drenthe
Asser Blues Days
Superbike World Championship
Art Explosion
Preu event
Art on the Canal
Jack's Racing Day
Truck Star Festival
Late summer fair
Dutch Open (darts)
Pump up the 90s

 

Shops and markets

The main part of the range of shops in Assen is located in the historic city center, including Warenhuis Vanderveen on Koopmansplein and the covered shopping center De Triade. There are also various (indoor) shopping centers in the various districts of Assen. The shopping evening is on Friday evening (except in the Kloosterveen district, where it is on Thursday evening) and there are shopping Sundays on every last Sunday of the month. There is a residential boulevard in the north of the city.

 

Shopping centres

The Triad
Mercury center
Baggelhouses
Citadel
Monastery fortress
Nobellan
't Forum
Vredeveld
Shopping area Marsdijk
Residential boulevard Borgstee
Peelo

 

Markets

On Wednesdays and Saturdays there is a market from Nieuwehuizen/Noordersingel to Brink.

 

Geography

The city of Assen is located in an es-village landscape. In addition to the town of Assen, the municipality includes the villages of Witten, Loon, Rhee, Ter Aard, Ubbena, a part of Vries, Zeijerveen and Zeijerveld. In addition, the hamlets of Anreep, De Haar, Schieven and Graswijk belong to the municipality of Assen.

Residential areas
After 1900, the development of Assen gained momentum. In the period before the Second World War, employment and with it the population grew to about 22,000 people. After 1945 that number doubled.

After the Second World War, a number of large residential areas were built. Assen has nine residential areas, which are sometimes divided into neighborhoods. The oldest is the center, after which “over the track” Assen-Oost was built, which is popularly called Vredeveld. From the past, this district can be divided into different neighborhoods, such as the Red, Blue and White village, the Schildersbuurt, Amelterhout and the residential areas Sluisdennen, Vreebergen and Houtlaan. A new residential area is being set up in Assen-Oost, Park Diepstroeten, on the former site of the Hendrik van Boeijenoord foundation.

The second extension in Assen is the Lariks and Noorderpark districts, then Vredeveld and Noorderpark were enlarged and the Pittelo district was built. The Assen-West district was established in the early 1970s; this consists of the neighborhoods Baggelhuizen, Kortbossen and Westerpark. Peelo and Marsdijk were built in the 80s and 90s. Kloosterveen followed in 1997, named after an old hamlet where more than 11,000 people live (2015). The district is divided into 15 residential areas with various living styles. In the heart of the district, the shopping center 'Kloosterveste' was opened in 2010.

 

History

In 1259, the Maria nunnery in Campis or Mariënkamp was moved from Coevorden to a sand ridge on the spot where the center of Assen is now located. Most of the canals dug at that time were later filled in, but the current street names (Gedempte Singel, Noordersingel, Oostersingel and Zuidersingel) are still a reminder of this. The monastery was closed in 1602, after which the main building was used as a meeting place for, among others, the Board of Deputies. Later in the 17th century, a real settlement emerged within the canals, approximately a circle with a diameter of 300 meters. Assen was not expanded beyond this area until late in the 18th century. It was only around that time that the previously inconspicuous Assen became an attractive place to live for the well-to-do in the province. Examples of remarkable residential houses are Huize Overcingel and the White House.

By order of Lodewijk Napoleon, who chose Assen as his summer residence, it became an independent municipality in 1807 and a city in 1809. This makes it one of the youngest cities with city rights in the Netherlands. The grand urban plan that he had drawn up by the Italian architect Carlo Giovanni Francesco Giudici remained virtually unimplemented. In 1814 Assen became capital of Drenthe. The town had 3,613 inhabitants in 1840, which increased to 5,948 in the year 1900. After 1900, the development of Assen gained momentum. In the period before the Second World War, employment and thus the population grew to approximately 22,000 people in 1940. After the Second World War, a number of large residential areas were built. Assen has nine residential areas, which are sometimes divided into neighbourhoods. The oldest is the center, after which Assen-East was built "over the railway", which is popularly called Vredeveld. From the past, this district can be divided into different neighbourhoods, such as the Red, Blue and White village, the Schildersbuurt, Amelterhout and the residential areas of Sluisdennen, Vreebergen and Houtlaan. In East Assen, a new residential area is being set up, Park Diepstroeten, on the former site of the Hendrik van Boeijenoord foundation.

The second expansion in Assen is the Lariks and Noorderpark districts, then Vredeveld and Noorderpark were enlarged and the Pittelo district was built. The Assen-West district was established in the early 1970s; this consists of the neighborhoods Baggelhuizen, Kortbossen and Westerpark. Peelo and Marsdijk were built in the 1980s and 1990s. Kloosterveen followed in 1997, named after an old hamlet, where more than 11,000 people live (2021). The district is divided into 15 residential areas with various living styles. The 'Kloosterveste' shopping center was opened in 2010 in the heart of the district.

 

Economy

Assen has a number of industrial estates, including Messchenveld, Peelerpark, Schepersmaat and Stadsbedrijvenpark (Marsdijk).

 

Accessibility

Waterways

The Drentsche Hoofdvaart was extended to Assen in 1780 and connected to Groningen around 1860 with the North Willems Canal. In the 20th century it was decided to close the canal from the center of Assen to the Noord-Willemskanaal for shipping traffic. The vortex was filled in and a parking space for the cinema and theater De Kolk was created here. Large-scale work around the Vaart started in 2007, during which the Kolk was restored to its former glory, dams were dug away and bridges were built so that shipping traffic is possible again. Preparations have now also started to make the Canal in the city center navigable again, whereby locks must also be built in addition to bridges.

 

Highways

Assen is located on the A28 between Groningen and Utrecht. Via the N33 it is possible to travel smoothly to Veendam, Delfzijl and Eemshaven. Assen is the northern terminus of the N371, which leads from Meppel along the Drentsche Hoofdvaart.

 

Ring road

The Ring Assen in the built-up area of Assen ensures the accessibility of the city's neighborhoods. However, part of this ring road is missing on the east side, whereby use can be made of Industrieweg and Overcingellaan, which lead traffic over the Blauwe Klap and through the Overcingel tunnel.

 

Railway station

Assen has had a station on the railway line from Zwolle to Groningen since 1870, Assen station. This means that Assen has direct train connections with Groningen, Zwolle, Utrecht Central, The Hague Central and Rotterdam Central. The station building, built in 1868, was demolished in 1988. It was replaced by a new building that was taken into use in 1989.

The station area was renovated as part of the FlorijnAs plan. A new station was part of this plan. The station from 1989 has been demolished and a new station building has been installed, with an underground bicycle shed. The new station was commissioned in 2018.

 

City service

The city service of Assen consists of a city bus (line 1) operated by Qbuzz. In the districts that are not served by the city bus, the Cityline runs, which supplements public transport with two bus lines (lines 7 and 8). The city service is provided by Qbuzz (line 1) and Connexxion Taxi Services (lines 7 and 8). Assen has had a city service since 1949, which was carried out by bus company Harmanni. In 1986 the city service was taken over by the DVM.

 

Sport

The most famous sporting event in Assen is the TT, the annual motor race on the TT Circuit Assen since 1925. The TT has been part of the World Motorsport Championship since 1949. It is also the largest one-day sporting event in the Netherlands. Traditionally, the motorcycle race was always held on the last weekend of June. Prior to that: the TT Festival (with the TT Night from Friday to Saturday, in which visitors from the region and from all kinds of countries visit the Asser city center). As of 2016, races will be held on the last Sunday in June.

In 2015, a World Motocross Championship race was held on the TT Circuit for the first time.

Another motorsport event in Assen was the international ice speedway, which took place for the first time in 1976. Since 1994, the Stichting IJsspeedway Assen (Motorclub Assen and Surroundings) has organized an annual final round for the individual world championship on the ice rink of De Bonte Wever, formerly De Smelt, in the month of March. The ice rink closed in March 2016.

In 2009 the Tour of Spain started in Assen. A prologue was held on the TT circuit. This was won by Fabian Cancellara. The start of the first stage was also in Assen. This stage had the finish in Emmen.

There are also several sports clubs active in Assen. The municipality has seven football clubs: Achilles 1894 (Marsdijk), Asser Boys (Assen-East), ACV (Asserbos area), FC Amboina (Pittelo), FC Assen (Kloosterveen), VV LEO (Loon/Marsdijk) and LTC (Pittelo ). In addition, the municipality has AVO (derived from the merger between ASKO and VDW-OLS), one of the largest korfball associations in the Northern Netherlands, three volleyball associations vv Peelermarke, Animo '68 and Sudosa-Desto), the hockey association HVA (Kloosterveen), the budo association Asahi, basketball club Assist Assen, a rowing club (ARC) and a baseball and softball club (The Pioneers)