Lichtenvoorde is a town in the east of the Netherlands, in the municipality of Oost Gelre. Lichtenvoorde holds a flower parade (bloemencorso) every September at the start of its annual festival. The parade features floats covered in flowers (usually dahlias) in imaginative designs depicting a variety of themes. Lichtenvoorde has a motorcross circuit on which international grands prix are held.

History

Lichtenvoorde was the name of a municipality that included the town and the villages of Lievelde, Zieuwent, Vragender and Harreveld, until 1 January 2005, when all were merged into the municipality of Oost Gelre. Its inhabitants are known colloquially as keienslöppers (boulder draggers) due to a historic event. On 15 March 1874, 99 of the town's shoemakers dragged a 20 ton boulder a distance of around four kilometres to the marketplace to serve as a centerpiece for commemoration of King William III's silver jubilee, after 25 years on the country's throne. The boulder remains there to this day, topped by a stone lion holding the town's coat of arms.

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