Kaldenkirchen ( li, Kaldekerke) 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 ...

, situated close to the Dutch border at Venlo. It is part of the municipality of

Nettetal Nettetal is a municipality in the district of Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated in the Lower Rhine region. History Nettetal was founded on January 1, 1970, when the former townships Leuth, Breyell, Hinsbeck and former to ...

History

The earliest reference to “Caldenkirken” appears in a document dated 1206. Until 1794 the city belonged to 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 ...

. After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

in 1814 Kaldenkirchen lay within the borders of

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 ...

. In In 1856 King

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

permitted the use of “town” for this city. 1903 the German Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

permitted the city arms. The synagogue was destroyed during the Kristallnacht. The city was evacuated during the last weeks of the

Second World War 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 ...

. In 1947 a fire destroyed 90% of the surrounding forest. In 1961 Kaldenkirchen had a population of 6305, 23% of whom were

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

. On 1 January 1970 Kaldenkirchen became part of the newly founded city of Nettetal. Families from Kaldenkirchen were among the earliest emigrants to Pennsylvania. In 1683 thirteen German families emigrated on the ship ''Concord'' sailing from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. These families were members of the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

(aka "Quakers") and

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

s. Most were from the town of Krefeld, but some were from Kaldenkirchen. These thirteen families founded

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ger ...

. Subsequent emigrants from Kaldenkirchen to Germantown included Paulus and Gertrude Kuster, the great-great-great-great-grandparents of U.S. Army colonel George Armstrong Custer.

Economy

For more than 150 years the economic life of Kaldenkirchen was characterized by the

tobacco industry The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...

. At the turn of the century the roof tiles industry was active for some years due to the resources of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

in the ''Grenzwald'' (forest bordering Germany and the Netherlands). As Kaldenkirchen is situated near the border it was an important reloading point with a main customs office and many freight forwarders until 1993. Currently there are various inter-regional companies like the plant nursery Lappen, the producer of sound cards TerraTec, the food company Halal Mekkafood and the German Branch Office of

Panini Comics Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, which also produces collectable stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy. The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hunga ...

Transport

Kaldenkirchen has direct access to the

autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

A61 and has three exits. It also has a

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

with double-tracked passenger and freight traffic to Venlo/NL and single-tracked traffic to

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 ...

Main sights

The main sights are the Catholic

Parish Church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

''St. Clemens'', the Protestant Church and the ''Rokoko Pavillon'' built in the second half of the 18th century. . The

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

''Altenhof'' was almost 500 years the property of Earl of Spee. The nearby ''Grenzwald'' is a popular Recreation area and

Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. Right at the border there is the Sequoiafarm Kaldenkirchen, a precious

Arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

that has been used as a Biological institute for many years and has much historical interest.

Notable people

* August von Brandis (1862-1947), artist. He spent a lot of time in the garden pavilion of his parents-in-law in Kaldenkirchen. * Anton van Eyk (1911–2004), artist *

Wilhelm Imkamp Wilhelm Imkamp (born 27 September 1951) is a German Catholic Church, Catholic priest, theologian, and church historian. A former member of the Papal household, he was appointed as a Prelate of Honour of His Holiness in 2006 and an Protonotary ...

(b. 1951), German Catholic prelate *

Illa Martin Illa Martin (born Sybilla Kesselburg; 25 February 1900 – 6 August 1988) was a German dendrologist, botanist, conservationist and dentist. Life Illa Martin was the daughter of a brewery owner in Viersen. She studied dentistry in Bonn, Würz ...

(1900–1988), dendrologist,

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, conservationist and dentist * Leo Peters (born 1944), historian Sequoiafarm Eingangsbereich

Kaldenkirchen Raceway

The village had its own Stock Car circuit Backtrack, The Golden Years of Oval Racing - which hosted major international events including the Superstox World Championship in 1975, 1978 and 1987. It also staged the first running of the Stock Saloon World Championship on 19 September 1982. The track was closed at the end of the 1987 racing season.

References

* Johann Finken: ''Die Stadt Kaldenkirchen. Beiträge zu ihrer Geschichte, besonders der katholischen Pfarre''. Heinrich Schmitz, Straelen 1897 * Gregor Herter: ''Gruß aus Kaldenkirchen. Grenz-Stadt-Spuren. Bilder und Texte zur Geschichte Kaldenkirchens''. Bürgerverein Kaldenkirchen 1987 * Leo Peters: ''Rheinischer Städteatlas. Kaldenkirchen''. Böhlau, Köln 1996, * Leo Peters: ''Geschichte der Stadt Kaldenkirchen. Band 1: Von den Anfängen bis zum Ende der französischen Zeit 1814. Band 2: Vom Beginn der preußischen Zeit bis zum Ende der Selbständigkeit 1970''. B.O.S.S. Kleve 1998, * Hans-Dieter Boos: ''Wandern – Wandel – Wissen. Grenzort Kaldenkirchen in Nettetal''. Bürgerverein Kaldenkirchen, Nettetal 2006

Notes

External links

Website Kaldenkirchen (German)

Website of the Arboretum Sequoiafarm Kaldenkirchen (German)
{{Authority control Villages in North Rhine-Westphalia Former municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia