Goch is a town in the district of Kleve

Kleve (district)

Kleve or Kreis Kleve is a Kreis in northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany...

, in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is situated close to the border with the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, approx. 12 km south of Kleve

Kleve

Kleve , is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Kleve was capital of a county and later a duchy...

, and 27 km southeast of Nijmegen.

Cultural ties

It is twinned with the town of Andover

Andover, Hampshire

Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton some 18.5 miles west of the town of Basingstoke, 18.5 miles north-west of the city of Winchester and 25 miles north of the city of Southampton...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, and the town of Veghel

Veghel

Veghel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.Since 1994 Veghel and the neighbouring village of Erp have formed a single municipality.Veghel is twinned with Goch in Germany.- Population centres :*Boerdonk*Eerde*Erp*Keldonk...

 in the Netherlands. Goch is 750 years old.

History

The Spanish author, military leader, and governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Francisco de Moncada

Francisco de Moncada

Francisco de Moncada , 3rd Marquis of Aytona, was a Spanish diplomat, soldier and writer of the early 17th century...

, died here in 1635.

It was a part of the Duchy of Cleves

Duchy of Cleves

The Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...

.

Sport

The city is the birthplace of Olympic Champion Josefa Idem

Josefa Idem

Josefa Idem Guerrini is a West German-born Italian sprint canoer. Competing in seven Summer Olympics, she has five medals...

 and Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...

.