Geilenkirchen (, Ripuarian: ) is a town in the district Heinsberg, 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 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 is situated near 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 ...

, on the river Wurm, approx. 15 km (9.3 mi) north-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 20 km (12.4 mi) 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 ...

. It was the site of

Operation Clipper During the Second World War, Operation Clipper was an Allied offensive by the British XXX Corps (which included the American 84th Infantry Division) to reduce the Geilenkirchen salient in mid-November 1944. ''Clipper'' was the preliminary to ...

in November 1944. The town gives its name to nearby NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen. The base is home to 17 E-3A

airborne early warning and control Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

aircraft manned by crews from 14 nations. On July 24, 2019 the highest temperature ever recorded in Germany was measured in Geilenkirchen at during a

heat wave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...

that affected much of Europe. The record was broken the following day when temperature in Lingen reached .

Born in Geilenkirchen

Ludolf Camphausen Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen (10 January 1803 in Geilenkirchen – 3 December 1890 in Cologne) was a Prime Minister of Prussia. Life During the Revolutions of 1848 in Germany, Ludolf Camphausen stepped suddenly from his banker's desk at Colog ...

(1803–1890), banker, Prussian minister president in the revolutionary year 1848 * Otto von Camphausen (1812–1896), Prussian Finance Minister * Christoph Dohmen (born 1957), professor of the Old Testament at the University of Regensburg * Hans Meyer (1900–1962), German physician and ministerial official * Max Wilms (1867–1918), German physician and surgeon

References

Heinsberg (district) Districts of the Rhine Province {{Heinsberg-geo-stub