Although Paris likes to call itself the City of Light, only one European city has the honour of truly claiming this title and that city is Eindhoven. Long before the French began bandying about the phrase ‘Le Ville Lumière’, Eindhoven had already been associated with the moniker. Although most people think that the nickname is related to Philips and the invention of light bulbs in 1891, it's actually derived from the so-called Lucifer industry. Matches can trace their origins as far back as 577 AD, but the first factory in the Netherlands dedicated to the production of these flammable necessities only opened in Eindhoven in 1870. Soon after the Dutch began calling it City of Light, or Lichtstad. Today Eindhoven is also renowned for its light-themed event known as Glow (see Culture & Events).