The village was first mentioned in the late 10th century as "in Loningheri", and means "settlement on a sandy ridge of the people of Lono (person)". Lonneker is an
esdorp which developed in the Early Middle Ages. The Catholic St. Jacobus de Meerdere was built between 1911 and 1912 as a replacement for the 1820 church. In 1811, five '''' (predecessor of municipality) were split into the municipalities of Lonneker and Enschede. Lonneker used to encircle Enschede. In 1884, a part of the municipality was given to the city. In 1927, the 4th Anarchist
Pinksterlanddagen or "pinkster-mobilisatie" where held in Lonneker. Amongst the speakers where T.Wessels, H. Schuurman and Albert de Jong. On the last day there was a demonstration that got stopped by police violence. == Gallery ==