Hürtgenwald is a municipality in the
district of Düren in the federal state of
North Rhine-Westphalia,
Germany. It is located in the
Eifel
The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...
hills, approx. 15 km south-west 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 ...
. Much of the area is covered by forest (Hürtgenwald in literal translation means
Hürtgen Forest).
Hürtgenwald is composed of the villages
Bergstein, Brandenberg, Gey, Großhau, Horm, Hürtgen, Kleinhau, Raffelsbrand, Schafberg, Simonskall, Strass, Vossenack and Zerkall (in alphabetical order). Kleinhau with the town hall is not only the administrational center of the community, but has become the commercial center as well (shops and a few supermarkets).
In
World War II, Hürtgenwald was the theater of what is considered one of the
a major battle. Two large
war graves (one in Hürtgen, one in Vossenack) are places to commemorate those who fell.
Nowadays, the pleasing landscape of forested hills, lakes and rivers attracts a lot of people from nearby densely populated areas, e.g. from the
Cologne area and the
Ruhr Area, for recreational reasons.
See also
*
Battle of Hürtgen Forest
*
1944 Hürtgen Forest Museum
The 1944 Hürtgen Forest Museum (german: Museum Hürtgenwald 1944 und im Frieden) is located in Vossenack, in the municipality of Hürtgenwald, in the county of Düren, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The 1944 Hürtgen Forest Peace ...
References
Düren (district)
{{Düren-geo-stub