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 â sister cities
Goch is twinned with:
Notable people
- Otto III (980âÂÂ1002), Holy Roman Emperor
- Johannes von Goch (c. 1400âÂÂ1475), Medieval theologian
- Maarten Schenck van Nydeggen (1540âÂÂ1589), military commander in the Netherlands
- Francisco de Moncada (1586âÂÂ1635), Spanish author, military leader, and governor of the Spanish Netherlands, died here
- Aenne Biermann (1898âÂÂ1933), photographer
- Hubert Houben (1898âÂÂ1956), athlete
- Josefa Idem (born 1964), Italian sprint canoer and politician
- Arnold Janssen (1837âÂÂ1909), 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