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 8, 2011, A Magnitude 4.5 struck the town, causing damage to infrasctructure and to homes.
Population
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.
Gallery
References
External links