Enschede-Gronau

Countries: Germany , Netherlands

Presentation

Enschede (156,950 inhabitants, NL) and Gronau-in-Westphalia (45,622 inhabitants, DE) are two cities situated one on each side of the river Dinkel, along the border between the Netherlands and Germany (from North Rhine-Westphalia to Lower Saxony). The village of Glanerbrug, which forms part of the Enschede municipality (NL) lies very close to the border which stretches to the west of Gronau (DE).

History

These two medieval cities have straddled the border since its establishment upon the separation of the Dutch Provinces and the German Empire in the 17th century. Industrialisation during the 19th century was greatly beneficial to Enschede and Gronau, where the textile industry prospered. Cross-border cooperation began to take form very early on, as economic needs in terms of labour and the logistics infrastructure, which was expanding quickly during this period, were not restricted by the obstacles created by the border. For example, the first cross-border railway line transporting goods from Enschede (NL) to Dortmund (DE), via Gronau (DE) and Münster (DE) was put into service in 1875. The significant shared culture also dates back to the industrial era, transmitted thanks to a common language (Westphalian Low Saxon).

Cross-border cooperation

Cross-border cooperation of various forms is still carried out in the Enschede-Gronau conurbation. Since 2001 at the local level it has become more formalised, within the “MONT” network of cross-border towns, a triangle linking Münster and Osnabrück in Germany with the “Twente” network formed by Enschede and the surrounding municapalities.
At regional level, the collaboration is supported by Euregio, which is based in Gronau.
Among the significant acheivements of Euregio in Enschede-Gronau is the regional rail link “Euregio Bahn” between Enschede and Münster, which operates with binational fares (allowing passengers to travel with either German or Dutch tickets).