Rhenen, NN

[sebes]

Some people have requested me to post some pictures of my city and region.

Unfortunately my "main" city, Nieuw Amsterdam, cannot be played anymore on my current computer. The region is OK, but it just takes too long to load, that it's not fun anymore to play it. As I don't have the means yet to buy a new PC, and some people suggested to wait a bit until Vista has been improved, I can nut make the MD that I want about that city yet. I do plan to make a MD about Nieuw Amsterdam, but first need that new PC and more time than I have recently.

A few weekends ago my 10 year old nephew stayed with us. His dream was to play an entire weekend SC4 with me. So, I started a new region with him, based a RL map of Rochester NY, and named it Rhenen, after the little city on the river Rhine in the Netherlands, where he lives and where I was born. We played the game together and build up the north part town, where he chased burglars, car thieves, drove busses, fire engines, the mayor's limo, flew helicopters, drove tanks. Last weekend I made myself the town's center, that I want to show you here. I don't know how often I will play with this city and update this MD, but for now, lets go!

Nieuw Nederland is a former Dutch Colony in North America. Nieuw Nederland is situated between the nations of New England in the West, Quebec, and Lake Ontario in the North, Canada (Ontario) and the United States of America (State of Pennsylvania) in the West. To the south is the Atlantic Ocean, the US states of Delaware, Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia (Verginië  in Dutch).

Although the official name of the country is "De Republiek van Nieuw Nederland", the country is mostly referred to as Dutch America. Dutch and Afrikaans speaking people mostly refer to Amerika, Amerikaans and Amerikanen if they talk about the country, the language that is spoken there, or the people that live there. The Dutch Americans call residents of the United States  Staters (or sometimes Statenaren) if they are not friendly, or Statenezen if they act like idiots (or elect one as presidentJ).

The flag of Nieuw Nederland is identical to the flag of the Dutch resistance in the 80-year war with Spain. The colours orange, white and blue reflect the Sovereignty, Neutrality and Prosperity of the Republic.

Rhenen is the capital of the Dutch American shire called Merengouw (Lakeshire). It's a big city with more than 400000 people in the metro-area. It's situated on the Genesee river, just some kilometres before the river flows into Lake Ontario (Ontariomeer). The city, founded in 1708, celebrates it's 300 birthday this year. The town center is situated on the river, and has several bridges crossing the river.

This update is dedicated to Paroch – he knows why.

Update 1 : Rhenen-Centrum


The first thing that passengers approaching Rhenen International airport will see from the city are the many bridges across the Genesee Rivier. This indicates clearly the important function that this cross-road town has, as a major transportation hub, connecting railways, roads, and waterways. And why are there so many bridges close to each other in the downtown area? Well, you will learn that in this update!


1.1 Genesee Bridges in the town center


From North to South
-   2 railway bridges
-   The A82 Stadsring Bridge
-   The N196 Merengouw Bridge
-   The covered Cunera Bridge
-   The N187 Westerstraat Bridge
-   The A85 Zuid-Oost Tangent Bridge


1.2 Cunerabrug


The Cunerabrug was constructed in 1708. The building of this bridge, that was the main connection between the Eastern part of Nieuw Nederland (and the city of Buffelo) and the remaining part of the colony, caused a small settlement to be founded by Dutch colonists from the city of Rhenen. They erected a tower to honour Saint Cunera, the patroness of their city.


1.3 Cuneratoren, Westerstraat and Kapelaansplein
      (Cunera Tower, Westerstraat and Chaplans Square)


Soon the trade route between the two parts of the colony became busier, and the city grew to more than 20000 inhabitants by the end of the 18th century. A new bridge was build to carry the large number of traffic. The village became a booming town. The west part of the old town still has many buildings from that era. Thanks to the new Merengouw Bridge that was build just north of the town in 1870, the Westside of the town center did not had to be demolished to build wider roads for transit traffic, that could bypass the old part of town. But more about that in the next update.


1.4 Merengouw Brug, Cunerabrug and Westerstraatbrug


The west part of the city center, called Westoever (Westbank), sprawled around Kapelaansplein (Chaplan Square), Parochieplein, Paulusstraat and Westerstraat, and has that special American Dutch style that attracts many tourists.
The east bank, around Cuneraplein, Herenstraat, Breestraat and Oosteinde has more scarves from the industrial revolution and modern time renovations. At the bottom of the picture you can see the end of the highway from Nieuw Amsterdam, that ends in the heart of Rhenen at Herenplein. You will see more of the east bank in a future update.


1.5 Westoever (Kapelaansplein and Paulusstraat)


I like this picture because you can see the covered Cunera bridge, the finest historical houses and the main streets on the west bank. The citizens of Rhenen are very happy that their town still has that historical atmosphere in this part of town, attacting many tourists from all over the continent, and even from Europe. 


1.6 Westoever (Paulusstraat)


Guided tours start and end near the Cuneratoren.


1.7 Westoever (Westerstraat)

Tourists enjoy the Dutch American cuisine in many of the fine restaurants, or just sit on a sidewalk terrace enjoying Dutch American wines.
The Dam Hotel on Chaplan Square is one of the oldest establishments in town, and very convenient located between restaurants and terraces.


1.8 The next update will show more of Westoever



Thanks for visiting and commenting...
Sebes.

PS. Sorry for the menubar that you see in some of the pics in the first two updates... But I cannot redo the pics because the city has grown further....

[Tarkus]

Sebes, I'm very excited to see that you're jumping into the realm of MDing.  I rather enjoyed the history portion, and Rhenen looks like a very nice little town--and very Dutch.   And I really like how you used the bridges, too, and the road network system you've built in general--very creative layout.

I will definitely be following this one.

-Alex

[paroch]

Well Sebes,

I've waited a long time to see your MD and it was well worth the wait.

The introduction to Nieuw Nederland is great.  Just the right amount of background to get us interested.  And a very good background it is too.

Rhenen looks a cool place.  I like the old city centre on the river.  A great choice of BATs, I have to say 

At first it looks like too many bridges but when you read the story and see the different types of bridges you understand why they've been developed that way.

A glass of Amstel or Brand in that bar next to the Dam Hotel and watching the world go by would be a good way to spend an afternoon.

And good to see the Montelbaarnstoren appear along with the Dutch and Amsterdam flags.

Can't wait to see more, especially the stadium of De Mets!

Welcome to the MD section AT LAST!!!!!!

Paul

[Ennedi]

Hello Sebes, great to see you in the MD section! 

Alex is right, bridges and transit network system looks impressive, it will be very interesting to see Rhenen development! You choosen quite challenging place for the downtown with these steep riversides, it will give an unique look to your city.
I like Dutch cities and Dutch buildings (and Dutch people)very much, so I think I will visit you often 

Your nephew has much luck to have such uncle, best wishes to him!

[lucas]

Wonderful, But the Highway is strnge at this place... on down town... and the canyon don't realistic...

[dedgren]

sebes, my friend- I've been waiting for this.  All those nice comments you've left me over time and I've never had the chance to do likewise.  I see that is over- It looks like yoiu've got a really fine start with an interesting concept.  It makes me wonder what the origins of New York City (the original Nieuw Amsterdam, of course) looked like.

As an aside to lucas (who made the comment before mine), in the United States, and in particular in New York State, we have freeways that, unlike in Europe, literally enter the very center of the city.  This is Rochester, New York, for example.



That loop freeway is less than one-half mile/1000meters from any point in the central business district (CBD).  Here's Albany, New York State's capitol.



The Capitol Plaza is at the center of the pic.  The freeway actually goes underneath of it and dead-ends on the other side.

Finally, here's the Hudson River Palisades, just north of New York City.  I seem to recall that Luxembourg is a European city built right on the edge of a gorge, but it's been a long time (1970s) since I've been there.



I'm sure we'll all have a very good time watching Nieuw Nederland over the months to come.


David

[Fledder200]

owwwwwwwwww 
i love it!!!!

i realy like those bridges!!

good one Sebes..

[Pat]

WOW Sebes you finaly done it man!!! Congrats on starting Rhenen, I soo look forward in keeping up with you now!!! Until the next update.......

[thundercrack83]

Hello, sebes!

Great start, my friend! I love the history and backstory, especially. Can't wait to follow along!

Dustin

[Ryan B.]

Nice start, sebes!  You're doing a great job incorporating the historical aspect into your work, and it shows.

I'll be reading / watching this one with interest.  Good luck!

[OT:  David, you're cutting kinda close to my neck of the woods with that Rochester picture.  ]

[sebes]

Wow- it's nice to see so many replies made on the first day!

Replies:

Alex/Tarkus: thanks for this first comment. I am glad you like the lay out of my transport network. Let's say I watch the Master closely when doing his thing, and do pathetic attempt to do the same here. Your words and you being the first to comment here mean a lot to me.

Paul/Paroch: I know you've waited a long time indeed. Glad you found it worth the wait! Many good afternoons can be spent indeed on the sidewalk terraces in Rhenen...
The Mets stadium is in the capital of Nieuw Nederland, but Rhenen has a great football team too, Candia, that you will see in future updates.

Adam/Ennedi: Thanks for your nice comments. Laying the transit-network with the slope-mod was causing me nervous breakdowns... I am happy with the result myself too  . The steep canyons give this city exactly the feeling that I want: Dutch historic housing in a North American landscape and North American infrastructure in a Dutch 'cosy' way...

Lucas: Thanks for comments. I have seen highways closer to downtown areas, especially in North America.  As, despite the old Dutch houses that the colonists built 300 years ago, of course in the last centuries the nation evolved in the same way as other states in North America, the road layout is indeed more ore less the same as in Rochester NY that David/Dedgren showed. I have never been in Rochester NY, and don't know how the river looks like there in real. When building Rhenen I thought about the Mississippi river in Minneapolis MN:   

and the Guadalevín river Ronda (Andalusia, Spain): 


David/Dedgren: Thanks friend for you nice words. Hopefully one day I'll also be able to show you the capital, Nieuw Amsterdam.
Thanks for adding the satellite picture of Rochester NY (indeed, exact the same spot where downtown Rhenen is located) and of Albany (although that city will be called Beverwyk in my MD...).

Ferry/Fledder200: Thanks for your visit. I hope Rhenen will be a reason for you to hang out on SC4D more often again as I've missed your cheesy comments...

Pat/Firefighter: Yes –  I finally had to courage to do it lol. I look forward to you following my updates here mate. Stay tuned...

Dustin/Thundercrack: Good that you found Rhenen too. Please reserve a spot in the higher ranks of the MD statistics for me, will you....

Burgsabre: So you are from the Rhenen area? I have good news for you: you're the first national of Nieuw Nederland to visit here....  Depending on where you live you might see your street or village having a complete Dutch make over here 

[Pat]

Sebes you bet that I will be following with great intrest here!!! I cant wait for the next update!!! ohh please sebes its just pat

[paroch]

You've got a fan base already Sebes.  12 comments and 140 views in the first 24 hours is a GREAT start.

You're such a great supporter of MDs here at SC4D that it's only right that Rhenen is going to rise through the ranks.

Paul

[CabraBuitre]

Looks good, can't wait to see more Sebes!

[Fledder200]

Well...i'm always (almost every day) on sc4d!
but most of the time i'm lurking

i'm bussy making a new Liaane, but RL is calling me...i'm about to move you know.

BUT i'll promis to plop a comment every now and then

[EDGE4194]

  Sebes, congratulations on your new MD Rhenen. It's off to a great start. I love the history you have created.
I am looking froward to more. Good job my friend 

[Howling]

Wow Sebes good start - I like the initial story. I've often fantasized what north-west America would look like had the British not run us over there. My father has an interesting book about New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam) now New York.

[sebes]

Replies:

Pat:

please sebes its just pat Wink

It's never "just Pat", you will always be my Pat pal! But, good that you mention this. I could have sworn that your nick was patfirefighter 

Paul/Paroch: let's hope it was not just an early peak

Cabrabruite: I'll hope to give a new update this coming weekend... stay tuned I'd say.

Ferry/Fledder200: So went back in the lurk-mode? What can we do to get you out of that? Good luck with the move... what town did you pick to settle down?

Edge4194 I am glad you like Nieuw Rhenen and Nieuw Nederland. You will get more....

Sebas/Howling/Matey We share that fantasy...except : I place mine in the North-East corner of America  .  In my fantasy the British did run over the colony, and renamed the town New York, and we gained it back (like in real, did you know?). But with he treaty of Westminster we did not trade it with England for the Suriname plantages... but kept the city and the colony. But more about that will also follow in a future update about Nieuw Nederland.

I think you mean the book 'Island in the Centre of the World' from Russell Shorto?

or


It's also my main source for the Dutch American history. I just continued after 1674 with rewriting the history of New York (and some of that influenced of course the history of the USA).

There is also a great website in Dutch and English, set up by the Library of Congress: The Dutch in America, 1609-1664 (linkie)

And in one of the next updates I will also inform you a bit more about politics in Nieuw Nederland. You will be amazed who the Dutch Americans elected as Stadhouder (President) !

[thundercrack83]

Dustin/Thundercrack: Good that you found Rhenen too. Please reserve a spot in the higher ranks of the MD statistics for me, will you.... Roll Eyes

If you continue at the rate you're at, my friend, you'll be reserving the spot on your own! See for yourself!

And interesting information about the Dutch here in the United States, too. I'll have to look into that link you posted. I've often wondered what things would be like here if there were more of a Dutch influence, particularly in New York City--but I guess I'll find out through the work in your MD!

Dustin

[Pat]

awww shucks there Sebes Im glad to be a friend!!!! Thanks and yes it was patfirefghtr at the start but awhile ago I asked David to change it too just pat....  Intresting books there and also intresting twist in histroy too and of course as Dustin said as long as you continue to update here I will be back!!!