Zutphen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzʏtfə(n)] ⓘ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands.

It lies some 30 km (18.6 mi) northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel.

While many such settlements were abandoned in the early Middle Ages, Zutphen, on the strategic confluence of IJssel and Berkel, stayed.

In the eleventh century, Zutphen was a royal residence for a number of years; a pfalz was built, together with a large chapter church, the predecessor of the present St. Walburgis.

The chapter-house's library (Librije [nl]) contains a pre-Reformation collection, including some valuable manuscripts and incunabula.

Having been fortified, the town withstood several sieges, especially during the Eighty Years' War, the most celebrated fight under its walls being the Battle of Zutphen in September 1586 when Sir Philip Sidney was mortally wounded.

Taken by the Spanish in 1587 by the treachery of the English commander Rowland York, Zutphen was recovered by Maurice, Prince of Orange, in the 1591 siege, and except for two short periods, one in 1672 and the other during the French Revolutionary Wars, it has since remained a part of the Netherlands.

In World War II, the town was bombed several times by the allied forces because the bridge over the IJssel was vital to support the German troops at Arnhem after the Operation Market Garden.

As there are almost no modern high-rise buildings in the city centre, the historical tower spires are very visible and form the skyline.

After a fire in the belfry in 1446, the stone tower was remodelled between 1482–1484 where a large needle spire was added, resulting in a total height of 107.5 meters.

The Wijnhuis (Winery) Tower was built between 1618 and 1642 by the city master builder Emond Hellenraet, influenced by Hendrick de Keyser.

In 1644 the brothers Pieter and François Hemony made the world's first correctly tuned carillon for this tower.

In this tower, the Dutch theologian and philosopher Johannes Florentius Martinet [nl] wrote his Katechismus der Natuur (Catechism of Nature).

The early emergence of Zutphen in the Middle Ages as the main town of a county explains its prominent position in the juridical system.

Besides a 'normal' prison, the JPC de Sprengen penitentiary facility for boys is also located in Zutphen.

The main electrified lines, to Deventer and Zwolle in the north, and to Arnhem and Nijmegen in the south, are run by the national railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).

Zutphen's old station building (1863), upgraded in 1875, was partly destroyed during World War II.

In the early 1950s a modern new station was built, a typical post-war building with concrete as its main material.

In 2006 and 2007, the railway station area was completely renovated: a new bus terminal and an underground bicycle parking lot were constructed, and the main road leading from the railway station to the town centre was turned into a road for pedestrians and cyclists only.

The bus lines towards Apeldoorn and Dieren were canceled in the past; these towns and the destinations in between can now only be reached by car or by train.

Zutphen is twinned with: Delegations including the mayors of the cities visit each other, and developmental aid programs are in place with Satu Mare, Tartu and Villa Sandino.