The area around the town of Wageningen was settled as early as the 9th century. Located on the north bank of the Nederrijn river, between the Gelderse valley and the Veluwe, a wooded, hilly, glacial moraine, by the 12th century it was part of the Duchy of Guelders, in the Holy Roman Empire. Wageningen received its city charter from Count Otto II on June 12, 1263. Today, it is in the province of Gelderland, in east-central Netherlands.