Wesel () is a city in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
, in western
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It is the capital of the
Wesel district.
Geography
Wesel is situated at the confluence of the
Lippe River
The Lippe () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine and in length with an elevation difference of 125 metres and a catchment area of 4.890 km².
The source is located at the edge of the Teutoburg ...
and the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
.
Division of the city
Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark, Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.
History
Origin
The city originated from a
Franconia
Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
n manor that was first recorded in the 8th century.
In the 12th century, the Duke of Clèves took possession of Wesel. The city became a member of the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
during the 15th century. Wesel was second only to
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
in the lower Rhine region as an
entrepôt
An entrepôt ( ; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into comm ...
. It was an important commercial centre: a clearing station for the
transshipment
Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination.
One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...
and trading of goods.
Early modern

In 1545, a
Walloon community in Wesel was noted, with French-language church services.
In 1590 the Spanish captured Wesel after a four-year siege. The city changed hands between the Dutch and Spanish several times during the
Eighty Years War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exce ...
. In 1672 a French force under
Louis II de Bourbon,
Prince de Condé
A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...
captured the city.
Wesel was inherited by the
Hohenzollerns of the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...
in 1609 but they were unable to take control of Wesel until the
Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678. In 1688, a French
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
commune was founded in the town.
[ Although the city had been heavily fortified the Prussians evacuated the city during the ]Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
and it was occupied by the French. It was returned to Prussia at the end of the war. Friedrich Wilhelm von Dossow Friedrich may refer to:
Names
*Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich''
*Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich''
Other
*Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...
was the Prussian
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...
Governor of Wesel during the 18th century.
Wesel was ceded to the French in 1805 under the Treaty of Schönbrunn
The Treaty of Schönbrunn (; ), sometimes known as the Peace of Schönbrunn or the Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at Schönbrunn Palace near Vienna on 14 October 1809. The treaty ended the Fifth Coalition during the N ...
. The French heavily fortified the city constructing a rectangular fort called the Citadelle Napoleon at Büderich and the Citadelle Bonaparte on an island in the Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
off Wesel. Though blockaded by the Allies in 1813 the city remained in French hands until after the Battle of Waterloo. After the Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
of the early 19th century, the city became part of the Prussian Rhine Province
The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...
and the Citadelle Napoleon was renamed Fort Blücher.
World War II
Forced laborers of the 3rd SS construction brigade were dispatched in the town in 1943.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, as a strategic depot, Wesel became a target of Allied bombing. Air raids, using impact and air-burst bombs, on 16, 17, 18 and 19 February 1945, destroyed 97% of the town. The Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
blew up bridges along the Rhine and Lippe to prevent Allied forces from advancing. The Wehrmacht also destroyed the 1,950m-long railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
bridge, the last Rhine bridge remaining in German hands, on 10 March. On 23 March, Wesel came under the fire of over 3,000 guns when it was bombarded anew, in preparation for Operation Plunder
Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Lippe b ...
. The shelling was assisted by a raid of RAF bombers and a larger raid that night, during which ten individual bombers each dropped a 10,000 kg bomb on Wesel at 2100 hours. Before the town was finally taken by Allied troops, 97% of its structures were destroyed. In the ensuing attacks by Allied forces, the town was taken with minimal casualties. Operation Varsity the largest airborne landings of the war in one day and one location dropped 18,000 troops into the area to take the hills behind Wesel. The British 1st Commando Brigade was already attacking Wesel, carried into action by LVT LVT may refer to:
* Land value tax, a levy on the value of land
* Landing Vehicle Tracked
The Amphibious Vehicle, Tracked (LVT or AMTRAC) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and Amphibious vehicle, amphibious landing craft, introduced by the ...
Buffalos. The remainder of the Allied force crossed the Rhine in more amphibious vehicles.
From almost 25,000 in 1939, the population was reduced to 1,900 by May 1945. In 1946 Wesel became part of the new state North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
of West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
.
Transport
There is a railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
in the city centre as well as Wesel-Feldmark, about 2 km north. The stations are served by trains to Oberhausen
Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...
, Duisburg
Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...
, Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
, Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, Arnhem
Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...
(Netherlands), and Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach (, ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Netherlands, Dutch border.
Geography Municipal subdivisions
Since 2009, th ...
. A small diesel-only connecting railway line goes to Bocholt also, there are plans to electrify it.
Buildings and places of interest
* Berliner Tor, city gate
* Willibrordi-Dom (Cathedral). Commemorative plaque for Peter Minuit
Peter Minuit (French language, French: ''Pierre Minuit'', Dutch language, Dutch: ''Peter Minnewit''; 1580 – August 5, 1638) was a Walloons, Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd Director of New Netherland, Director of the Dutch Nort ...
, Gründer von New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
(founder of New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
)
* Wesel Citadel
* Restored 15th century city hall
* Broadcasting Mast Wesel, one of Germany's tallest constructions
* Niederrheinbrücke Wesel, modern Rhine bridge opened in 2009
* Auesee, an natural bathing lake, an old arm of the Rhine river
Politics
Wesel's mayors:
* 1808–1814: Johann Hermann Westermann
* 1814–1840: Christian Adolphi
* 1841–1862: Franz Luck
* 1863–1870: Wilhelm Otto van Calker
* 1870–1873: Heinrich Bang
* 1873–1881: Carl Friedrich August von Albert
* 1881–1891: Caspar Baur
* 1891–1902: Josef Fluthgraf (1896 Oberbürgermeister)
* 1903–1931: Ludwig Poppelbaum
* 1931–1933: Emil Nohl
* 1933–1945: Otto Borgers
* 1945: Jean Groos
* 1945: Wilhelm Groos
* 1946–1947: Anton Ebert (CDU)
* 1947–1948: Paul Körner (CDU)
* 1948–1952: Ewald Fournell (CDU)
* 1952–1956: Helmut Berckel (CDU)
* 1956–1966: Kurt Kräcker (SPD)
* 1967–1969: Willi Nakaten (SPD)
* 1969–1979: Günther Detert (CDU)
* 1979–1984: Wilhelm Schneider (SPD)
* 1984–1989: Volker Haubitz (CDU)
* 1989–1994: Wilhelm Schneider (SPD)
* 1994–1999: Bernhard Gründken (SPD)
* 1999–2004: Jörn Schroh (CDU)
* since 2004: Ulrike Westkamp (SPD)
Twin towns – sister cities
Wesel is twinned with:
* Hagerstown, United States (1952)
* Felixstowe
Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...
, England (1972)
* Salzwedel
Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; ) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the Ger ...
, Germany (1990)
* Kętrzyn
Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Kętrzyn County in the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship.
The town is known for the surrounding Masurian Lakeland and num ...
, Poland (2002)
Notable people
* Derick Baegert (1440–after 1509), painter
* Andreas Wytinck van Wesel, or Andreas Vesalius
Andries van Wezel (31 December 1514 – 15 October 1564), latinized as Andreas Vesalius (), was an anatomist and physician who wrote '' De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (''On the fabric of the human body'' ''in seven books''), which is ...
, anatomist, imperial physician to the court of Emperor Charles V
* Jan Joest (1455–1519), painter
* Hermann Wesel († 1563), last Bishop of Dorpat
*Hans Lippershey
Hans Lipperhey ( – buried 29 September 1619), also known as Johann Lippershey or simply Lippershey, was a Germany, German-Netherlands, Dutch Glasses, spectacle-maker. He is commonly associated with the invention of the telescope, because he was ...
(1550–1619), eyeglass maker associated with the invention of the telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...
*Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby
Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby (12 October 1555 – 25 June 1601) was the son of Katherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk, Katherine Willoughby, 12th Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, and Richard Bertie (courtier), Richard Bertie. Be ...
(1555–1601), English diplomat and soldier
*Carl Philipp, Reichsgraf von Wylich und Lottum
Carl Philipp, Graf von Wylich und Lottum ( Diersfordt, 27 August 1650 – Wesel, 14 February 1719) was a Prussian field marshal.
Early life
Philipp Carl was the son of Johann Sigismund von Wylich und Lottum (died 25 June 1678) and Josina von Wi ...
(1650–1719), Prussian field marshal
*Peter Minuit
Peter Minuit (French language, French: ''Pierre Minuit'', Dutch language, Dutch: ''Peter Minnewit''; 1580 – August 5, 1638) was a Walloons, Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd Director of New Netherland, Director of the Dutch Nort ...
(1594–1638), founder of New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
, which later became New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
*Johann Friedrich Welsch (1796–1871), painter
* Konrad Duden (1829–1911), author of the first Duden
The Duden () is a dictionary of the Standard High German language, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880, and later by Bibliographisches Institut GmbH, which was merged into Cornelsen Verlag in 2022.
The Duden is updated regularly with ...
* Ludwig Hugo Becker (1833–1868), painter
* Friedrich Geselschap (1835–1898), painter
* Richard Veenfliet (1843–1922), painter and soldier
* Ida Tacke (1896–1978), co-discoverer of the chemical elements rhenium
Rhenium is a chemical element; it has symbol Re and atomic number 75. It is a silvery-gray, heavy, third-row transition metal in group 7 of the periodic table. With an estimated average concentration of 1 part per billion (ppb), rhenium is one ...
and technetium
Technetium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Tc and atomic number 43. It is the lightest element whose isotopes are all radioactive. Technetium and promethium are the only radioactive elements whose neighbours in the sense ...
*Joachim von Ribbentrop
Ulrich Friedrich-Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German Nazi politician and diplomat who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. ...
(1893–1946), foreign minister of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
(1938–1945)
* Jan Hofer (born 1950), journalist and television presenter
* Dieter Nuhr (born 1960), comedian
* Martin Bambauer (born 1970), church musician
Miscellaneous
One of Germany's highest radio masts is situated in the district of Büderich on the left bank of the Rhine. The Wesel transmitter measures 320.8 metres in height.
See also
* Wesel Railway Bridge
References
Books
* Jutta Prieur (Hrsg.): ''Geschichte der Stadt Wesel: Beiträge zur Stadtgeschichte der frühen Neuzeit'' (= Studien und Quellen zur Geschichte von Wesel 20). Stadtarchiv, Wesel 1998,
* Daniel Vasta (Hrsg.): ''Wesel Hansestadt am Niederrhein: Beiträge zum zeitgenössischen Geschehen'' (= Bilder von Menschen, Land und Leuten, Wesel 2009). Sutton Verlag, Wesel 2009, Daniel Vasta in Wesel
Vasta.de. Retrieved on 2013-07-23.
* Martin W. Roelen (Hrsg.): ''Ecclesia Wesele: Beiträge zur Ortsnamenforschung und Kirchengeschichte'' (= Studien und Quellen zur Geschichte von Wesel 28). Stadtarchiv, Wesel 2005,
External links
*
{{Authority control
Members of the Hanseatic League
Districts of the Rhine Province
Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia
Populated places on the Rhine
Wesel (district)