Sonsbeck is a municipality in the district of Wesel, 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 approximately 20 km west 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 ...

, and 25 km south-east of

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 ...

as well as 8 km from the historic city of

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wor ...

. It is one of North Rhine-Westphalia's wealthiest municipalities.

History

Antiquity

A watchtower was constructed on the Balberg by the Romans for protection of the road between Castra Vetera (near modern Xanten) and Blerick (Netherlands). The area around Sonsbeck was settled by the Germanic Cugernii tribe.

Middle Ages

The watchtower of the Romans was later reconstructed as a keep for the Dukes of Cleves. The remaining round tower (c. 1417) is called "Römerturm" (Roman tower) today, in reference to its early history. In close proximity to the watchtower, the first settlement ''Suangochesboch'' emerged. The name of the settlement has two possible origins; the first from Latin "sus" (= pig) and the second from the Low German word "soneman" (= arbiter), so the name means either "Schweinebach" ("pig stream") or the stream where the arbiter resides. Sonsbeck became a place of pilgrimage, when a chapel was constructed to preserve the relics of the martyr

Gerebern Saint Gerebern (or Gerebernus, Genebern, Genebrard, Gereborn, Gerebran, Gerebrand, Herbern; died 7th century) was an Irish priest who baptized Saint Dymphna when she was a child. He was her companion when she fled to Belgium, where he was murdered ...

us. Gerebernus is said to have been an Irish priest of the 6th or 7th century, who was the tutor of

Dymphna Dymphna is a Christian saint honoured in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. According to tradition, she lived in the 7th century and was martyred by her father. The story of Dymphna was first recorded in the 13th century by a canon of ...

, the daughter of an Irish tribal king. After the death of her mother, the king wanted to marry his daughter, wo fled to Geel (Belgium) with her tutor Gerebernus, where they were captured and beheaded. The remains were later stolen by "bandits from Xanten" and arrived in Sonsbeck. The Sonsbeck chapel was elevated to parish status in 1203. Close to the chapel, a second settlement developed, which took the name of the already existing settlement and received town privileges in 1320 from Count Dietrich IX. of Cleves. In the following years, the construction of walls around the city began, they were finished in 1420 and included a keep for the Counts/Dukes of Cleves. The keep was destroyed in 1641. The most important remaining monument from that time is the St.-Mary-Magdalene-Church that was finished in 1431. Sonsbeck - Rathaus 02 ies

Twin towns

Sonsbeck is twinned with the town of

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

in Kent (UK).

Noted residents

Adolph Althoff Adolf Althoff (, 25 June 1913 in Sonsbeck – 14 October 1998 in Stolberg (Rhineland) was a German circus owner, animal tamer and performer who saved several people from the Holocaust by having them work and travel in his circus. A member of a 3 ...

, (1913-1998), circus owner who rescued Jews during the Holocaust

References

External links

Wesel (district) {{Wesel-geo-stub