Nijmegen is the oldest city in The Netherlands, it was founded in 98. Not '98 meaning 1998, but 98 as in 0098 AD. That makes Nijmegen 1,920 years old! To put that in perspective, the United States became a country in 1776, which makes it only 242 years old. Because Nijmegen is so old, it has a lot of ancient architecture. Unfortunately, Nijmegen was accidentally bombed by the Allies during World War II, which destroyed a lot of the older buildings. The Allies sent money to The Netherlands to repair the damage, so now that most of the city has been rebuilt, there is a clear divide between new architecture and old.
This week I explored not only the difference between architecture in The Netherlands and the United States but also the difference between ancient and modern architecture here in Europe. Interestingly, I learned that there are a lot of differences in how modern buildings in The Netherlands are built versus those the U.S.
Modern buildings in The Netherlands are built with organic curves and lots of glass. By "organic curves" I mean that the buildings try to mimic shapes that occur in nature. I do not mean that the buildings try to look like trees and animals, but rather they have softer, rounder shapes rather than being tall, rectangular skyscrapers.
