Mützenich is a village and former municipality in the district of Aachen,

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 ...

. It is part of the municipality of

Monschau Monschau (; , ; ) is a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany, located in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography The town is located in the hills of the North Eifel, within the Hohes Venn – Eifel Nature ...

since 1972. Notably, Mützenich is a German

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

surrounded by Belgian territory due to the

track bed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. Background According to Network Rail Network Rail Limited is t ...

of the former

Vennbahn The (, "Fen Railway") is a former railway line that was built partly across what was then German territory by the Prussian state railways. It is now entirely in Belgium, because the trackbed of the line, as well as the stations and other insta ...

railway line being part of Belgium following the implementation of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, among other small areas.

Geography

Mützenich is located on the German- Belgian border, in the region of the

High Fens The High Fens (; ; ), which were declared a Nature reserve, nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a Plateau, plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of northwestern Germany, between the Ardennes and the ...

and below Steling mountain, at .

History

One possible derivation of the place name ''Mützenich'' is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

settlement . In 1783, peat cutters discovered a Roman helmet and remains of a log road. The road may have been part of the military road . A depiction of the Roman helmet forms part of the coat of arms of the former municipality. After World War II, Belgium planned to annex the German exclave created by the Vennbahn track, but decided to no longer pursue these plans in April 1949. Mützenich was a major hub for

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

coffee from Belgium to Germany after the war. The prosecution investigated more than 100 inhabitants for smuggling. In the judicial proceedings, it turned out that nearly all the male youth of Mützenich was involved in smuggling coffee. In 1952, of 53 people indicted for smuggling, 47 were convicted (four were acquitted and the proceedings against two women were dismissed due to insignificance). The local soccer club was relegated to a lower division following this for a lack of players. Several people in the area were killed by gunfire from customs officers. According to official statistics, the death toll at the border in the Aachen region was 31 between 1946 and 1952. There were also two customs officers shot dead, one missing, and more than a hundred people seriously injured among the smugglers as well as the customs officers. Until 1971, Mützenich was a municipality in the district of Monschau which in turn was part of the larger governmental district () 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 ...

. The district as well as the were dissolved in 1972 and Mützenich became part of the municipality of Monschau. Aviation pioneer (1885–1930) raised a hill near Mützenich for flight experiments which started in 1910. The overgrown hill is now located on Belgian territory. In a 1959 publication, Belgian historian Jean de Walque mistook this hill for the commander's hill of a Roman military camp.

Business

There are several guesthouses, hotels and restaurants in Mützenich, retail stores and other trades, as well as milk and meat farmers. Most of the population works outside of the village though, in the surrounding area or in Aachen.

Historic monuments

Some of Monschau's listed historic monuments are located in Mützenich, such as the Catholic church of St. Bartholomew (''St. Bartholomäus'' in German). The church, which was originally built in

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style in 1847/1848, was enlarged with a modern annex in 1954/1955. The stained glass windows were created in 1961 by Trude Dinnendahl-Benning.

Tourism

Mützenich is a destination for hiking, jogging, cycling, and cross-country skiing. Many hiking trails lead into the High Fens. From Aachen, it is about a 40 minutes drive by car to Mützenich. There are also bus lines to Mützenich. A landmark about one kilometre north of the village is ''Kaiser Karls Bettstatt'' ("Emperor Charlemagne's resting place"), a slab of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

near Steling mountain and by one of the major tracks into the High Fens. According to legend, Charlemagne got lost one day while hunting and rested on this slab for one night. There is also a humorous legend regarding the origin of the name of ''Mützenich'' connected to this: As he rested on the slab in cold weather, Charlemagne was offered a cap (in German, ''Mütze'') by a servant, which the emperor then refused by saying in local dialect ''Mütze nich!'' ("Cap - not!").

References

External links

*
General information
(in German)
Heimatverein Mützenich
(local heritage society, in German) {{Authority control Monschau Villages in North Rhine-Westphalia Former municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia Enclaves and exclaves