Venlo (population per January 1, 2003: 91,804; source: Statistics Netherlands) is a city in the southeastern Netherlands, in the province of Limburg. The municipality covers an area of 82.61 km² (of which 3.25 km² water).
On January 1, 2003, the municipalities of Tegelen and Belfeld were added to that of Venlo, and taking the name of the latter, the municipality since then includes the following towns, villages and townships: Belfeld, Blerick, Boekend, Hout-Blerick, Steyl, Tegelen, 't Ven, Venlo.
The new combination houses fairly large cultural differences. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Gulik, whereas Venlo has a past in the Duchy of Gelderland. The language spoken in the city of Venlo belongs to the Brabant dialects, whereas the language of Tegelen is the northernmost Limburgian dialect. Compare for example the words for beautiful: 'schoën' (Venlo) versus 'sjoën' (Tegelen).
Venlo was as an important trade post on the river Meuse a Hanseatic member. History of the city