Geldern is a city in the northwest of the federal state North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The city of Geldern was first documented in 812.
The first coat of arms of the city of Geldern was a shield with three medlars, referring to an event in the dragon legend, see below. The lion of Guelders, recognizable in the present coat of arms, has been used since the Middle Ages.
According to folk legend, local noblemen Wichard and Lupold of Pont fought a fire-breathing dragon around 878. They found it under a medlar tree, and one of them stabbed it with his spear. The dying dragon rattled two or three times: Gelre! Gelre!. In commemoration of this heroic feat, the Lords of Pont founded the city of Geldern at the confluence of the Niers and the Fleuth.
