Geldern-Kapellen

Geldern-Kapellen
Village
Coordinates: 51°34′16″N 6°21′46″E / 51.5711°N 6.36278°ECoordinates: 51°34′16″N 6°21′46″E / 51.5711°N 6.36278°E
Country Germany
Elevation 27 m (89 ft)
Population
 • Total 2,737

Geldern-Kapellen is a town of about 2700 people in northwest Germany near the border of the Netherlands. Since 1969 the village has been a part of the city of Geldern. The area Kapellen lies in the Niederrhein (Lower Rhine) in the northwest part of German Federal State of Nordrhein-Westfalen. The village is approximately 45 miles (72 km) from Düsseldorf, 10 miles (16 km) from the Rhine River at Xanten and 111 miles (180 km) from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

History

Kapellen was first mentioned in the year 1250.[1] Because the area is on a Roman road of Xanten to Straelen, the area was likely populated well before 1250.[1] The Roman Catholic Church of St. George was mentioned in 1305 in the St. Victor church register in the nearby town of Xanten.[2] The church has records of the names of the assigned village priests since the year 1334.[2]

The town has been ravaged by fires. On November 11, 1690 the church burned down completely. On July 14, 1792, 27 houses and 16 barns destroyed by fire. Also affected was the parsonage, the church could be saved. On the eve of the Whit Sunday (Pentecost) 1810 32 houses and 16 barns burned down.[1] In 1908 the Kapellen village volunteer fire department was founded.[3]

From 1798 to 1814 Kapellen was under French rule. In 1815 the Congress of Vienna added the area of the Lower Rhine to the Kingdom of Prussia. In April 1816 the Prussian administrative organization added Kapellen to the area of Geldern. Geldern was 1 of more than 40 districts of the province of Jülich-Kleves-Berg.

In the 1933 the historical name Capellen was changed to Kapellen.[4] This name change was a part of German Federal spelling reform program. It is thought that German cities with “C” names (such as Crefeld, Cöln/Cologne, Coblenz) were using French or Latin spellings. From 1900 to about 1930's several German city names that started with a “C” were changed to “K” spellings, including Köln, Krefeld, Kobelez and Kapellen.

Until 1969 the village of Kapellen had its own government and mayor. On July 1, 1969 there was a municipal restructuring plan; Kapellen was added to the nearby city of Geldern. As of 2009, the city of Geldern includes the areas (villages) of Kapellen, Hartefeld, Lüllingen, Vernum, Pont, Veert and Walbeck. Geldern was added to the district of Kleve on January 1, 1975. As of December 2007, Geldern has a population of 33,927.[5]

Sights

Nearby are the Castle Haag (about 6km) with its 18 hole golf course. The Diebels Brewery is in the neaby village of Issum, a distance of 7km.

Castle (Palace) Haag - Schloss Haag

Castle Haag, about 4miles (6 km) from Kapellen, is a late middle-ages building from the 15th century. The main house from 1664 was totally destroyed in 1945. Since 1995 there is an 18 hole golf course around the Palace.

Parish church St. George is Gothic Pseudo basilika from the first half the 15th century. The pulpit is from 1714 and the high altar from the year 1888.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Oberkreisdirektor des Landkreises Geldern (Upper Director of District Geldern) (Hrsg.): Heimatbuch des Landkreises Geldern. (Home Book of the district Geldern) 1. Auflage. Butzon & Berker, Kevelaer 1964
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rund um St. Georg, (Around Saint George) Heimatfreunde Kapellen (Friends of Kapellen) e. v. 2000
  3. ↑ Freiwillige Feuerwehr Kapellen (Volunteer Fire Departtment Kapellen) http://www.feuerwehr-kapellen.de. 1. Juli 2006
  4. ↑ Wilhelm Wüsten: Geschichte von Capellen und Aengenesch (History of Capellen and Aengenesch)
  5. ↑ Landesamt für Datenverarbeitung und Statistik (Area Office for Data Processing and Statistics) Nordrhein-Westfalen: Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlenv (Official Population Count)

Further reading

External links