Orders in finite-dimensional algebras over number fi give rise to interesting locally symmetric spaces and algebraic varieties. Hilbert modular varieties or arithmetically defined hyperbolic 3-manifolds, compact ones as well as noncompact ones, are familiar examples. In this talk we discuss various cases related to the general linear group $GL(2)$ over orders in division algebras defined over some number field. Geometry, arithmetic, and the theory of automorphic forms are interwoven in a most fruitful way in this work. Finally we indicate a construction of non-vanishing square-integrable cohomology classes for such arithmetically defined groups.[-]