The 1756 Düren earthquake occurred on the morning at 8 a.m. near the town of

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a people ...

with a magnitude of 6.4 on the

Richter scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...

. It was one of the strongest earthquakes in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

, and the strongest in Germany's recorded history. The depth of the hypocenter is estimated at 14–16 kilometers. However this earthquake may have been a remotely triggered event from the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon but there is not enough evidence for this.

Earthquake

The quake caused damage to buildings in the

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', nl, Gulik, french: Juliers, Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As a border region betwe ...

and

Bad Münstereifel Bad Münstereifel () is a historical spa town in the district of Euskirchen, Germany, with about 17,000 inhabitants, situated in the far southwest of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The little town is one of only a few historical tow ...

area. The earthquake was felt in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

and as far away as

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Damage corresponded to intensity level VIII on the

Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale The Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale, also known as the MSK or MSK-64, is a macroseismic intensity scale used to evaluate the severity of ground shaking on the basis of observed effects in an area where an earthquake transpires. The scale was f ...

. According to today's assessment, it reached a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale; significantly stronger than the earthquake in Roermond in 1992, which reached a magnitude of 5.9.

Damage and casualties

There were two deaths in Düren, where many buildings were badly damaged. Parts of the city walls of Düren and

collapsed or were heavily damaged. Some of the hot springs in Aachen ran dry, while others increased in strength. A spring at Breinigerberg also ran dry. The water table fell in open tin and lead mines some became dry. Two people were also killed and one man was seriously injured in Aachen. In addition, over 300 chimneys collapsed in Cologne. Damage was also reported in neighbouring countries.Johann Peter Joseph Monheim, ''Die Heilquellen von Aachen, Burtscheid, Spaa, Malmedy und Heilstein in ihren historischen, geognostischen, physischen, chemischen und medizinischen Beziehungen'', Aachen: J.A. Mayer, 1829
p. 260
(German).

References

{{reflist Earthquakes in Germany Earthquakes in the Netherlands Düren (district) 1756 in Europe 18th-century earthquakes

Earthquake

Damage and casualties

See also

References