Elten

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Elten is a village located against the hills of Montferland in the municipality of Emmerich.
In the Middle Ages, Elten was initially part of the duchy of Gelre. In 1355, the village came under the duchy of Cleves. The duchy of Cleves, and thus Elten, came into the possession of Brandenburg in 1666 and became Prussian in 1701. While the area around Cleves was predominantly Dutch-speaking before, after the Prussian annexation, the influence of German as the official language increased significantly. This was further strengthened in 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars.
The village is surrounded by the Netherlands on three sides. On April 23, 1949, it was assigned to the Netherlands as compensation for the German occupation during World War II. This lasted until the ‘Butternacht’ of August 1, 1963, when it became German again.

Jos van Nistelrooy