Übach-Palenberg is a town in the Heinsberg district of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

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 betwee ...

. It was formed by the merger of two villages, Palenberg and Übach.

Geography

The town is located at the border with 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 ...

, at approx. 10 km east of

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 ...

and 15 km north 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 ...

. The river Wurm flows through the area. The town has an area of 26.106 km². More than half the area is agricultural.

History

*867 the village Palenberg was first mentioned in a written document, 1172 the village Übach. 1794 three ''Bürgermeistereien'' were created - Übach, Scherpenseel, Frelenberg - which were merged into one municipality in 1935. It received town rights in 1967. *1917

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

was started in the town, until in 1962 the Carolus Magnus coal-mine was closed.

Twin towns – sister cities

Übach-Palenberg is twinned with: * Rosny-sous-Bois, France (1990) *

Landgraaf Landgraaf (; li, Lankgraaf ) is a municipality in southeastern Limburg, Netherlands, forming part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. ''Snow World'' is the largest indoor ski piste in Europe. Population centres * Nieuwenhagen * Schaesberg ...

, Netherlands (2000)

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the town is subdivided into three fields. In the top blue field are two crossed golden scepters with lily heads, with a black letter T on top. Both symbols refer to the ''Grundherrschaft'' Thorn. In the left golden field is a black lion, the symbol 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 betw ...

, as both Frelenberg and Palenberg belonged to the county Jülich. To the right is a silver lion on a red field, the symbol of

Heinsberg Heinsberg (; li, Hinsberg ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 20 km north-east of Sittard and 30 km ...

, which Scherpenseel historically belonged to. The coat of arms was granted on December 2, 1937 by the ''Oberpräsident'' of the province

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

Economy

In addition to international companies such as SLV,

Neuman & Esser NEUMAN & ESSER GROUP (NEA) was founded as a family establishment in Aachen, Germany in 1830. The abbreviation, NEA, stands for "NEUMAN & ESSER in Aachen". NEA is a manufacturer of reciprocating compressors and grinding systems for several ind ...

, Schlafhorst or Spanset the company Solent GmbH & Co. KG has been producing chocolate, nuts and dried fruit for various brands in Übach-Palenberg since 2010. Its sister company, Bonback GmbH & Co. KG, a wholesale bakery, produces at the same location.Bakery Bonback (in German)
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Gallery

Plattschong.jpg, "Der Platschhonk", a

legendary creature A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), but may be featured in historical accoun ...

References

External links

* Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Heinsberg (district) {{Heinsberg-geo-stub