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The city originated from aFranconian manor that was first recorded in the 8th century.In the 12th century, the Duke of Clèves took possession of Wesel. The city became a member of theHanseatic League during the 15th century. Wesel was second only toCologne in the lower Rhine region as anentrepôt. It was an important commercial centre: a clearing station for thetransshipment and trading of goods.
In 1590 the Spanish captured Wesel after a four-year siege. The city changed hands between the Dutch and Spanish several times during theEighty Years War. In 1672 a French force underLouis II de Bourbon,Prince de Condé captured the city. Wesel was inherited by theHohenzollerns of theMargraviate of Brandenburg in 1609 but they were unable to take control of Wesel until theTreaty of Nijmegen in 1678. Although the city had been heavily fortified the Prussians evacuated the city during theSeven Years' War and it was occupied by the French. It was returned to Prussia at the end of the war.Friedrich Wilhelm von Dossow was thePrussian Governor of Wesel during the 18th century. Wesel was ceded to the French in 1805 under theTreaty of Schönbrunn. The French heavily fortified the city constructing a rectangular fort called the Citadelle Napoleon atBüderich and the Citadelle Bonaparte on an island in theRhine off Wesel. Though blockaded by the Allies in 1813 the city remained in French hands until after the Battle of Waterloo. After theNapoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, the city became part of the PrussianRhine Province and the Citadelle Napoleon was renamed Fort Blücher.
97% of Wesel was destroyed before it was finally taken byAllied troops in 1945.
DuringWorld War II, as a strategicdepot,Wesel became a target ofAllied bombing. Air raids, using impact and air-burst bombs, on 16, 17, 18 and 19 February 1945, destroyed 97% of the town. TheWehrmacht blew up bridges along the Rhine and Lippe to prevent Allied forces from advancing. The Wehrmacht also destroyed the 1,950m-longrailway bridge, the last Rhine bridge remaining in German hands, on 10 March. On 23 March, Wesel came under the fire of over 3,000 guns when it was bombarded anew, in preparation forOperation Plunder. The shelling was assisted by a raid ofRAF bombers and a larger raid that night, during which ten individual bombers each dropped a 10,000 kg bomb on Wesel at 2100 hours. Before the town was finally taken by Allied troops, 97% of its structures were destroyed. In the ensuing attacks by Allied forces, the town was taken with minimal casualties.Operation Varsity – the largest airborne landings of the war in one day and one location – dropped 18,000 troops into the area to take the hills behind Wesel. The British1st Commando Brigade was already attacking Wesel, carried into action byLVT Buffalos. The remainder of the Allied force crossed the Rhine in more amphibious vehicles.
From almost 25,000 in 1939, the population was reduced to 1,900 by May 1945.[3] In 1946 Wesel became part of the new stateNorth Rhine-Westphalia ofWest Germany.
One of Germany's highestradio masts is situated in the district of Büderich on the left bank of the Rhine. TheWesel transmitter measures 320.8 metres in height.
Jutta Prieur (Hrsg.):Geschichte der Stadt Wesel: Beiträge zur Stadtgeschichte der frühen Neuzeit (= Studien und Quellen zur Geschichte von Wesel 20). Stadtarchiv, Wesel 1998,ISBN3-924380-15-5
Daniel Vasta (Hrsg.):Wesel – Hansestadt am Niederrhein: Beiträge zum zeitgenössischen Geschehen (= Bilder von Menschen, Land und Leuten, Wesel 2009). Sutton Verlag, Wesel 2009,ISBN3-86680-568-3[1][2]
Martin W. Roelen (Hrsg.):Ecclesia Wesele: Beiträge zur Ortsnamenforschung und Kirchengeschichte (= Studien und Quellen zur Geschichte von Wesel 28). Stadtarchiv, Wesel 2005,ISBN3-924380-23-6
