Dronten


Dronten is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Flevoland. It had a population of in.

History

Plans for the municipality of Dronten were made in the early half of the 1950s; real plans for the town of Dronten were revealed in 1958.
The foundations for the town were laid in 1960. Right from the start there was a discussion whether Dronten was to become a town or a city. The first plans assumed 15,000 inhabitants, while later plans foresaw a growth to 30,000 inhabitants. The first plans for the municipality assumed ten smaller villages situated around the central town. The number of villages was reduced because of increased motorized traffic and experiences gained in developing the Noordoostpolder, where a similar municipality had already been built. Eventually, it was decided that there were to be two smaller villages and one larger town.
On 1 January 1972, Dronten was given its official name.
In 1995, Dronten hosted in Biddinghuizen the 18th World Scout Jamboree. 28,960 Scouts and staff members from 166 countries and territories participated this event.

Population centers

Dutch Topographic map of Dronten, March 2014.

Transportation

Dronten has a railway station on the Lelystad-Zwolle railway.
The majority of velomobile manufacturers in the world are based in Dronten. They include Alligt, velomobiel.nl and InterCityBike.

Entertainment

Biddinghuizen contains the theme park Walibi Holland.

Sister city relations