The 1756 Düren earthquake occurred on the morning at 8 a.m. near the town of

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

with a magnitude of 6.4 on the

Richter scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...

. It was one of the strongest earthquakes in

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

, and the strongest in Germany's recorded history. The depth of the hypocenter is estimated at . This earthquake may have been a remotely triggered event from the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon, but there is not enough evidence for this.

Earthquake

The quake caused damage to buildings in the

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

Bad Münstereifel Bad Münstereifel () is a historical spa town in the district of Euskirchen (district), Euskirchen, Germany, with about 17,000 inhabitants, situated in the far southwest of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The little town is one of on ...

area. The earthquake was felt in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

and as far away as

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Damage corresponded to intensity level VIII on the

Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale The Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale, also known as the MSK or MSK-64, is a macroseismic intensity scale used to evaluate the severity of ground shaking on the basis of observed effects in an area where an earthquake transpires. The scale was f ...

. According to today's assessment, it reached a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale; significantly stronger than the earthquake in Roermond in 1992, which reached a magnitude of 5.9.

Damage and casualties

There were two deaths in Düren, where many buildings were badly damaged. Parts of the city walls of Düren and

collapsed or were heavily damaged. Some of the hot springs in Aachen ran dry, while others increased in strength. A spring at Breinigerberg also ran dry. The water table fell in open tin and lead mines and some became dry.Johann Peter Joseph Monheim, ''Die Heilquellen von Aachen, Burtscheid, Spaa, Malmedy und Heilstein in ihren historischen, geognostischen, physischen, chemischen und medizinischen Beziehungen'', Aachen: J.A. Mayer, 1829
p. 260
(German). Two people were also killed and one man was seriously injured in Aachen. In addition, over 300 chimneys collapsed in Cologne. Damage was also reported in neighbouring countries.

References

{{reflist Earthquakes in Europe Natural disasters in Germany Natural disasters in the Netherlands Düren (district) 1756 in Europe 1750s earthquakes

Earthquake

Damage and casualties

See also

References