The siege of Venlo in 1373 is one of the many sieges which the Dutch city of

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherland ...

has known. This siege was the first in a long line of sieges which the city has known for centuries. By the end of the 13th century, Johan van Broeckhuysen was lent the

allodium In the law of the Middle Ages and early Modern Period and especially within the Holy Roman Empire, an allod (Old Low Franconian ''allōd'' ‘fully owned estate’, from ''all'' ‘full, entire’ and ''ōd'' ‘estate’, Medieval Latin ''allodium ...

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

by the

Count of Guelders This article is about the rulers of the historical county and duchy of Guelders. Counts House of Wassenberg * before 1096–about 1129: Gerard I * about 1129–about 1131: Gerard II, son of Gerard I * about 1131–1182: Henry I, son of Gerar ...

. Around 1300, Van Broeckhuysen had built an enhanced ''Stone House'' (

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

). The underground vaults of the house still exist, but in 1597, from the ground floor a new City Hall was built. In 1343, Venlo was given

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

Reinoud II of Guelders Reginald II of Guelders ( nl, Reinoud), called "the Black" (c. 1295 – 12 October 1343), was Count of Guelders, and from 1339 onwards Duke of Guelders, and Zutphen, in the Low Countries, from 1326 to 1343. He was the son of Reginald I of Guelders ...

(who died later that year), and was therefore allowed to build

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

. The construction of this

stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

took several decades, but gradually it became a solid structure. In 1373, the reigning house of Guelders died off (reigning duke

Reinoud III of Guelders Reginald III (french: Rainaud or ''Renaud'', known as "The Fat") (13 May 1333 – 4 December 1371) was Duke of Guelders and Count of Zutphen from 1343 to 1361, and again in 1371. He was the son of Reginald II of Guelders and of Eleanor of Woodstock ...

had no children), and a fight burst out between the two surviving sisters Reinoud III had, Mary and Margaret. Meanwhile, Johan van Broeckhuysen also deceased, but his grandson (also named Johan) wanted the former alodium of his family not to fall into

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 ...

hands. That same year he organized a force, joined

John II of Blois John II ( – 19 May 1381) was a Franco-Dutch nobleman who ruled lands in both France and the Holy Roman Empire. He was the count of Blois and Dunois from 1372 until 1381, the lord of Avesnes, Schoonhoven, Gouda, Beaumont, Chimay and Waarde fr ...

who was married to Mary, and thus took part in the First Guelders Succession War. John of Blois lost the battle, and thus the city of Venlo, and the duchy was joined to the Jülich duchy.

References

* 1999:''Venlo. Historische stedenatlas van Nederland'' {{ISBN, 90-407-1992-6 * https://archive.today/20130708080615/http://citadelvenlo.org/en/belegeringen-van-venlo/beleg-van-venlo-1373/ Citadelvenlo.org Venlo Venlo 1373