Gelderland

Gelderland
/gel"deuhr land'/; Du. /khel"deuhrdd lahnt'/, n.
a province in E Netherlands. 1,717,458; 1965 sq. mi. (5090 sq. km). Cap.: Arnhem. Also called Guelders.

* * *

province, The Netherlands
also called  Guelders,  

      provincie, eastern and central Netherlands; it occupies an area (1,935 square miles [5,011 square km]) extending from the German border westward to the narrow Lake Veluwe (separating Gelderland from several polders of Flevoland province) between the provinces of Overijssel (north) and Noord-Brabant, Zuid-Holland, and Utrecht (south). Its capital is Arnhem.

      The province's history began with the countship of Gelre, or Geldern, established in the 11th century around castles near Roermond and Geldern (now in Germany). The counts of Gelre acquired the Betuwe and Veluwe regions and, through marriage, the countship of Zutphen. Thus had the counts of Gelre laid the foundation for a territorial power that, through control of the Rhine, Waal, Meuse, and IJssel rivers, was to play an important role in the later Middle Ages. The geographical position of their territory dictated the external policy of the counts during the following centuries: they were committed to the interests of the Holy Roman Empire and to expansion south and west. Further enlarged by the acquisition of the imperial city of Nijmegen in the 13th century, the countship was raised to a duchy in 1339 by the German king, Louis the Bavarian. After 1379 the duchy was ruled from Jülich and by the counts of Egmond and Cleves. The duchy resisted Burgundian domination, but William the Rich (duke of Jülich, Cleves, and Berg) was forced to cede it to Charles V in 1543, after which it formed part of the Burgundian-Habsburg hereditary lands. The duchy revolted with the rest of the Netherlands against Philip II of Spain and joined the Union of Utrecht (1579). After the deposition of Philip II, its sovereignty was vested in the “estates” of Gelderland, and the princes of Orange were stadholders. In 1672 the province was temporarily occupied by Louis XIV; and in 1713 the southeastern part, including the ducal capital of Geldern, fell to Prussia. Part of the Batavian Republic (1795–1806), of Louis Bonaparte's kingdom of Holland (1806–10), and of the French Empire (1810–13), Gelderland became a province of the Kingdom of The Netherlands in 1815.

      Gelderland is divided by the Lower Rhine (Neder Rijn) and the Oude (“Old”) IJssel rivers. The main portion north of this line is a formerly glaciated region with sandy soil; south is fertile clay alluvium. The northern portion is divided by the broad valley (Gelderse) of the IJssel into the Veluwe (“Bad Land”) region on the west and the Achterhoek on the east. The hill plateau of the Veluwe is covered with scantily cultivated heaths and some woods, of primarily fir and beech. There are two national parks (Hoge Veluwe and Veluwezoom) and a wildlife reserve. Much of the Veluwe is used for military purposes. In the south, the hills slope steeply along the Rhine, and the wooded part is residential, with some industry around Arnhem. The other large centre of the Veluwe is Apeldoorn along the eastern border. The Achterhoek is a well-watered and wooded pasture region supporting mixed farming, with dairy processing, meat-packing, and leather factories. The eastern part has textile works, and several foundries lie along the Oude IJssel. Zutphen and Doetinchem are the chief markets and have some industries. The valley of the IJssel, the Gelderse Valley (on the west along the Utrecht border), and the northern border of the Veluwe support mixed farming, especially poultry.

      The southern division of the province is watered by the Rhine, Waal, and Maas (Meuse) rivers. In the east are some isolated hills and a sandy, wooded stretch south of Nijmegen, the province's largest town. The fertile marshy area of the Betuwe (“Good Land”), between the Rhine and the Waal, supports orchards (cherries and apples), market gardening, and mixed farming. Pop. (1987 est.) 1,771,972.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gelderland — Provinz der Niederlande Wappen Flagge …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gelderland — Espèce Chev …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Gelderland —   [ xɛldərlant], deutsch Gẹldern, Provinz in den Niederlanden, 5 143 km2 (einschließlich 124 km2 Binnenwasserflächen), 1,86 Mio. Einwohner, Hauptstadt ist Arnheim. Die an Deutschland grenzende Provinz umfasst die dünenreiche Hügellandschaft der… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Gelderland — (Geldern), niederl. Provinz, grenzt nordwestlich an den Zuidersee, nördlich und nordöstlich an Overyssel, östlich an Westfalen, südlich an die preußische Rheinprovinz, Limburg und Nordbrabant, westlich an Südholland und Utrecht und hat ein Areal… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Gelderland — [gel′dər land΄; ] Du [ khel′dər länt΄] province of E Netherlands: 1,986 sq mi (5,144 sq km); pop. 1,865,000; cap. Arnhem …   English World dictionary

  • Gelderland — Infobox Dutch Province ename = Province of Gelderland dname = Provincie Gelderland common name = Gelderland location Clicksensitive map of provinces of the Netherlands|province=Gelderland capital = Arnhem largest city = Nijmegen commissioner =… …   Wikipedia

  • Gelderland — Sp Gèlderlandas Ap Gelderland L Olandijos p ja …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Gelderland — Admin ASC 1 Code Orig. name Gelderland Country and Admin Code NL.03 NL …   World countries Adminstrative division ASC I-II

  • Gelderland (Гельдерланд) — «Gelderland» («Гельдерланд») крейсер (Голландия) Тип: крейсер (Голландия). Водоизмещение: 4013 тонн. Размеры: 95 м х 14,7 м х 5,4 м. Силовая установка: двухвальная, паровые машины тройного расширения. Максимальная скорость: 20,1 узла. Вооружение …   Энциклопедия кораблей

  • Gelderland (horse) — The Gelderland, or Gelderlander, is a heavy warmblood breed of horse that was developed in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Gelderlander, along with the similar Groninger horse from the north, provided the foundation for the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”