Send Gift Baskets to Emmen, Netherlands

Founded in the Middle Ages as a farming and peat-harvesting community, Emmen is a planned city. There are still traces of these communities in the villages of Westenesch, Noordbarge, and Zuidbarge: they have their histories and layouts but are surrounded by suburbs and Emmen’s downtown.

It was not until after the Second World War that the town expanded. Several suburbs were built around the old center of Emmen, starting with Emmermeer to the north, followed by Angelslo (whose old village was demolished), Emmerhout (famous at the time for being separated from Emmen by an existing forest) to the east, Bargeres, and the Rietlanden to the south and south-west, and Parc Sandur to the west. Many homes have already been built, and many live in the last suburb, Delftlanden.

There are few historic landmarks left within the town, but these include the church on the market square, which has stood since the Middle Ages, the court of the law building, which dates from the beginning of the twentieth century, and the post office, which dates from the same period. Robert Smithson’s earthwork, “Broken Circle/Spiral Hill,” can be found in the town’s vicinity.

The first Women’s Olympiad was held there in 1957.

The zoo, the Dierenpark Emmen, has been the prime economic booster since the 1980s. The Emmen Municipality co-owns the building, built in the 1930s and almost completely redesigned in the 1970s. Each year, it attracts more than 1.5 million visitors. In 2016, the old zoo closed and was replaced by Wildlands. Diolen Industrial Fibers (currently Senbis Polymer Innovations) and Teijin Aramid are some of the most important companies. DSM Engineering Plastics, Wellman, and Teijin Aramid are also essential companies. Horticulture glasshouse complexes abound in the Klazienaveen-Erica area. There are approximately 38,000 jobs available in the municipality.

The largest urban area in Drenthe is Emmen. Although Emmen is a large municipality in the Netherlands, most of the site outside the town borders is somewhat rural. Another important village is Emmer-Compascuum, followed by Klazienaveen, Nieuw-Amsterdam, and Schoonebeek.