Würselen (, Ripuarian: ) is a town in the borough of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

Würselen lies north of the city of

in the immediate vicinity of the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Its neighbouring settlements are, in clockwise order, the towns of

Herzogenrath Herzogenrath (; ; ) is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running along the middle of a main road and even directly ...

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, a ...

and

Eschweiler Eschweiler (, Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ) is a municipality in the district of Aachen (district), Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany on the river Inde, near the German-Dutch-Belgian border, and about east of Aachen and w ...

and the city of

. Würselen is part of Aachen's Nordkreis quarter and is the only part of the city borough without external boundaries.

Subdivisions

As part of the administrative reform in North Rhine-Westphalia and the related 1971 Aachen Act, the territory of the borough of Würselen was expanded in 1972 to incorporate the hitherto independent municipalities of Bardenberg and Broichweiden. Since then Würselen has consisted of the following quarters: * Bardenberg * Broichweiden * Würselen These are subdivided in turn into the following parishes:

Coat of arms

The coat of arms show the eagle of the coat of arms of

in the topleft corner. The second quarter shows the coat of arms of the Rhine Province, however the bend also represents the river

Wurm Wurm or Würm may refer to: Places * Wurm (Rur), a river in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany * Würm (Amper), a river in Bavaria, southeastern Germany ** Würm glaciation, an Alpine ice age, named after the Bavarian river * Würm (Nagold ...

which flows through the town. The mining tools in the third quarter remember the mining history of the town, which dates back till the 12th century. The cross in the fourth quarter is the symbol of the prince-bishopric of Cologne, as the town belonged to the

archdiocese of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne (; ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History At an early date Christianity came to Cologne with the Roman soldiers ...

until the creation of the

diocese of Aachen The Diocese of Aachen () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in Germany and one of the six dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cologne. The incumbent bishop is Helmut Dieser, who was appointed by Pope Francis on 23 September ...

. On top of the Coat of arms, is a castle, built from yellowish bricks. The middle, Left and right each have a tower. It represents the castle „Burg Wilhelmstein“.

History

During the time of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, Roman soldiers were based at Würselen, on an area today known as "Mauerfeldchen" (small mural field). The first mention of the town was as ''Wormsalt'' in 870. Between 1265-69, Duke Wilhelm IV of

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', , , Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. As a border region between the competin ...

built the castle of Wilhelmstein. Since 1616 the town has been known as Würselen. In 1972, the neighbouring municipalities of Bardenberg and Broichweiden were incorporated into the town. Bardenberger Wasserturm

Twin towns – sister cities

Würselen is twinned with: *

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen () is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the Hildburghausen district. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra River. The town centre ...

, Germany *

Morlaix Morlaix (; , ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History The Battle of Morlaix, part of the Hundred Years' War, was fought near the town on 30 Septembe ...

, France *

Réo Réo is a city located in the province of Sanguié in Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory ...

, Burkina Faso *

Campagnatico Campagnatico is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about south of Florence and about northeast of Grosseto in the valley of the Ombrone River. History The town was founded as a fief of ...

, Italy *

Ruichang Ruichang () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jiujiang, in the north of Jiangxi province, along the Yangtze River, bordering Hubei province to the north. Ruichang suffered deaths and extensive damage from the 2005 Ruichang earthqua ...

, China

Notable people

* Jakob Dautzenberg (1897–1979), politician (KPD), resistance fighter against national socialism, Reichstag deputy *

Adolf Wamper Adolf Wamper (23 June 1901 – 22 May 1977) was a German sculptor. Most of his works were figural, with some in an abstract realist style. During the 1930s he produced monumental sculptures for the Nazi régime; after World War II he taught a ...

(1901–1977), sculptor, created the Black Madonna in the War Crimes Camp 'Golden Mile' *

Jupp Derwall Josef "Jupp" Derwall (10 March 1927 – 26 June 2007) was a German professional football manager and player. He was head coach of the West Germany national team between 1978 and 1984, winning the UEFA Euro 1980 and reaching the final of the 1982 ...

(1927–2007), football player and manager *

Jupp Kapellmann Hans-Josef "Jupp" Kapellmann (born 19 December 1949 in Bardenberg) is a former West German footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. Shining begin his career with recently promoted side Alemannia Aachen in a Bundesliga runner-up seaso ...

(born 1949), footballer *

Martin Schulz Martin Schulz (born 20 December 1955) is a German politician who was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany from 1994 to 2017 and a Member of the Bundestag (MdB) from 2017 to 2021. During his tenure he was Leader of the Progress ...

(born 1955), former leader of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

, former

President of the European Parliament The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for Euro ...

, was Mayor of Würselen *

Nadine Capellmann Nadine Capellmann (born 9 July 1965 in Würselen) is a German equestrian who has won been a part of two gold medalist teams in Team dressage. The first was at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the second at the 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Su ...

(born 1965), dressage rider *Der Graf (born 1970s), frontman and songwriter of the band

Unheilig Unheilig (German for "Unholy") is a German band that draws from a variety of influences, including various Pop music, pop and Electronic music, electronic styles as well as heavier, Nihilism, nihilistic hard rock. The band was founded in Aache ...

* Roland Bartetzko (born 1970), soldier, charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism *

Torsten Frings Torsten Klaus Frings (born 22 November 1976) is a German former Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager, who last managed SV Meppen. A former midfielder, throughout his career he played for several German clu ...

(born 1976), footballer * Norman Langen (born 1985), percussionist *

Yannick Gerhardt Yannick Gerhardt (born 13 March 1994) is a German footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg. He has also represented the Germany national team. Club career He made his professional debut on 20 July 2013 in ...

(born 1994), footballer * Achim Großmann (1947-2023), politician

Gallery

File:Blick vom Markt auf St Sebastian.jpg, View from the Market towards St Sebastian File:TeutMalakoff1880.jpg, The former mine ''Teut'' with its Malakoff tower in 1880 File:Würselen Nikolauskirche innen.jpg, Church of St Nicolas File:MZ Marienhoehe.jpg, ''Marienhoehe'' Hospital

References

External links

Official site

German-Englisch Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wurselen Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Aachen (district)