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

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. During World War II, the city was completely destroyed by Allied bombers during Operation Veritable.

On September 8th, 2011, A Magnitude 4.5 struck the town, causing damage to infrasctructure and to homes.

Twin towns – sister cities

Goch is twinned with:

  • Andover, England, United Kingdom
  • Meierijstad, Netherlands (formerly Veghel)
  • Nowy Tomyśl, Poland
  • Redon, France

Notable people

  • Otto III (980–1002), Holy Roman Emperor
  • Johannes von Goch (c. 1400–1475), Medieval theologian
  • Maarten Schenck van Nydeggen (1540–1589), military commander in the Netherlands
  • Francisco de Moncada (1586–1635), Spanish author, military leader, and governor of the Spanish Netherlands, died here
  • Aenne Biermann (1898–1933), photographer
  • Hubert Houben (1898–1956), athlete
  • Josefa Idem (born 1964), Italian sprint canoer and politician
  • Arnold Janssen (1837–1909), founder of the Society of the Divine Word, a Roman Catholic missionary congregation
  • Rita Kersting (born 1969), art historian
  • Luisa Wensing (born 1993), footballer

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

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Goch 1625.JPG|' in 1625, by Jan Luyken

The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 B14779.jpg|Goch during Operation Veritable, 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

</gallery>

References