Geldern

Geldern grew beside a castle at a crossing of the Niers and gave its name to the county and later duchy of Guelders. The counts made the castle their residence, and the town received rights in 1229. Walls, moats and gates protected the settlement; a Carmelite monastery and the late Gothic church of Mary Magdalene reflected its importance as a ducal centre.

After 1543 Geldern came under Spanish rule. Dutch forces occupied it in 1578, but Spain recovered it in 1587. During the War of the Spanish Succession, a Prussian siege began in February 1703 and ended with the town's surrender in December. The Treaty of Utrecht divided the former Spanish Upper Quarter of Guelders, and Geldern became the administrative seat of its Prussian share. Frederick II ordered the fortifications demolished in 1764.