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Cleves (in German Kleve, sometimes used in English as well) is a city in the north-west of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, near the Dutch border and the river Rhine, at 51° 47' North 6° 11' East. Population: 49,398 (2002), Area 97.72 km². It belongs to and is capital of the district Cleves.
The name Cleves derives from the word cliff (German Kliff), as the Schwanenburg, where the dukes of Cleves resided, was founded on a steep hill. The old castle has a massive tower, the Schwanenturm 180 feet high, that is associated in legend with the Knights of the Swan, immortalized in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin.
Medieval Cleves grew together from four parts— the castle Schwanenburg, the village below the castle, the first city of Cleves on the Heideberg hill, and the Neustadt ("New City") from the 14th century. In 1242 the city received the city rights. The duchy Cleves was united with the duchy Mark from 1368, then united with the neighboring duchies of Julich and Berg in 1521. until the local line became extinct in 1609, when Cleves passed to the elector of Brandenburg and became part of the territory of Prussia.
The mineral waters of Cleves and the wooded parkland surrounding it made it a fashionable spa.
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