Meppel

Meppel () is a municipality and a city in the northeast of the Netherlands, in the south-west of the province Drenthe.
Meppel is the smallest municipality in the province of Drenthe, with a total area of 58 km².
People born in Meppel are occasionally referred to as 'Meppeler Muggen'; this translates as mosquitos/gnats from Meppel. This is due to a traditional folk tale. The people of Meppel thought the church tower was on fire. After closer inspection it was only a swarm of mosquitos.
History.
It developed in the 16th century as an inland harbour for peat transport and distribution. There used to be a lot of waterways in the town, but now only one remains. Meppel received city rights in 1644.
Geography.
Meppel is located at in the south-west of the province of Drenthe in the east of the Netherlands.
The Meppelerdiep, the Drentsche Hoofdvaart and the Hoogeveense Vaart connect Meppel to Zwartsluis, Assen and Hoogeveen. To offload professional transport vessels the Omgelegde Hoogeveense Vaart was dug out south of the city. The Meppelerdiep is accessible for boats with a size of 2000 ton.
The streams Reest and Wold Aa run through the city. The Reest end in the Meppeler Diep. 
The population centres in the municipality are:
Transportation.
Meppel is served by train connections with Zwolle to the south, which leads to the rest of the country, and Leeuwarden and Groningen to the north and north-east.
There are regular and frequent bus lines within Meppel and towards Zwolle, Hoogeveen and Assen. The bus station is situated in front of the classic railway station.
By car, the town is accessible via the A28 motorway (Netherlands) towards Zwolle in the south and Groningen to the north-east, A32 motorway (Netherlands) (that begins at the motorway crossing Lankhorst south of the city) towards Leeuwarden in the north.
International relations.
Meppel is twinned with: