Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti,[1] a Germanic tribe that settled in the area and was mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus.

It comprises fourteen municipalities: Almelo, Borne, Dinkelland, Enschede, Haaksbergen, Hellendoorn, Hengelo, Hof van Twente, Losser, Oldenzaal, Rijssen-Holten, Tubbergen, Twenterand and Wierden.

In his work Germania, the Roman historian Tacitus mentions a tribe called Tvihanti, who lived near or in present-day Twente.

This is sometimes characterized as a bocage landscape, attracting many tourists from other parts of the country, with popular sights such as the Lutterzand on the meandering Dinkel, or the wide heather fields on the Frezenbaarg near Markelo.

Eight Twents towns have obtained city rights: Almelo, Delden, Diepenheim, Enschede, Goor, Oldenzaal, Ootmarsum, and Rijssen.

Since Twente's economy is to a great extent reliant on agriculture, this leaves its marks on the landscape, with many meadows and pastures, alternating with undergrowth, scrubs and copse.

There are several fens, marshes and peat bogs, which long made Twente less accessible for the rest of the Netherlands, and which formed some natural defence.

It also made the inhabitants of Twente incline towards the east (Westphalia and Münster, more precisely) in trade, politics and fashion, rather than to the more western parts of the Netherlands.

In the more rural parts of Twente, a notion called noaberskop, literally neighbourship, is deemed of great importance.

A number of traditional cultural practices have been preserved in Twente, such as blowing mid-winter horns around Christmas and burning Easter fires.

Twente is also known for its considerable number of so-called klootsketersverennigings (road bowling associations), which is commonly considered the "local traditional sport".

After a while, the chain halts in the town centre, where fathers may lift their young children three times, while shouting "Halleluja".

An extravagant carnival is celebrated in Oldenzaal, which, like the most of eastern Twente has a considerable group of Roman Catholics.

Another typically Twents food is bakleaverworst (roughly translated as baked liver sausage), mostly abbreviated to bakworst.

The roofs, which are relatively large in comparison to contemporary houses, making up approximately 2/3 of the entire height, were mostly thatched and supported by a frame of thick beams.

Many contemporary houses are designed with Twents Saxon elements, such as thatched roofs, wooden planks to decorate the gables, and gewelteekns  [nl; nds-nl] (gable signs), which are wooden planks shaped with several stylised symbols, such as a tree of life, cross, anchor and heart, a sun wheel, and two rampant horses.

Other examples of modern and contemporary architecture can be found in Enschede too, as well as in the other main urban centres, Almelo and Hengelo, but also in some smaller towns.

In the town of Goor, for example, a construction company has built their main office in the style of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who was known for using lively colours and natural forms.

The municipality council of Rijssen-Holten holds one conference per year in dialect, and in 2008 declared their desk workers officially bilingual, to lower the threshold for the inhabitants of Rijssen who feel more comfortable in speaking Twents, rather than Dutch.

The former Van Deinse Instituut, which is now incorporated in the TwentseWelle museum, is involved in researching the past and present of Twente.

A number of well-known bicycle racing pros are from Twente, including Bram Tankink, Tom Stamsnijder and Joost Posthuma.

On an amateur level, many people participate for leisure in popular team sports with local clubs, such as handball, tennis, soccer and volleyball.

A local traditional sport, klootskeetn, which is similar to Irish road bowling, has seen an increase in interest over the last decades.

Aadorp -- Albergen—Beckum -- Beuningen -- Boekelo -- Borne -- Bornerbroek -- Breklenkamp -- Buurse -- Daarle -- Daarlerveen -- Delden -- De Lutte -- Denekamp -- Deurningen -- Diepenheim -- Enschede -- Enter -- Fleringen -- Glanerbrug -- Goor -- Haaksbergen -- Hengelo -- Hengevelde -- Lattrop -- Lonneker -- Losser -- Mander -- Markelo -- Oldenzaal -- Ootmarsum -- Overdinkel -- Rossum -- Saasveld -- Tilligte -- Tubbergen -- Twekkelo -- Usselo -- Vasse -- Vriezenveen -- Vroomshoop (partly Salland) -- Weerselo -- Wierden -- Zenderen