Enschede is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border with Germany. The municipality of Enschede consisted of the city of Enschede until 1935, when the rural municipality of Lonneker, which surrounded the city, was annexed after the rapid industrial expansion of Enschede which began in the 1860s and involved the building of railways and the digging of the Twentekanaal. The proposal for consolidation began in 1872, per the Tubantia newspaper article on 22 Jun 1872 that referenced a committee of 5 to oversee a study. They were: J. Mosman (Johannes Theodorus Mosman), H. Fikkert, H. G. Blijdenstein J. Bz., C. C. Schleucker, and G. J. van Heek.

In sports and culture, Enschede is perhaps best known for being home to football club FC Twente, one-time Dutch champions and University of Twente.

There are several museums in Enschede, among them the Rijksmuseum Twenthe for art. A museum of natural history and a museum dedicated to the history of the textiles industry, both closed in January 2007, have merged, and have reopened in April 2008 in new premises on a new location under the name TwentseWelle (Source/Well of Twente). The new location is situated in Roombeek, where a fireworks disaster took place in 2000. The new museum is located partly in a renovated old textile factory, in reference to Enschede’s textile history, and partly in an adjourning new building, designed by the Amsterdam-based firm SeARCH (project architect: Bjarne Mastenbroek). Besides museums there are also several art spaces, the most prominent being Villa de Bank and TETEM. The latter focuses on art and technology, and aims to be accessible for a wide public. Enschede is also home of The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra.

In December 2012, the Serious Request action from national radio station 3FM took place in Enschede, which collected more than 12.2 million euros (almost US$16.2 million).