Deventer was probably founded around 768 by the English missionary Lebuinus, who built a wooden church on the east bank of the river IJssel.
De Proosdij in the Sandrasteeg is the oldest stone house of the Netherlands still in use. The earliest parts dating back to around 1130.
Deventer is the place of birth of Geert Groote and home to his Brethren of the Common Life, a school of religious thought that was of great influence on Thomas a Kempis and Erasmus in later times. Together with Haarlem it was among the first cities to have printing presses, dating back to as early as 1477. From around 1300, it also housed a Latin School, which became internationally renowned, and remained in service in changing forms until 1971. Its most famous pupil was the scholar Desiderius Erasmus, who was born in 1466 and attended the school from 1475 to 1484.
During the production of the movie A Bridge Too Far all of the scenes taking place in nearby Arnhem were filmed in Deventer - as Arnhem itself had lost its historic center.
[Source: Wikipedia]
