Roer was a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

and later

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

in present-day

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 ...

and the

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 ...

. It was named after the river

Roer The Rur or Roer (german: Rur ; Dutch and li, Roer, , ; french: Rour) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse ( nl, links=no, Maas). About 90 perce ...

(Rur), which flows through the department. It was formed in 1797, when the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by the French. The department was formed from the duchies of

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', nl, Gulik, french: Juliers, Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As a border region betwe ...

and

Cleves 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 ...

, the part of the

Archbishopric of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History The Electorate of Cologn ...

left of the Rhine, the Free City of Aachen, the Prussian part of the duchy of

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in pr ...

and some smaller territories. In 1805 the city of

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

was added to the department. The capital was

Aix-la-Chapelle Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

(''Aachen''). The department was subdivided in the following

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

s and

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

(situation in 1812):Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII
p. 458-9, accessed in Gallica 16 July 2013 *

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

(Aix-la-Chapelle), cantons:

(2 cantons),

Burtscheid Burtscheid ( la, Porcetum) is a district of the city of Aachen, part of the Aachen-Mitte Stadtbezirk. It is a health resort. History It was inhabited since ancient times by Celts and Romans, who were attracted by the presence of hot springs. Bu ...

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a people ...

Eschweiler Eschweiler (, Ripuarian: ) is a municipality in the district of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany on the river Inde, near the German-Belgian-Dutch border, and about east of Aachen and west of Cologne. History * Celts (fir ...

, Froitzheim,

Geilenkirchen Geilenkirchen (, Ripuarian: ) is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of Heerlen and 20 k ...

Gemünd Gemünd is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Eu ...

Heinsberg Heinsberg (; li, Hinsberg ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the Heinsberg (district), district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 20 km north-east of Si ...

Linnich Linnich is a town in the Düren (district), district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the Rur, River Rur (Roer river), approx. 10 km north-west of Jülich. Economy Linnich is the home of Schweizeris ...

Monschau Monschau (; french: Montjoie, ; wa, Mondjoye) is a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany, located in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography The town is located in the hills of the North Eifel, within the ...

and

Sittard Sittard (; ) is a city in the Netherlands, situated in the southernmost province of Limburg. The town is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen and has almost 37.500 inhabitants in 2016. In its east, Sittard borders the German municipali ...

. *

, cantons:

Geldern Geldern ( nl, Gelderen, archaic English: ''Guelder(s)'') is a city in the federal German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is part of the district of Kleve, which is part of the Düsseldorf administrative region. Geography Location Geldern l ...

Goch Goch (; archaic spelling: Gog, Dutch: Gogh) is a town in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated close to the border with the Siebengewald in Netherlands, approx. south of Kleve, and southeast of Nijmegen. His ...

, Horst, Kalkar, Kranenburg, Wankum,

and Xanten. * Krefeld (Crefeld), cantons: Krefeld, Bracht, Erkelenz, Kempen, Moers,

Neersen Willich () is a town in the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is 20 km west of Düsseldorf, 14 km north of Mönchengladbach, 10 km south of Krefeld, about 30 kilometres east of the border with the Netherlands and 45 km ...

, Neuss,

Odenkirchen Odenkirchen is a former town in Germany, presently part of the city Mönchengladbach. It is situated on the river Niers, 21 miles by rail south-west of Düsseldorf. It has a railway station ( Rheydt-Odenkirchen), on the line from Mönchengladbac ...

, Rheinberg, Uerdingen, Viersen * Cologne, cantons: Cologne (4 cantons), Bergheim, Brühl, Dormagen,

Elsen Elsen is a village in Germany that forms a part of the city Paderborn in North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), common ...

Kerpen Kerpen (; Ripuarian: ''Kerpe'') is the most populated town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). It is located about 20 kilometres southwest from Cologne. Division of the town The town of Kerpen was created in 1975, whe ...

Lechenich Erftstadt () is a town located about 20 km south-west of Cologne in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The name of the town derives from the river that flows through it, the Erft. The neighbouring towns are Brüh ...

, Weiden and Zülpich. Its population in 1812 was 631,094. After

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

was defeated in 1814, the department was divided between the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (left bank of the Meuse and a strip along its right bank including

Gennep Gennep () is a municipality and a city in upper southeastern Netherlands. It lies in the very northern part of the province of Limburg, 18 km south of Nijmegen. Furthermore, it lies on the right bank of the Meuse river, and south of the forest o ...

, Tegelen and Sittard, in present-day Dutch Limburg) and the Kingdom of Prussia ( Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, now part of North Rhine-Westphalia,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roer (Department) Former departments of France in Germany Former departments of France in the Netherlands History of Limburg (Netherlands) History of the Rhineland Former states and territories of North Rhine-Westphalia 1797 establishments in France History of the Eifel