Kleve

Cleves (German: Kleve; Dutch: Kleff, Kleef; French: Clèves; Latin: Clivia), is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Cleves was capital of a county and later a duchy. Today, Cleves is the capital of the district of Cleves in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city is home to one of the campuses of the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.

Division of the town

Cleves consists of 14 subdivisions:
Bimmen, Brienen, Donsbrüggen, Düffelward, Griethausen, Keeken, Kellen, Materborn, Reichswalde, Rindern, Salmorth, Schenkenschanz, Warbeyen and Wardhausen.

Bimmen, church: Sankt Martinuskirche

Bimmen, church: Sankt Martinuskirche

Düffelward, church

Düffelward, church

Keeken, catholic church

Keeken, catholic church

Warbeyen, church: Sankt Hermeskirche

Warbeyen, church: Sankt Hermeskirche

History

The native name Kleff probably derives from Middle Dutch clef, clif ‘cliff, bluff’, referring to the promontory on which the Schwanenburg castle was constructed. Since the city's coat of arms displays three clovers (German Klee, Low German Kliev), the city's name is sometimes linked by folk etymology to the clover, but the corresponding Dutch word is klever. Notably, Kleve was spelled with a c throughout its history until spelling reforms introduced in the 1930s required that the name be spelled with a k. As of 2008, the CDU announced ambitions to return the name to its original spelling.

Kleve (disambiguation)

Kleve may refer to the following places in Germany:

Kleve (district)

Kleve (district) or Kreis Kleve (Cleves in English use) is a Kreis (local-government district) in northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Borken, Wesel, and Viersen in Germany, and the Dutch provinces of Limburg and Gelderland.

History

The district in its present borders was created in 1975 when the former district of Kleve and Geldern was merged with the Rees District towns of Emmerich and Rees and the Moers District municipality of Rheurdt.

The two precursor districts had been created in 1816 when the whole of the Rhineland became a province of Prussia. Territorially they corresponded roughly to the historic duchies of Cleves and Guelders.

Geography

The district is located in the lower valley of the Rhine, in the region where that river flows into the Netherlands.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms, which was granted in 1983, combines the shields of the two constituent duchies.

The dexter side depicts the emblem of the dukes of Cleves: On a red (gules) field a white (argent) escutcheon (shield shape) with an eightfold fleur-de-lys (escarbuncle/metal shield reinforcement). The sinister side shows a golden (or) lion (in rampant position) on a blue (azure) field (background): the emblem of the dukes of Geldern.