DEVENTER, a circle in the province of Overijssel, in the Netherlands, containing four cantons, viz. Deventer, Hardenburg, Ommen, and Raalte, with 41,570 inhabitants. The capital is the city of that name, at the junction of the
Schipbeek with the Yssel. Its fortifications are now in a neglected state. It is a well-built city, with seven churches, 1200 houses, and 9621 inhabitants, who are industriously employed in making iron goods, earthenware, linen cloth, and in breweries. It was the birthplace of the classical Gronovius and of Thomas a Kempis.