Vreden

Vreden is a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany near the Dutch border. The town is located near the river Berkel. The first mentioning of the town is proven for the year 839. In 1252 Vreden obtained city rights.

Religion

 * 90% Christian
 * 10% other

Museums

 * Hamaland-Museum
 * Farmer-Museum
 * Silhouette Museum
 * Miniature Shoe Museum
 * Skulpturenpark Erning
 * Heimathaus Noldes
 * Berkelkraftwerk
 * Biologische Station Zwillbrock

Buildings

 * Former castle
 * Old townhall
 * Foundations of seven older churches under the current day St. Georg church
 * Baroque church in Zwillbrock
 * Stiftskirche (collegiate church of the former noble convent of Vreden)

Parks

 * The "Zwillbrocker Venn": The Zwillbrocker Venn, approximately 10 km west of the city centre is part of a large nature reserve with numerous water areas. The Venn is home of Europe's largest black-headed gull breeding area and the world's northernmost flamingo breeding site.
 * Vreden City Park: Includes the town's Farmer Museum.

Coat of arms
In the 13th century, Vreden was enlarged to a city by the archbishop of Cologne and the bishop of Münster, who were the city owners of that time. The Coat-of-Arms shows Petrus (patron of Cologne) and Paulus (patron of Münster) with a key and a sword behind the cross of Cologne and the bar of Münster.

People from Vreden

 * Johannes Röring (born 1959), German politician
 * Stefan Decker, computer scientist