Kampen, Overijssel

Kampen is a city and municipality in Overijssel province in the northeastern Netherlands, on the lower IJssel River, with about 54,474 residents in 2021 and roughly 37,000 in the city proper. It formally joined the Hanseatic League in 1441 and was one of the largest towns in the Northern Netherlands between the 14th and 16th centuries, prospering on trade routes between the Zuiderzee and the Rhine. Kampen preserves one of the best-kept historic town centers in the Netherlands, including surviving medieval city walls, three original gates, and numerous churches, and remains the largest city in northwestern Overijssel.