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Gelderland facts for kids

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Map: Province of Guelders in the Netherlands South Holland North Holland Friesland Groningen Drenthe Flevoland Overijssel Gelderland Utrecht Limburg North Brabant Zeeland (province)
Gelderland-Flag
The flag of Gelderland
Gelderland wapen
The coat of arms of Gelderland

Gelderland is a large and important province located in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It's known for its beautiful nature and rich history. The main city and capital is Arnhem. However, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn are actually larger cities. Other important cities in Gelderland include Zutphen, Doetinchem, Harderwijk, and Tiel.

Gelderland shares borders with several other Dutch provinces. These are Limburg, North Brabant, South Holland, Utrecht, Flevoland, and Overijssel. It also borders the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Many important rivers flow through Gelderland. These include the Rhine (also called Rijn in Dutch), the Waal, the IJssel, and the Maas. The Maas river forms part of the border with North Brabant. The border with Flevoland is a special type of lake. It's called a randmeer, which means "border lake" in Dutch.

Gelderland's History

Gelderland wapen
The Coat of Arms of Guelders

The area we now call Gelderland has a long history. In the 11th century, it was known as a county. A county was a region ruled by a count. It was called Gelre in Dutch and Geldern in German.

Later, in 1339, Gelderland became a duchy. A duchy is a larger territory ruled by a duke. At first, the duchy was mainly around the city of Geldern, which is now in Germany. By the end of the 14th century, the duchy had grown much bigger. It included most of what is now the province of Gelderland. It also included parts of the province of Limburg. Some parts of the German District of Cleves were also included.

In 1543, Gelderland became part of the Habsburg Netherlands. This was a group of regions known as the Seventeen Provinces.


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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Provincia de Güeldres para niños

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