Heinsberg (; li, Hinsberg ) is a town in

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 ...

. It is the seat of the district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with 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 ...

, on the river

Wurm The Wurm (; nl, Worm ) is a river in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. It rises in the Eifel mountains and flows for 57 kilometres before discharging into the Rur. Geography The Wurm is a left (western) tributary of the ...

, approx. 20 km north-east of

Sittard Sittard (; ) is a city in the Netherlands, situated in the southernmost province of Limburg. The town is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen and has almost 37.500 inhabitants in 2016. In its east, Sittard borders the German municipali ...

and 30 km south-west of

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 ...

Geography

Wassenberg Wassenberg (; li, Wasseberg ) is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Rur, approx. 6 km north-east of Heinsberg and 15 km south-east of ...

is the town to the north of Heinsberg,

Hückelhoven Hückelhoven (; li, Hukkelhaove ) is a town in the district of Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Rur, approx. 10 km east of Heinsberg, 20 km south-west of Mönchengladbach and approx. 15 km ...

to the east,

Waldfeucht Waldfeucht ( li, Vuch ) is a Municipalities of Germany, German municipality in the Heinsberg (district), Heinsberg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the border with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, ...

and

Gangelt Gangelt is a municipality in the district of Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the border with the Netherlands and about 10 km east of Sittard and 10 km south-west of Heinsberg. Its most well-known resident was c ...

to the west, and

Geilenkirchen Geilenkirchen (, Ripuarian: ) is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of Heerlen and 20 k ...

to the south. Two rivers flow through Heinsberg, the

and the

Rur The Rur or Roer (german: Rur ; Dutch and li, Roer, , ; french: Rour) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse ( nl, links=no, Maas). About 90 perce ...

. The Wurm flows into the Rur near to Rurkempen, a village of Heinsberg municipality.

History

Economy

Due to its proximity to the

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

countries, sufficient industrial park areas, low trade tax and good traffic connections, Heinsberg has good prerequisites for development. Companies include: * Enka Gmbh & Co KG * Hazet (tool company) * Sera Aquaristic

Sights

The city of Heinsberg has just a few ancient structures. Most of the city was destroyed in 1944 during

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 ...

. The main sights are: * St. Gangolf church * Castle ruins * Old district court * Building assembly of ''Propstei'', ''Torbogenhaus'' (former seat of the

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff. He was the most seni ...

of 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 ...

) and the former ''Haus Lennartz''.

Transport

Railway

The railway from Heinsberg to Lindern, on the

Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway The Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway is a main line in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an important link between the Ruhr and Belgium for freight trains and is served by regional passenger trains. The line was built by the Aa ...

, was reopened for passenger traffic in December 2013. Passenger traffic had been suspended in 1980. , there is an hourly service from Heinsberg station to Lindern, which continues to

Aachen Hbf Aachen Hauptbahnhof (German language, German for Aachen main station) is the most important train station, railway station for the city of Aachen, in the far west of Germany near the Netherlands, Dutch and Belgium, Belgian border. It is the large ...

Bus

The main bus station of Heinsberg is next to the train station. It is served by buses to several towns and villages in the district, including

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 ...

Wegberg Wegberg (; li, Berk ) is the northernmost town in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Wegberg is situated between Mönchengladbach in the northeast and Erkelenz in the southeast; the town of Rheindahlen is to ...

and Selfkant-Tüddern. There is one swift bus, the SB 1 from Erkelenz to Geilenkirchen via Heinsberg.

Road

Heinsberg has two exits on the motorway A46 to Düsseldorf. The Bundesstraße 221 (

Alsdorf Alsdorf () is a municipality in the district of Aachen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Until the 21st century Alsdorf was a mining area, but now many service companies have established themselves in Alsdorf. Alsdorf has an indoor arena, ...

–

Straelen Straelen (; Low Rhenish: ''Strale'') is a municipality in the district of Cleves, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands, approx. 10 km north-east of Venlo Venlo () is a city and municipality ...

) passes through the town.

Public facilities

* office of the district Heinsberg * police (district) * the district court * health office * jail

Education and training

Heinsberg possesses many elementary schools and kindergartens. The secondary education facilities include a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

(''Gymnasium''). Since 2007 there is a school for disabled persons in the building of the former vocational school (''Berufsschule'').

Media

* ''Heinsberger'' newspaper * ''Hs-Woche'', a free weekly newspaper * "Lokalzeit aus Aachen", a news broadcast from the WDR about

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- ...

and also Heinsberg * HS TV, a television transmitter * The radio transmitter Welle West was closed in 2007. Other radio stations, which include 100.5 and 107.8, provide news and weather reports for Heinsberg.

Heinsberg COVID-19 study

Heinsberg was an early centre for the COVID19 pandemic and was selected for an intensive study of the disease and its transmission characteristics in lateMarch 2020.

Twin towns – sister cities

Heinsberg is twinned with: *

Ozimek Ozimek (german: Malapane; szl, Uoźimek) is a town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 8,657 inhabitants (2019). History Ozimek dates back to an early modern period, early modern settlement. It was named both ''Ozimek'' and ''Ma ...

, Poland

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Heinsberg (district) Districts of the Rhine Province