Waldfeucht ( li, Vuch ) is a
German municipality in the
Heinsberg district, 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 ...
,
Federal Republic of 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 between ...
. It is situated on the border with the
Kingdom of the Netherlands
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, image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg
, map_width = 250px
, image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png
, map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale
, capital = ...
, approx. 15 km south of
Roermond
Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Roer ...
and 8 km west of
Heinsberg
Heinsberg (; li, Hinsberg ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the Heinsberg (district), district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 20 km north-east of Si ...
.
Geography
Waldfeucht is located west of Heinsberg in the
Selfkant
Selfkant (; nl, Selfkant or ''Zelfkant'' ; Limburgish: ) is a municipality in the Heinsberg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the most westerly municipality in Germany.
Geography
Isenbruch in Selfkant is the most westerly po ...
natural area between the
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 ...
river in the east and the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
river in the west.
To the west, the border between the Netherlands and Germany forms the municipal boundary over a length of about 10 km. The highest point in the community is 72.7 m above sea level,
normalnull
("standard zero") or (short N. N. or NN ) is an outdated official vertical datum used in Germany. Elevations using this reference system were to be marked (“meters above standard zero”). has been replaced by (NHN).
History
In 187 ...
is located south of the "Breuner Maar" between Bocket and Breberen, the lowest point 31.7 m is in the Kitscher Bruch between the villages of Haaren and Karken on the municipal border.
The municipal area extends 8.5 km north to south and it is 6.0 km from west to east.
Population centers
In addition to the town of Waldfeucht, these villages belong to the municipality:
*
Bocket
*
Braunsrath
*
Brüggelchen
*
Frilinghoven
*
Haaren
*
Hontem
*
Löcken
*
Obspringen
*
Schöndorf
*
Selsten
History
Traces of settlement and prehistoric burial grounds prove the presence of people in the Waldfeucht municipal area since the 4th millennium BC. Today's communities are either
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...
n settlements of the 6th and 7th centuries, or they emerged as clearing settlements in the 9th and 10th centuries. They are all mentioned in documents from the 12th and 13th centuries.
As early as the 13th century, the village of Waldfeucht was the most important place in the surrounding area, which went beyond today's municipal boundaries, it was called a "city" and had market rights. The location on the Roman road from
Heerlen
Heerlen (; li, Heële ) is a city and a municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the fourth municipality in the province of Limburg.
...
-
Xanten
Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel.
Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wor ...
and on the road that led from Heinsberg through the
Echter Bruch into
the Maasland contributed significantly to this development and led to the fact that the ownership of Waldfeucht was disputed between the rival territories of
Geldern
Geldern ( nl, Gelderen, archaic English: ''Guelder(s)'') is a city in the federal German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is part of the district of Kleve, which is part of the Düsseldorf
administrative region.
Geography
Location
Geldern l ...
,
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
,
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to:
Place names in Europe
* London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany
Belgium
* Province of Bra ...
and Heinsberg for centuries. The fortifications around Waldfeucht, today characterized by hedge paths and cottage gardens, which consisted of ramparts, ditches and two city gates destroyed in World War II, bear witness to these times.
The abundance of forests and the fertile arable soils formed the basis for the community's economic life in the Middle Ages . Very early on, handicrafts and trading companies settled in Waldfeucht, from which tanning and brewing trades were carried out up until today. The metalworking and blacksmithing trade was in full bloom in Waldfeucht in the 16th century. Linen and velvet weaving was also carried out in Waldfeucht until the 19th century.
The demarcation established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 cut up a cultural and economic area that had grown over the centuries. Waldfeucht became part of the
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. It ...
and became a border town. Today's municipality of Waldfeucht was formed in connection with the Aachen Act on January 1, 1972 from the former office of Waldfeucht with the municipalities of Braunsrath, Haaren and Waldfeucht, as well as the districts of Haas and Haaserdriesch of the former municipality of Kirchhoven.
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Heinsberg (district)