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

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- ...

, 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 ...

Geography

Würselen lies north of the city of

in the immediate vicinity of the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and 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 ...

. Its neighbouring settlements are, in clockwise order, the towns of Herzogenrath, Alsdorf and Eschweiler 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 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 ...

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 until the creation of the diocese of Aachen.

History

During the time of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, 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'', nl, Gulik, french: Juliers, Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As a border region betwe ...

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. Altes Rathaus, Würselen (5)

Twin towns – sister cities

Würselen is twinned with: * Hildburghausen, Germany * Morlaix, France *

Réo Réo is a city located in the province of Sanguié in Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, ...

, 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, China

Notable people

Jakob Dautzenberg Jakob Dautzenberg (born 2 February 1897, in Würselen (today part of the district of Aachen); died 20 August 1979 in Aachen) was a German politician, member of the Communist Party of Germany, and resistance fighter against the Nazis. He was a me ...

(1897–1979), politician (KPD), resistance fighter against national socialism, Reichstag deputy * Adolf Wamper (1901–1977), sculptor, created the Black Madonna in the War Crimes Camp 'Golden Mile' * Jupp Derwall (1927–2007), football player and manager *

Jupp Kapellmann Hans-Josef "Jupp" Kapellmann (born 19 December 1949 in Bardenberg) is a former West German football player. Shining for just promoted Alemannia Aachen in a Bundesliga runner-up season in 1969, midfielder Kapellmann left Aachen for 1. FC Köln a ...

(born 1949), footballer * Martin Schulz (born 1955), former leader of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

, former President of the European Parliament, was Mayor of Würselen * Nadine Capellmann (born 1965), dressage rider *Der Graf (born 1970s), frontman and songwriter of the band

Unheilig Unheilig (German for "Unholy") was a German band that featured a variety of influences, including various pop and electronic styles as well as harder, nihilistic hard rock. The band was founded in 1999 and principally consisted of singer Bern ...

Roland Bartetzko Roland Bartetzko (born 1970) is a Germany, German former soldier who fought with the Croatian Defence Council in the Bosnian War (1992–1995) and the Kosovo Liberation Army in the Kosovo War (1998–1999). In 2001, Bartetzko orchestrated a car ...

(born 1970), soldier, charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism * Torsten Frings (born 1976), footballer *

Norman Langen Norman Langen (born 7 March 1985 in Bardenberg, Germany) is a German singer and a participant in Deutschland sucht den Superstar (season 8), season 8 of Deutschland sucht den Superstar who finished in 7th place. He likes to sing in German. He ...

(born 1985), percussionist * Yannick Gerhardt (born 1994), footballer

References

External links

Official site

German-Englisch Website

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