Cleves (German: Kleve, Cleves Dutch: Kleff, Dutch: Kleef, French: Clèves, Latin: Clivia), is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Cleves was capital of a county and later a duchy. Today, Cleves is the capital of the district of Cleves in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.