Wegberg (; li, Berk ) is the northernmost town in the district of

Heinsberg Heinsberg (; li, Hinsberg ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 20 km north-east of Sittard and 30 km ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Geography

Wegberg is situated between

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...

in the northeast and

Erkelenz Erkelenz (, li, Erkelens ) is a town in the Rhineland in western Germany that lies southwest of Mönchengladbach on the northern edge of the Cologne Lowland, halfway between the Lower Rhine region and the Lower Meuse (river), Meuse. It is a med ...

in the southeast; the town of

Rheindahlen Rheindahlen (called ''Dalen'' from the Early Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period around 1700, and ''Dahlen'' until 1878) is a town in the western and largest borough of the city of Mönchengladbach in the German state of North Rhine-Westphali ...

is to the east. The city lies in the ''Naturpark Maas- Schwalm-

Nette Nette can refer to: Rivers * Nette (Innerste), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Innerste * Nette (Hase), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Hase * Nette (Middle Rhine), a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, tr ...

'', a nature and wildlife park hugging the border to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Its name derives from the three rivers that define its boundaries.

History

The first mention of Wegberg under the name of ''Berck'' is in a document dating from during the reign of

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

, dated 966. Its modern-day name appeared around the 14th century, and derives from the city's location on an old

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

. The many castles and defense structures (the so-called ''Motten'', sngl. ''Motte'') that dot the area in whole or as ruins are indications of a history of martial as well as raiding forays in and around Wegberg. One infamous stronghold that remains the focal point of many anecdotes is the castle of a robber baron located in nearby Gripekoven. The castle with its walls and swampy trenches was deemed impregnable until 1354, when it was successfully besieged and razed. Today, only a small hill hints at its former location. From 1543 on, Wegberg was divided between the duchy of Geldern (

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in pr ...

) and the

duchy of Jülich The Duchy of Jülich (german: Herzogtum Jülich; nl, Hertogdom Gulik; french: Duché de Juliers) comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by th ...

. The border ran across the city, formed by the rivers Schwalm and Beeckbach. In this period, Wegberg effectively had two mayors. Only in 1816, after the district fell to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, was the division removed. In 1935 the two townships of Wegberg and Beeck were merged. The city as it exists today emerged from the restructuring of cities and municipalities of 1972, and on July 5, 1973, Wegberg was granted the right to use the official name ''Stadt Wegberg'' ("City of Wegberg").

Things of note

Eight kilometers of the city's border are also the national border of

and the

. The local ''Flachsmuseum'' ("Flax Museum") depicts the legacy of

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

in the city's agricultural history. The ''Museum für europäische Volkstrachten'' shows regional

costumes Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

of Europe. The township of

Wildenrath Wildenrath is a township within the municipality of Wegberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town is situated on the Bundesstraße 221 between Wassenberg and Arsbeck on the edge of Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park and close to the borde ...

is home to a permanent exhibition, titled "Bionic". The River Schwalm features many historic

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s, many of which are in good shape and often used as hotels or restaurants. Special mention must be made of the ''

Grenzlandring The Grenzlandring (German for "border-region ring"), sometimes written ''Grenzland-Ring'', is a former high-speed oval race track in the Lower Rhine area of Germany, around the town of Wegberg, located close to Mönchengladbach and the Dutch tow ...

'' ("border-region ring"). Completed in 1938 or 1939 for

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

strategic reasons, the 9 km long egg-shaped oval road that circles Wegberg and its neighboring township Beeck gained international renown as a racing track with its five events between 1948 and 1952, attracting up to 300,000 spectators. The ''Grenzlandring'' was falsely claimed by some German media to be the world's fastest racing track until a fatal accident happened on 31 August 1952 (in which 13 or 14 spectators were killed and another 42 wounded), putting an immediate end to its use. Today, it serves in distributing road traffic away from the inner city, minimizing congestion and there is nothing left that reminds of its rather short motor sports history. Wegberg was the home of an RAF hospital from 1953 to 1996. The

RAF Hospital Wegberg The former Royal Air Force Hospital Wegberg, commonly abbreviated to RAF(H) Wegberg, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military hospital located in Wegberg, near the city of Mönchengladbach, in the then West Germany. It was opened in 1953 to serve th ...

was a hospital located in Wegberg, near the Holtmühlenweiher with its ancient watermill called ''Holtmühle''. It was opened as a fully functioning general hospital in 1953 and closed in 1996. A small mental health unit remained and the offices were used for the administration of the British Forces Germany Health Service. These facilities moved to JHQ Rheindahlen and the hospital buildings and grounds were handed over to the German authorities in October 2010. The hospital's motto is "Inter Fera Salus" and its crest is a wild boar passant overlaid with a Staff of Asclepius. The former

RAF Wildenrath Royal Air Force Wildenrath, commonly known as RAF Wildenrath, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airbase near Wildenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that operated from 1952 to 1992. Wildenrath was the first of four 'clutch' stations ...

airfield also belongs to Wegberg and has been converted to train testing grounds for

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

International relations

Wegberg is twinned with: *

Echt-Susteren Echt-Susteren (; li, Ech-Zöstere ) is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. Echt-Susteren was created in 2003 by merging the former municipalities of Echt and Susteren. Echt-Susteren is situated in a Euregional area. In the west the mu ...

Maaseik Maaseik (; li, Mezeik) is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg. Both in size (close to 77 km2) and in population (approx. 25,000 inhabitants, of whom some 3,000 non-Belgian), it is the 8th largest municipality in Limb ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Notable people

Udo Pastörs Udo Pastörs (born 1952) is a German politician and convicted Holocaust denier. He is the former leader of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany, NPD, and served as a representative in the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Person ...

(born 1952), German politician ( NPD) * David Phillips (born 1963),

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

footballer *

Alan Neilson Alan Neilson (born 26 September 1972) is a Welsh former professional footballer who currently works as a Professional Development Coach for Norwich City. He played his entire career in England as a defender from 1991 until 2007, notably in the ...

(born 1972),

footballer *

Nicole Faraday Nicole Faraday (born 28 July 1976), is a TMA Award-winning actress, best known for her leading roles on British television series '' Bad Girls'', '' Casualty'' and ''Emmerdale''. Early life Nicole Faraday was born as Nicola Morris in Wegberg, ...

(born 1976),

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

actress and singer * Chris Clarkson MP (born 1982), British politician (

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

) * Simon Carlton Rhodes (born 1965), Rugby Union Coach

References

External links

* {{Authority control Heinsberg (district)