Goch (; archaic spelling: Gog, Dutch: Gogh) is a town in the district of Kleve, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is situated close to the border with the Siebengewald in

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, approx. south of

Kleve Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...

, and southeast of

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

History

Goch is at least 750 years old: the earliest mention of Goch is in a document dated 1259. It was a part of the

Duchy of Cleves The Duchy of Cleves (german: Herzogtum Kleve; nl, Hertogdom Kleef) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval . It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the city was completely destroyed by Allied bombers during

Operation Veritable Operation Veritable (also known as the Battle of the Reichswald) was the northern part of an Allies of World War II, Allied pincer movement that took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945 during the final stages of the World War II, Second ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Goch is twinned with: *

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Meierijstad Meierijstad () is a municipality in the province of North Brabant. The municipality is the result of a merger between the municipalities Schijndel, Sint-Oedenrode and Veghel in 2017. After the merger it became the largest municipality in terms of ...

, Netherlands (formerly

Veghel Veghel () is a town and a former municipality in the southern Netherlands. On 1 January 2017 Veghel, together with Schijndel and Sint-Oedenrode, merged into a new municipality called Meierijstad creating the largest municipality of the provinc ...

) *

Nowy Tomyśl Nowy Tomyśl (german: Neutomischel) is a town in western Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the capital of Nowy Tomyśl County. The population is 15,627 (2004). The town has a long tradition of wickerwork. In the main town square st ...

, Poland *

Redon Redon (; ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Redon borders the Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique departments. It is situated at the junction of th ...

, France

Notable people

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

(980–1002), Holy Roman Emperor *

Johannes von Goch Johannes von Goch (properly Johann Pupper) ( – 1475) was a German Augustinian monk, thought by some to be a precursor of the Reformation, because of his views on scripture, justification and monasticism. Biography He was born at Goch in the Rhi ...

(c. 1400–1475), Medieval theologian *

Maarten Schenck van Nydeggen Maarten (Martin) Schenck van Nydeggen, (1540?, – 11 August 1589) was a noted military commander in the Netherlands. He first served with William of Orange in the fight for Dutch independence from Spain then switched to serve with distincti ...

(1540–1589), military commander in the Netherlands *

Francisco de Moncada Francisco de Moncada (in Catalan: Francesc de Montcada i Montcada), 3rd Marquis of Aytona, (1586–1635) was a Spanish diplomat, soldier and writer of the early 17th century. He was also interim Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Early life Mon ...

(1586–1635), Spanish author, military leader, and governor of the Spanish Netherlands, died here *

Aenne Biermann Aenne Biermann (March 8, 1898 – January 14, 1933), born Anna Sibilla Sternfeld, was a German photographer of Ashkenazi origin. She was one of the major proponents of New Objectivity, a significant art movement that developed in Germany in the ...

(1898–1933), photographer *

Hubert Houben Hubert Houben (24 February 1898 – 9 November 1956) was a German sprinter who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay, together with Georg Lammers, Richard Corts and Helmut Körnig, and failed to r ...

(1898–1956), athlete *

Josefa Idem Josefa Idem married Guerrini (born 23 September 1964) is an Italian sprint canoer turned politician. Competing in eight Summer Olympics, she has five medals. Winning 35 international medals during her career, Idem was the first Italian woman to ...

(born 1964), Italian sprint canoer and politician *

Arnold Janssen Arnold Janssen, S.V.D. (5 November 1837 – 15 January 1909), was a German-Dutch Catholic priest and missionary who is venerated as a saint. He founded the Society of the Divine Word, a Catholic missionary religious congregation, also known as th ...

(1837–1909), founder of the

Society of the Divine Word The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation ...

, a Roman Catholic missionary congregation *

Rita Kersting Rita Kersting (born 1969) is a German art historian and curator. Life and work Born in Goch, Kersting studied history of art at the University of Cologne and completed a curatorial training at De Appel centre for Contemporary Art in Amsterdam. ...

(born 1969), art historian *

Luisa Wensing Luisa Wensing (born 8 February 1993) is a German footballer who plays as a right back for SC Freiburg. Wensing has also represented Germany in international competition, playing at junior level in the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and 2012 F ...

(born 1993), footballer

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

, according to his name, which translates to "Vincent of Goch", has ancestors likely native to this location.

Gallery

Goch 1625.JPG, ' in 1625, by

Jan Luyken Johannes or Jan Luyken (April 16, 1649 – April 5, 1712) was a Dutch poet, illustrator, and engraving, engraver.Operation Veritable Operation Veritable (also known as the Battle of the Reichswald) was the northern part of an Allies of World War II, Allied pincer movement that took place between 8 February and 11 March 1945 during the final stages of the World War II, Second ...

, February 21, 1945 Goch, watertoren Dm82 foto2 2013-04-30 12.29.jpg, Watertower Goch, straatzicht Am Steintor Dm6 foto7 2016-05-05 16.38.jpg, Am Steintor Street Vicarage goch hommersum.jpg, Vicarage Goch Hommersum G17-d-Goch-evKirche.JPG, Protestant church

References

External links

Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Kleve (district) {{Kleve-geo-stub