Zwolle borders the province of Gelderland and lies on the eastern side of the River IJssel.

[8] Previous spellings of its name include the identically pronounced Suolle, which means "hill" (cf.

This refers to an incline in the landscape between the four rivers surrounding the city, IJssel, Vecht, Aa and Zwarte Water.

The church contains a richly carved pulpit, the work of Adam Straes van Weilborch (about 1620), some good carving, and an exquisite Baroque organ from 1721 designed by master organ builder Arp Schnitger and completed by his sons Franz Caspar and Johann Georg.

In the 1370 Treaty of Stralsund that ended the war, Zwolle was awarded a vitte, a trade colony, in Scania, then part of Denmark.

5 km (3 mi) from Zwolle, on a slight eminence called the Agnietenberg, (hill of St Agnes), once stood the Augustinian convent in which Thomas à Kempis spent the greatest part of his life and died (in 1471).

The more important industries comprised cotton manufactures, iron works, boat-building, dyeing and bleaching, tanning, rope-making, and salt-making.

[11] In World War II, Zwolle was single-handedly liberated from the Germans by Canadian soldier Léo Major.

[citation needed] In 2023, Tewelde Goitom, an Eritrean convicted in Ethiopia of migrant smuggling, kidnapping in Sinai and human trafficking appeared at a pretrial hearing in Zwolle, which made international headlines.

The authorities were strapped for cash and saw no option but to sell the church bells to the neighbouring city Kampen.

[18][19] In reality, the name Blauwvinger stems from 1521, when the governors of Zwolle broke the oath of loyalty they made to the Duke of Gelre.

The name Blauwvinger refers to the raised fingers with which the governors had promised their loyalty to the Duke at his inauguration.

Zwolle initially aligned with the Duke of Gelre, Charles of Egmont, but eventually returned to the Bishop of Utrecht.

[20] Besides the Grote of Sint Michaëlskerk (St. Michael's church), the latter which houses a majestic Baroque organ built by Arp Schnitger, there are several other historic monuments in Zwolle.

The Roman Catholic Onze Lieve Vrouwe ten Hemelopneming-basilica (Our Lady of the Assumption) dates back to 1399.

[11] Mention should also be made of the Sassenpoort (one of the old city gates), the city walls, the Mosterdmakerstoren (mustard makers' tower) (the complex where local mustard used to be made), a guild-house (1571), the former provincial government offices, a Dominican monastery, and on the Melkmarkt, two museums; the Stedelijk Museum Zwolle of antiquities and natural history, and the Vrouwenhuis.

In the western part of the city, west of the railway station, there is a quarter of Art Nouveau buildings, concentrated mostly on Koningin Wilhelminastraat, Prinses Julianastraat, and Prins Hendrikstraat.

[30] Another motorway, the A50, interchanges with A28 just west of the city, offering a route for southbound traffic to Apeldoorn and Eindhoven.