Nijmegen, city in the eastern Netherlands, in Gelderland Province, on the Waal River, near Germany. Nijmegen is an inland shipping center; industries include the manufacture of bricks, chemicals, leather goods, cigars, silverware, cutlery, and electrical equipment. Principal landmarks in Nijmegen include the 13th-century Groote Kerk (Great Church), a museum of Roman antiquities, and the 16th-century Renaissance town hall. The city is the site of the Roman Catholic University of Nijmegen (1923).
Nijmegen is built on the site of a Roman camp and for many years was a residence of the Carolingian emperors. It was a free imperial city and a member of the Hanseatic League, a commercial federation of European cities. A peace treaty between the Netherlands, France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire was concluded here in 1678 and 1679. Population (2000) 152,463.
