Erkelenz
Encyclopedia
Geology
The Erkelenz Börde is the northernmost extent of the Jülich Börde and is formed from a loess plateauPlateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
that has an average thickness of over eleven metres in this area. Beneath it are the gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
s and sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
s of the main ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
terrace, laid down by the Rhine and the Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
. Embedded in the loess in places are lenses of marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
that were mined until the 20th century in order to obtain lime
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
by driving shafts and galleries underground. In the Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
period the Erkelenz horst was formed along geological fault line
Fault line
In geology, fault line refers to the surface trace of a fault.Fault line, Fault Line, or faultline may also refer to:* "Faultline", a song from the 2008 studio album Versus by The Haunted...
s. East of the horst runs the Venlo
Venlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
fault block (Scholle), to the west is the Rur Scholle, to the south the Erft
Erft
The Erft is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows through the foothills of the Eifel, and joins the Lower Rhine . Its origin is near Nettersheim, and its mouth in Neuss-Grimlinghausen south of the Josef-Cardinal-Frings-bridge. The river is 103 km long, which is significantly...
Scholle and the Jackerath Horst. A small section of the horst is part of the Wassenberg
Wassenberg
Wassenberg is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Rur, approx. 6 km north-east of Heinsberg and 15 km south-east of Roermond....
Horst. Thick seams of brown coal from the Tertiary and of black coal from the Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
are located underground. The Erkelenz Horst is part of the Cologne Lowland Earthquake Region.
Borough
The town's administrative territory, or borough, is 20 kilometres (12 mi) across from east to west and 11 km (6.8 mi) from north to south. Its neighbouring administrative units, clockwise from the north, are:- Town of WegbergWegbergWegberg is the northernmost town in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Wegberg is situated between Mönchengladbach in the northeast and Erkelenz in the southeast. The city lies in the Naturpark Maas-Schwalm-Nette, a nature and wildlife park hugging the border to...
(8 km or 5 mi north, Heinsberg district) - Independent town of MönchengladbachMönchengladbachMönchengladbach , formerly known as Münchengladbach, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine half way between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border....
, (15 km northeast) - Municipality of JüchenJüchenJüchen is a municipality in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 17 km southwest of Neuss and 10 km southeast of Mönchengladbach....
(14 km or 8.7 mi east, Rhein-Kreis NeussRhein-Kreis NeussNeuss is a Kreis in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Nearby are the urban districts Mönchengladbach, Krefeld, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Cologne, the districts Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Düren, Heinsberg and the district Viersen.-History:...
district) - Municipality of TitzTitzTitz is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approx. 10 km north-east of Jülich and 20 km south of Mönchengladbach.-Notable persons:...
(12 km or 7.5 mi southeast, Düren districtDüren (district)Düren is a Kreis in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Heinsberg, Neuss, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Euskirchen and Aachen.-History:...
) - Town of LinnichLinnichLinnich is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, approx. 10 km north-west of Jülich.-Economy:Linnich is the home of SIG Combibloc the specialist for aseptic carton packaging....
(11 km southwest, Düren district) - Town of HückelhovenHückelhovenHückelhoven is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Rur, approx. 10 km east of Heinsberg and 20 km south-west of Mönchengladbach.-Town twinning: Hartlepool, England, UK...
(7 km west, Heinsberg district) - Town of WassenbergWassenbergWassenberg is a town in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Rur, approx. 6 km north-east of Heinsberg and 15 km south-east of Roermond....
(11 km northwest, Heinsberg district)
The town of Erkelenz emerged in its present configuration as a result of the Aachen land reform bill of 21 December 1971 (the Aachen-Gesetz). According to this law inter alia the former districts of Erkelenz and Geilenkirchen-Heinsberg were to be merged on 1 January 1972. Erkelenz lost its status as the county town to Heinsberg and was amalgamated with the municipalities of Borschemich, Gerderath, Golkrath, Granterath, Holzweiler, Immerath, Keyenberg, Kückhoven, Lövenich, Schwanenberg and Venrath, as well as the parishes of Geneiken and Kuckum. The area of its borough increased from 25.22 to 117.45 km² (9.7 to 45.3 sqmi).
According to the law, the borough of Erkelenz is divided into nine districts with a total of 46 villages and hamlets (population as at 31 October 2009):
- District 1: Erkelenz with the villages of Oestrich and Buscherhof as well as Borschemich, Borschemich (new), Bellinghoven and Oerath, a total of 20,173 inhabitants
- District 2: Gerderath with Fronderath, Gerderhahn, Moorheide and VossemVossemVossem is a village in the municipality of Tervuren, in Belgium. It is located in the valley of the Voer creek . There is small nature reserve in Vossem, the Twaalf-Apostelenbos , a swamp.Vossem was an independent village until 1977, when it became part of the municipality of Tervuren....
, a total of 5,179 inhabitants - District 3: Schwanenberg with Geneiken, Genfeld, Genhof, Grambusch and Lentholt, a total of 2,265 inhabitants
- District 4: Golkrath with Houverath, Houverather Heide, Hoven and Matzerath, a total of 2,039 inhabitants
- District 5: Granterath and Hetzerath with Commerden, Genehen, Scheidt and Tenholt, a total of 3,488 inhabitants
- District 6: Lövenich with Katzem and Kleinbouslar, a total of 4,147 inhabitants
- District 7: Kückhoven, a total of 2,250 inhabitants
- District 8: Keyenberg and Venrath with Berverath, Etgenbusch, Kaulhausen, Kuckum, Mennekrath, Neuhaus, Oberwestrich, Terheeg, Unterwestrich and Wockerath, a total of 3,468 inhabitants
- District 9: Holzweiler and Immerath (new) with LützerathLutzerathLutzerath is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Ulmen, whose seat is in the like-named town...
and Pesch, a total of 2,372 inhabitants
Coat of arms
The coat of arms is parted horizontally. The upper part is blue, and contains the golden lion of the duchyDuchy
A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...
of Guelders
Guelders
Guelders or Gueldres is the name of a historical county, later duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.-Geography:...
(Geldern). In the silver (white) lower part is a red medlar, also called rose of Geldern. The coat of arms shows the centuries old connection to the duchy. The colours from the shield became the colours of the city: blue and white.
Pre- and early history
There have been discoveries of Old and New Stone AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
flint-knapping sites across the whole of the present area of the borough. Near Haberg House, north of Lövenich, there is a site of national renown. Near Kückhoven a wooden well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
was discovered in 1990 that belonged to a settlement of the Linear Pottery culture
Linear Pottery culture
The Linear Pottery culture is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic, flourishing ca. 5500–4500 BC.It is abbreviated as LBK , is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Incised Ware culture, and falls within the Danubian I culture of V...
and had been built around 5,100 B.C. This makes it one of the oldest wooden structures in the world. North of the old village of Erkelenz, on the present day Mary Way (Marienweg), lay three cremation graves (Brandgräber), northwest to south of numerous fields of rubble. Roman bricks, hypocaust bricks
Hypocaust
A hypocaust was an ancient Roman system of underfloor heating, used to heat houses with hot air. The word derives from the Ancient Greek hypo meaning "under" and caust-, meaning "burnt"...
and shards come from the marketplace south of the town hall. Here in the southwest corner and east of the chancel of the Roman Catholic parish church there are urn graves enclosed by glacial erratics of the early Frankish period from 300 to 500 A.D. On the south and southeast edge of the market, round jars were also found in the style of Badorf ceramics from Carolingian times. In 1906 a Roman Jupiter Column
Jupiter Column
A Jupiter Column is an archaeological monument belonging to a type widespread in Roman Germania. Such pillars express the religious beliefs of their time. They were erected in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, mostly near Roman settlements or villas in the Germanic provinces...
from the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. was discovered in Kleinbouslar. The Erkelenz chronicler Mathias Baux wrote in the 16th century that "the bushes in the middle period were cleared and the soil turned into fertile fields, so that out of the harsh wilderness a corn-rich land and overall a breezy paradise was established." From Mathias Baux's perspective, the middle period was the 8th century, which corresponds to the emergence of the Carolingian Empire. Under the present-day Catholic church lay Frankish and medieval graves without any grave goods as well as broken pieces of Badorf Ceramic and Roman bricks.
Origin of the name
The overwhelming theory is that the name Erkelenz belongs to the group of Gallo-RomanceGallo-Romance languages
The Gallo-Romance branch of Romance languages include French and the other langue d'oïl dialects, Occitan , Catalan, Franco-Provençal, Gallo-Italic, and other languages - Other possible classifications :...
-(i)acum placename
German placename etymology
Placenames in the German language area can be classified by the language from which they originate, and by their age.- Suffixes :# -ach, . Examples: Echternach, Salzach....
s. According to this view the name of the town, which first appears in the records in a document dating to 966 A.D. sealed by Otto the Great
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
as herclinze, comes from fundus herculentiacus: Herculentian estate (Estate of Herculentius). From the original adjectival character of the personal name the neuter noun Herculentiacum developed. However a continuity of settlement from Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
to Frankish times
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
cannot be proven. As a result it is also postulated that the name does not have Roman, but Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
origins, according to which the word linta = lime tree. In 1118 A.D. the name of the place finally appears as Erkelenze.
Manorialism
On 17 January 966, St. Mary's Abbey in Aachen (Marienstift zu Aachen) was given inter alia the settlements of Erkelenz and its neighbour, Oestrich, in the County of EremfriedErenfried II
Erenfried II , son of Eberhard I, Count of Bonngau and Zulpichgau.Count in Keldachgau Count in Zülpichgau , in Bonngau , in Hattuariergau , in Tubalgau , in Hubbelrath and also count in the Belgian county of Huy, Vogt of Kloster Stablo.He married Richwara of Zulpichgau and they have...
in the Mühlgau as part of an exchange with the Lotharingian
Middle Francia
Middle Francia was an ephemeral Frankish kingdom created by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, which divided the Carolingian Empire among the sons of Louis the Pious...
Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Immo. Emperor Otto the Great confirmed this exchange in the aforementioned deed at an imperial diet (Hoftag) in Aachen. From then on the abbey was the owner of the entire estate in Erkelenz and the surrounding villages with the proviso that territorial lordship was exercised by the count. Later the estates owned by the abbey were divided between the provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
and chapter
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
. The farms were not managed independently, but were leased. Not until 1803 did the abbey lose these rights of ownership, when France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
introduced secularisation into the Rhineland.
Town rights
Erkelenz received its town rights in 1326 from Count Reginald II of Guelders, as can be read in the town chronicle by Matthias Baux. But no deed granting town rights exists, which is why it has been suggested that there was no fixed date but, instead, a long drawn-out process of becoming a town over many years that may have dragged on into the 14th century. However, against that is the fact that there is a jury seal dating to the year 1331, and that Erkelenz appears on the Guelders urban diet on 1 December 1343. In 1359 Erkelenz is described in a document as a Guelders town and bears the Guelders lions and rose on its seal and coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
.
Territorial lordship
From the end of the 11th century the counts of GueldersGuelders
Guelders or Gueldres is the name of a historical county, later duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.-Geography:...
, the first being Gerard III of Wassenberg, also known as Gerard I of Guelders, also possessed the lordship in Erkelenz. They were advocates
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
appointed by the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and exercise jurisdiction, trade protection and military command. In 1339 Emperor Louis the Bavarian
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
elevated Guelders to a dukedom
Dukedom
Dukedom may refer to:* Duchy, the territory ruled by a duke* the office of a duke-Places:United States* Dukedom, Kentucky and Tennessee, an unincorporated community in Graves County, Kentucky and Weakley County, Tennessee-Computer games:...
, under Rainald II, that was divided into four "quarters" (Quartiere). Erkelenz and its surrounding villages belonged to the upper quarter (Oberquartier) of Guelders with its main centre at Roermond
Roermond
Roermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231...
and was an exclave of Guelders within the Duchy of Jülich
Duchy of Jülich
The Duchy of Jülich comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay left of the Rhine river between the Electorate of Cologne in the east and the Duchy of Limburg in the west. It had territories on both sides of the river Rur, around its capital...
. It formed the Amt
AMT
-Aviation:*The ICAO code for ATA Airlines*Aircraft Maintenance Technician, a term used in the United States* Aviation Maintenance Technician, a United States Coast Guard rating-Businesses and business-related terms:...
of Erkelenz, together with the non-isolated villages of Wegberg, Krüchten
Niederkrüchten
Niederkrüchten is a municipality in the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km east of Roermond and 15 km west of Mönchengladbach....
and Brempt, headed by the Amtmann
Amtmann
Amtmann can be :*a feudal, administrative and/or gubernatorial title, such as Bezirksamtmann . Amtmann, ammann and amman were a kind of bailiff in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in Brussels....
(Drossard).
The town's constitution and administration was consistent with those of the other towns in Guelders. Seven magistrates (Schöffen) who, like the mayors, had to possess wealth in the town or the county, and ten common councillors put forward two candidates for the office of town mayor (Stadtbürgermeister) and two for that of county mayor (Landbürgermeister) for a period of office of one year, but they were elected only by the magistrates, who actually ran the administration of the town, whilst the council only fulfilled representative functions.
Soon after its elevation to town status, work began on the brick fortifications of the place. These probably consisted of basic ramparts as had been common since time immemorial for the defence of settlements, which had been started in the 11th century. Although the castle was not documented until 1349, the town appeared to have developed under the protection of the castle along the Pangel, the oldest mentioned street (in deme Pandale, 1398) which was in its immediate vicinity. The nearby Johannismarkt (alder mart, 1420) and the more distant square known today simply as Markt ("market"), then referred to as the niewer mart (1480), were also mentioned. In addition the castle had clearly been built within the town walls, so that it must have been there at least when town rights were granted in 1326. It is also hardly likely that an undefended place would have been elevated to the status of a town. Finally, the first and strongest town gateway, the Brück Gate (Brücktor, on Brückstraße) was built in 1355 on the Cologne Military Road (Kölner Heerbahn) that came from Roermond to Erkelenz and ran along the Theodor-Körner Road, Mühlenstraße and Wockerath to Cologne.
In a feud
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
between Edward of Guelders, who was a son of Duke Reginald II and adversary of his elder brother, Reginald III
Reginald III of Guelders
Reginald III of Guelders was Count, later Duke, of Guelders and Count of Zutphen from 1343 to 1361, and again in 1371. He was the son of Reginald II of Guelders and of Eleanor of Woodstock, daughter of Edward II of England....
, Count Engelbert III of the Mark
Engelbert III of the Mark
Engelbert III of the Mark was the Count of Mark from 1347 until 1391.Adolph was the eldest son of Count Adolph II of the Marck and Margaret of Cleves. After his father died in 1347, Engelbert III ruled the County of Mark, mainly from Burg Blankenstein in 1393.In his time, he was the leading...
conquered the now insufficiently fortified town in 1371 and partly destroyed it. The childless Edward fell in the same year on the battlefield of Baesweiler
Battle of Baesweiler
The Battle of Baesweiler was a conflict between the dukes of Brabant and Jülich.During this time, large groups of mercenaries roamed the lands of western Europe, bringing death wherever they came...
fighting on the side of his brother in law, Duke William II of Jülich, against Duke Wenceslaus I of Brabant. When in that year his brother, Rainald III, also died without issue, fighting broke out repeatedly over the inheritance and possession of the Duchy of Guelders under which Erkelenz, as an exclave of Guelders in the state of Jülich, suffered particularly severely from the burdens of war, quartering of soldiers, robbery and plundering.
The construction of fortifications at Erkelenz was brought forward to meet the strategic requirements of its local lords. Built in 1416 under Reginald IV of Guelders, opposite the Brück Gate (Brücktor) on the other side of town, was the Maar Gate (Maartor, Aachener Strasse), which faced the Jülich, south of the town. In 1423, the Duchy of Guelders, and thus the town of Erkelenz, fell to Arnold of Egmond, and, in 1425, to Adolphus of Jülich-Berg. After his nephew and successor, Gerhard II of Jülich-Berg had defeated Arnold of Egmond in the Battle of Linnich, the Oerath Gate (Oerather Tor, Roermonder Straße)) was completed in 1454, that faced Roermond. Despite the increasing cost of work on the fortifications, the town was able to afford it. In 1458 it immediately started work on a new bell tower, that has survived until today, after the tower of the old Romanesque church had collapsed.
In 1473 the town came into the possession of Charles the Bold of Burgundy who, whilst at war against Lorraine in 1476, personally accepted the homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
of the townsfolk of Erkelenz. In 1481 the town fell to Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
of Austria and, in 1492, to the son of Arnold of Egmond, Charles of Egmond, who also presented himself personally in the same year at Erkelenz. At that time the fortress of Erkelenz was so strong that Maximilian I instructed the Dukes of Jülich and Kleve
Kleve
Kleve , is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Kleve was capital of a county and later a duchy...
, who were allied with him against Guelders, not to engage in a bombardment of the town, but to take them with the aid of storming bridges (Sturmbrücken). Using that method, an army of 3000 foot soldiers and 1,000 horse under William IV of Jülich took them by surprise in August 1498. In 1500 the town fell again to Charles of Egmont, so that in 1514 the gate opposite the Oerath Gate opposite the Bellinghoven Gate (Bellinghovener Tor, Kölner Straße) was built, which sealed a gap facing Julich. There were 14 defensive towers in the town wall with its four gate castles (Torburgen) and, in front of it was a second wall, separated by a moat. The town was thus considered impregnable.
In 1538 Guelders fell to William of Jülich, Cleves and Berg During that period the great town fire of 1540 occurred on 21 June of that year. The fire broke out during a summer heatwave, almost entirely razing the town apart from few houses by the Brück Gate and on Maarstraße. Help came from the neighbouring Guelders towns of Roermond and Venlo
Venlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
. Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
who, in 1543, following the capture of Düren
Düren
Düren is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, capital of Düren district. It is located between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur.-Roman era:Celts inhabited Düren's area before the Romans. They called their small settlement Durum . After the Celts other Germanic tribes settled this area...
and Julich during his march on Roermond with a 30,000 strong army, stayed personally in Erkelenz. ended the Guelders succession wars at the Treaty of Venlo. The town now ended up, together with the Duchy of Guelders, under to the Spanish House of Habsburg and was part of the Spanish Netherlands, then the richest country in Europe. So, for example, the town was able, as the inscription on a rock near the entrance testifies, to replace the destroyed town hall as early as 1546 with a new building that is still standing.
Lasting peace did not, however, return to the land and several times epidemics struck the town. In 1580 it was almost completely depopulated by the plague. During the Spanish-Dutch War in 1607, Dutch troops took the town and plundered it. After Erkelenz had been unsuccessfully besieged in 1610 during the Jülich-Cleves War of Succession, the army of the French king, Louis XIV, allied with the troops of the Archbishop of Cologne, was finally in a position to take the town on the evening of 9 May 1674. This attack which took place during the French-Dutch War
Dutch War
Dutch War may refer to:*The Dutch-Portuguese War, 1588–1661* Any of the four Anglo-Dutch Wars:**The First Anglo-Dutch War, 1652–1654**The Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1665–1667**The Third Anglo-Dutch War, 1672–1674...
only succeeded on the fourth assault using the newly-invented cannons, when two of the four gates fell. On that day, the town ceased to be a fortification. The attackers are reported to have lost 400 dead, the defenders just six. The invaders forced the townsfolk to breach the walls and blew up the Bellinghoven and Oerath gates, both of which blocked free passage to the Netherlands.
In the War of Spanish Succession, Erkelenz was occupied by Prussian troops in 1702 who did not leave again until 1713. In the Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
in 1714 Duke John William of Jülich and Elector Palatine (of Palatinate-Neuburg
Palatinate-Neuburg
Palatinate-Neuburg is a former territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km², with a population of some 100,000.-History:...
) was given Erkelenz; the town not paying him homage until 1719. The town thus lost its centuries-old affiliation with the Upper Quarter of Guelders. From 1727 to 1754 the territory of Erkelenz (Herrlichkeit Erkelenz) was pledged to Freiherr von Francken, who also stayed from time to time in the town.
From 1794 to 1815 it belonged to France, along with the lands left of the Rhine, and was given a permanent contingent of French troops. Initially Erkelenz formed a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
(Munizipalität), from 1800 a mairie (mayoralty) and, from 1798, was the seat of the canton of Erkelenz in the arrondissement
Arrondissement
Arrondissement is any of various administrative divisions of France, certain other Francophone countries, and the Netherlands.-France:The 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The capital of an arrondissement is called a...
of Crefeld, which was part of the Département de la Roer. In 1815 the King
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
became the new landlord following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. In the years 1818/19 the tumbledown town walls and gates were demolished. Instead of walls the four present-day promenade streets were built, each named after their respective points of the compass. From 1816 to 1972 Erkelenz was the seat of the rural district of Erkelenz (Kreis Erkelenz).
Industrialisation
Around 1825 Andreas Polke from RatiborRacibórz
Racibórz is a town in southern Poland with 60,218 inhabitants situated in the Silesian Voivodeship , previously in Katowice Voivodeship...
took up residence in the town and founded a pin
Pin
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.Pin may also refer to:* Award pin, a small piece of metal or plastic with a pin attached given as an award for some achievement...
factory. The nearby region around Aachen was a leading light in this trade at the time. In 1841 Polke employed 73 workers in his factory, of whom 36 were child workers under 14; for those of school age he ran a factory school. Pins were made in Erkelenz until about 1870. In 1852 Erkelenz was connected to the Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway and, in addition to a railway station for passenger services, was also given a goods station
Goods station
A goods station is, in the widest sense, a railway station which is exclusively or predominantly where goods of any description are loaded or unloaded from ships or road vehicles and/or where goods wagons are transferred to local sidings.A station where goods are not specifically received or...
with marshalling sidings, a hump and a turntable. The increased volume of traffic into Erkelenz station necessitated an upgrade of the four roads radiating from the town to something like chaussee standard and in the succeeding decades a development of the town beyond its medieval town boundaries along the present Kölner Straße towards the station.
In the 19th century hand weaving with looms was the predominant activity of the surrounding villages. The Industrial Age in Erkelenz first began with the introduction of mechanical weaving looms for making cloth. In 1854 the Rockstoff Factory I.B. Oellers, was established on the present Parkweg; it was a mechanical weaving mill which, at times, employed 120 workers and 20 salesmen. In 1872 the mechanical plush
Plush
Plush is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet.Originally the pile of plush consisted of mohair or worsted yarn, but now silk by itself or with a cotton backing is used for plush, the distinction from velvet being found in the longer and less dense pile of plush...
weaving mill of Karl Müller (corner of Kölner Straße and Heinrich Jansen Weg) was founded; it employed 60 hand weavers in Erkelenz and another 400 in the regions of Berg
Berg
Berg is the word for mountain in various Germanic languages, and may also refer to:-People:* Alban Berg , Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School.* Paul Berg Berg is the word for mountain in various Germanic languages, and may also refer to:-People:* Alban Berg (1885-1935), Austrian...
and the Rhön area for the main Erkelenz operation. In 1897 the Halcour Textile Factory appeared on Neußer Straße, which had 67 male and 22 female workers in 1911 in its factory-owned health insurance department.
The town's actual step into the Industrial Age took place in 1897 when the industrial pioneer, Anton Raky, moved the head office of the International Drilling Company (Internationaler Bohrgesellschaft), known locally as the Bohr, to Erkelenz. Key factors in choosing this location were the favourable railway links to the Ruhr area
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
and the Aachen Coalfield. In the years that followed industrial workers and engineers flocked to Erkelenz, creating a shortage of housing, a situation that could only be alleviated by establishing a charitable building association. Between the town centre and the railway line, a new quarter emerged, known colloquially as Kairo due to the little foreign looking towers on many of the houses. In 1909 the drilling firm employed 50 staff and 460 workers. During the wartime year of 1916 it had as many as 1,600 employees. When, on 10 May 1898, a bronze statue of Emperor William I was erected on the market place, it was illuminated, at Raky's initiative, with electric lighting from arc lamps. That marked the introduction of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
into the public arena in Erkelenz. In the same year the first street lamps were erected in Bahnhofstraße (today Kölner Straße) and the first mains electricity was delivered to houses.
Gründerzeit
Gründerzeit
' refers to the economic phase in 19th century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. At this time in Central Europe the age of industrialisation was taking place, whose beginnings were found in the 1840s...
house facades are witnesses to the development at the turn of the century. In the next two decades the town built the waterworks on the present Bernhard-Hahn-Straße with its water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
visible for miles, the electricity works, the slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
, the swimming baths and a large school building for the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
on the Südpromenade. The founding of a korn distillery, a brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, a malthouse
Malthouse
A malt house, or maltings, is a building where cereal grain is converted into malt by soaking it in water, allowing it to sprout and then drying it to stop further growth. The malt is used in brewing beer, whisky and in certain foods. The traditional malt house was largely phased out during the...
and a dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
acted as new outlets for agriculture. In 1910 Arnold Koepe built an engineering workshop in the former Karl Müller plush weaving mill in order to manufacture coal wagons for the mines. In 1916 Ferdinand Clasen took over the operation and in 1920 founded the Erkelenz Engineering Factory (Erkelenzer Maschinenfabrik) from this firm on Bernhard-Hahn-Straße that employed up to 200 workers.
World wars and inter-war years
During the First World War the local economy also ground to a halt as a result of conscription, the priority given to the transportation of troops and war materiel on the railways as well as the large contingents of troops that marched through the town with their resulting demands. To alleviate the lack of labour, prisoners of war, mainly Russians who had been interned in 1915 in a POW camp on the land of the International Drilling Company, were employed, mainly in agriculture. In order to meet the wartime demand for metal, the townsfolk had to give up relevant implements and the church had to donate some of its bells in return for little compensation. The lost war cost the lives of 142 Erkelenz townsfolk in Army service and another 155 were injured, some seriously.After this war, which also saw the end of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
2,000 soldiers were stationed here between 1918 and 1926. French troops were quartered here until 19 November 1919 and then Belgian troops took over from 1 December 1919. Huts were erected on Neusser Straße and Tenholter Straße as soldiers' quarters, in addition to commandeered houses, flats were built on Freiheitsplatz, on Graf-Reinald-Straße and Glück-auf-Straße for the officers and NCOs.
Because gold and silver had to be given up at the beginning of the war and the gold standard had been replaced by paper money, the cost of all goods rose dramatically, despite the command economy, to paper money prices that were scarcely affordable, so that the supply of paper money finally ran out and the communal authorities were permitted to print their own paper money. In 1921 the town had emergency money printed in the shape of paper notes with values of 50 and 75 pfennigs to a total value of 70,000 marks. This emergency currency went into partial circulation, but was withdrawn again in 1922.
When the French and Belgians occupied the Ruhr in January 1923, in order to take coal and steel back to their own countries, there was passive resistance, which later became known as the Battle of the Ruhr
Occupation of the Ruhr
The Occupation of the Ruhr between 1923 and 1925, by troops from France and Belgium, was a response to the failure of the German Weimar Republic under Chancellor Cuno to pay reparations in the aftermath of World War I.-Background:...
(Ruhrkampf). In Erkelenz this passive resistance was carried out especially by railwaymen, in the course of which the Belgian secret police expelled 14 families, including small children, who had been reported by narks. They were abandoned, in some cases using force, in remote places at night and in fog.
Right from the start of the occupation France and Belgium had tried unsuccessfully to annexe the Rhineland. Now, using the excuse of the resistance that had flared up, they tried to take it by force. In Aachen Separatist troops
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
, which had established themselves by force of arms in various Rhenish towns, called for a Rhenish Republic
Rhenish Republic
The Rhenish Republic was proclaimed at Aachen in October 1923 during the Occupation of the Ruhr by troops from France and Belgium between January 1923 and 1925...
. On 21 October 1923 such a force also appeared in Erkelenz, hoisted the Rhenish flag over the town hall and the courthouse by force of arms under the protection of the Belgians and demanded that the municipal and state officials now serve the Rhenish Republic. Officials and townsfolk refused and hauled down the separatist flag the following day. To the great joy of the population, the occupying troops pulled out a year later on 31 January 1926 in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. The bells of all the churches rang at midnight, their hour of freedom, and that year Erkelenz also celebrated the 600th anniversary of being granted its town rights.
After Hitler had seized power on 30 January 1933 and after the Reichstag and local elections had been held in March 1933, the Nazis in Erkelenz under the leadership of Nazi Kreisleiter, Kurt Horst, began, using the authority of the municipal "parliaments", to rename all the roads and squares after their own leaders. For example from April 1933 Erkelenz had an Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
Platz (Johannismarkt), a Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
Platz (Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
Platz) and a Horst Wessel
Horst Wessel
Horst Ludwig Wessel was a German Nazi activist who was made a posthumous hero of the Nazi movement following his violent death in 1930...
Straße (Brückstraße). In May 1933 they forced the incumbent democratic mayor, Dr. Ernst de Werth, out of office under threat of taking him into "protective custody
Protective custody
Protective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisoners, is a chief factor causing the need for PC units...
", made Adolf Hitler an honorary citizen and pursued political dissidents, trades unionists and clergymen.
In July 1933 a so-called Hereditary Health Court
Hereditary Health Court
The Hereditary Health Court , also known as, the Genetic Health Court, were courts that decided whether people should be forcibly sterilized in Nazi Germany....
was established at the district courthouse in Erkelenz as in all districts in the German Empire
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, whose task was to direct the forced sterilisation of mentally and physically handicapped people as part of what later became Hitler's "Euthanasia Programme", known after the war as Action T4
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
. This programme of Nazi violence saw the systematic murder of those seen by the Nazis as "asocial", "inferior" and "unworthy of living". In Erkelenz, such people ended up in Nazareth House in Immerath.
By April 1933 the NSDAP had organised a boycott of Jewish businesses in the town, whilst the 1938 November pogroms (the so-called Reichskristallnacht) finally led to anti-Semitic acts of violence. The synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
on the Westpromenade was devastated by mobs commanded by the SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
and SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
, Jews were arrested and Jewish businesses in the town were plundered and demolished. In March/April 1941 Jews all over Germany were evacuated from their homes and concentrated in so-called Jew houses (Judenhäusern), to which they were only permitted to take the absolute essentials from their property. In Erkelenz on 1 April 1941 the Nazis forced the remaining Jews in the town of Erkelenz to leave their homes and take up residence in the Spiess Hof, a farmstead in Hetzerath, from where they were deported in 1942 via the Izbica Ghetto to the extermination camps.
Towards the end of the Second World War, as the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
advanced towards Germany's western border in the middle of September 1944, Erkelenz was gradually cleared out, like many other places in the Aachen region. Whilst long streams of refugees moved eastwards across the Rhine, as well as groups of fieldwork labourers there were large units of armed SA in the border region who tyrannised and robbed the remaining population. As part of the "Rur Front", anti-tank ditches were dug two kilometres west of the town in a semi-circular arc, minefields were sewn and infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
positions were constructed with extensively branched trenches in order to create a strong hedgehog defence
Hedgehog defence
In warfare, the hedgehog defence is a military tactic for defending against a mobile armoured attack, or blitzkrieg. The defenders deploy in depth in heavily fortified positions suitable for all-around defence. The attackers can penetrate between these "hedgehogs", but each position continues to...
. The first major carpet bombing
Carpet bombing
Carpet bombing is a large aerial bombing done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase invokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a floor. Carpet bombing is usually achieved by dropping many...
air raid took place on 8 October 1944 over the town. During the second air raid on 6 December 1944 44 people died. Between the major carpet bomb attacks, non-stop fighter bomber raids went on from dawn to dusk and often into the night, continuing the work of destruction by strafing
Strafing
Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. This means, that although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the...
and bombing. From December 1944 the town also came within the range of allied artillery. During a further bombing raid on 16 January 1945, 31 people were killed, including 16 in one bunker on Anton Raky Allee. Amongst the SS combat troops, the command was issued from the top to the lowest level to pull out and they did so, as did the local party functionaries, who had been burning their records for days. The fourth and heaviest air raid on the now abandoned town took place on 23 February 1945. About 90 four-engined bombers flew over in two waves. Everything that had survived the war to that point now lay in ashes: the churches, the community hall, the courthouse, the swimming baths, the hospital, the schools and the kindergarten; only the tower of the Roman Catholic parish church remained standing, albeit badly damaged. When, three days later, on 26 February 1945, American armoured units of the 102nd US Infantry Division of the 9th US Army entered the town and the surrounding villages, the warning signs on the minefields indicated the safe lanes because there was no one left who could have removed them. About Volkssturm
Volkssturm
The Volkssturm was a German national militia of the last months of World War II. It was founded on Adolf Hitler's orders on October 18, 1944 and conscripted males between the ages of 16 to 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard.-Origins and...
troops gave themselves up without a fight. At the end of this war, Erkelenz was largely destroyed and counted 300 killed in air raids, 1,312 dead and 974 wounded within the county of Erkelenz.
The post-war period
As Allied forces invaded the area, the inhabitants of the surrounding villages had to leave their houses and for many days and weeks, they were driven from one place to another or concentrated in camps without enough supplies, whilst their homes were plundered, wrecked and, in many cases, set on fire. In addition, former Russian forced labourers, who were concentrated into the nearby village of Hetzerath, armed themselves with war materiel that had been left lying around and threatened town and country by robbing, killing and starting fires. The logistic troops of the invading forces also stole on a grand scale. By the end of March 1945 about 25 people still lived in Erkelenz and, as the town gradually filled up with retreating evacuees, they lacked all the basic necessities.In early June 1945, British troops replaced the Americans. Several of the leading Nazis, who were found amongst those retreating, were arrested and placed on trial. So-called "Persil notes" (Persilscheine) were much sought after. The majority of the lower ranking Nazis and their followers were forced into clearing rubble and cleaning up the town. But the remaining townsfolk, especially farmers who still had a horse or ox and cart, were also called upon to supply manual labour or transport. Even the youth were encouraged to volunteer for work details in order to help with the rebuilding of the town. The nature of most of the work was self-help and the newly reorganised town government only focussed on those building regulations that were absolutely necessary.
The first general municipal elections took place on 15 September 1946. From 1947‚ CARE Package
CARE Package
The CARE Package was the original unit of aid distributed by the humanitarian organization CARE...
s arrived in the town, filled with food and such like, mainly sent by Americans of German origin. Apart from the returning population of the town, increasing numbers of refugees from Germany's eastern territories had to be absorbed, so that in the 1950s a new quarter of the town, Flachsfeld, was built. At the same time, the town also spread out over the fields between the few houses of Buscherhof and the Oerath Mill, forming a new large quarter, the Marienviertel. Almost all its roads, which lay on both sides of the old Marienweg, a Marian pilgrimage route that ran to Holtum
Wegberg
Wegberg is the northernmost town in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Wegberg is situated between Mönchengladbach in the northeast and Erkelenz in the southeast. The city lies in the Naturpark Maas-Schwalm-Nette, a nature and wildlife park hugging the border to...
, bore the names of east German towns. Not until 1956 and 1957 did the town's population receive the last repatriates from the war and from POW camps at Erkelenz Station.
Chronological summary
- 966: Erkelenz was first mentioned in a document as Herclinze, 1118 as Erkelenze.
- 1326: Erkelenz received town rights from the countCountA count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Guelders. (1339 the noble man became duke.) The area of Erkelenz was an exclave of the duchy of Guelders in the duchy of JülichDuchy of JülichThe Duchy of Jülich comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay left of the Rhine river between the Electorate of Cologne in the east and the Duchy of Limburg in the west. It had territories on both sides of the river Rur, around its capital...
. The town belonged to the Upper Quarter RoermondRoermondRoermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231...
.
- 1543: The Spanish NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(Spanish HabsburgHabsburgThe House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
) got Erkelenz.
- 1713: After the War of the Spanish successionWar of the Spanish SuccessionThe War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
the dukeDukeA duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
of Jülich, who was also princePrincePrince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
of palatine (Pfalz-Neuburg) received the town.
- 1794: France invaded the area, Erkelenz belonged to this state and became the capital of the district CantonCanton (subnational entity)A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared to other administrative divisions such as counties, departments or provinces. Internationally the best-known cantons, and the most politically...
Erkelenz in the RoerRoer (département)Roer is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present day Germany and the Netherlands. It was named after the river Rur, which flows through the département. It was formed in 1795, when the Southern Netherlands and the left bank of the Rhine were occupied by the French...
département.
- 1815: After the defeat of Napoleon Erkelenz became part of PrussiaPrussiaPrussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. The district was now called Kreis Erkelenz.
- 1818/1819: The medieval walls and gates of the town were demolished.
- 1852: The railway AachenAachenAachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
-DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
was built
- 1897: The engineer Anton Raky established a drillDrillA drill or drill motor is a tool fitted with a cutting tool attachment or driving tool attachment, usually a drill bit or driver bit, used for drilling holes in various materials or fastening various materials together with the use of fasteners. The attachment is gripped by a chuck at one end of...
ing machine factory, today WIRTH Group.
- 1938: The synagogueSynagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
was desecrated.
- 26 February 1945: Erkelenz was captured by the 407th infantry regiment of the U.S. 102nd Infantry DivisionU.S. 102nd Infantry DivisionThe 102d Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II.-World War II:*Activated: 15 September 1942*Overseas: 12 September 1944*Campaigns: Rhineland, Central Europe*Days of combat: 173...
(Ozarks), US Ninth Army.
- 1945: The machine factory Hegenscheidt relocated from RatiborRacibórzRacibórz is a town in southern Poland with 60,218 inhabitants situated in the Silesian Voivodeship , previously in Katowice Voivodeship...
to Erkelenz.
- 1972: The district Kreis Erkelenz was abolished, it became part of the Kreis Heinsberg. The area of the town Erkelenz was enlarged from 25,3 km² to 117,35 km².
Twin towns
Saint-JamesSaint-James
Saint-James is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.Saint-James is on the border between Normandy and Brittany.-Heraldry:-Demographics:-World War II:...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on the border between Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, near to Mont St. Michel.
Education
In Erkelenz there are ten primary schoolsEducation in Germany
The responsibility for the German education system lies primarily with the states while the federal government plays only a minor role. Optional Kindergarten education is provided for all children between three and six years of age, after which school attendance is compulsory, in most cases for...
, two secondary schools (Hauptschule
Hauptschule
A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
), 1 secondary modern school (Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
), two high schools Cornelius-Burgh-Gymnasium, Cusanus Gymnasium
Nicholas of Cusa
Nicholas of Kues , also referred to as Nicolaus Cusanus and Nicholas of Cusa, was a cardinal of the Catholic Church from Germany , a philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and an astronomer. He is widely considered one of the great geniuses and polymaths of the 15th century...
), one business college (Berufskolleg des Kreises Heinsberg in Erkelenz) and one school for persons with learning disabilities.
Transportation
- Motorway Bundesautobahn 46
- Motorway Bundesautobahn 61Bundesautobahn 61is an autobahn in Germany that connects the border to the Netherlands near Venlo in the northwest to the interchange with A 6 near Hockenheim. In 1965, this required a re-design of the Hockenheimring....
- Erkelenz stationErkelenz stationErkelenz station is a station in the town of Erkelenz in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It lies on the Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway and has been classified by Deutsche Bahn since January 2011 as a category 5 station. The station is served by the Wupper-Express and the...
on the Aachen–Mönchengladbach railway, operated by Deutsche BahnDeutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
Buildings
- Alte Rathaus - The old cityhall (1546 ADAnno Dominiand Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
) - Kirchturm - The steepleSteeple (architecture)A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
of the catholic church St. LambertusSaint Lambert (martyr)Saint Lambert was the bishop of Maastricht from about 670 until his death. Lambert was from a noble family of Maastricht, a protégé of his uncle, Bishop Theodard of Maastricht. When Theodard was murdered soon after 669, the councillors of Childeric II made Lambert bishop of Maastricht...
(1458 AD) - Burg - The castleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
(1377 AD)
Notable residents
- Leo HeinrichsLeo HeinrichsFather Leo Heinrichs, O.F.M. was a German-born Roman Catholic priest of the Franciscan Order. While assigned at St...
(1867–1908), Roman Catholic priest of the Franciscan Order - Dickie Peterson (1946–2009), co-founder of heavy metal band Blue CheerBlue CheerBlue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
, who lived in Germany for extensive periods. Died in Erkelenz. - Lewis HoltbyLewis HoltbyLewis Holtby is a German footballer who plays for FC Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga.-Early career:Holtby began his career at age four with Sparta Gerderath. When he was eleven years old he moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach...
German footballer of English descent currently playing for FSV Mainz 05 on loan from Schalke 04. - Michael BauerMichael Bauer (artist)Michael Bauer is an artist based in Cologne.Bauer has shown his paintings in many group exhibitions including “Das Kabinet” at Galerie Hammelehle und Ahrens , Cologne, “Superschloss” at Stadtische Galerie , Wolfsburg and “Brotherslasher” . He represented by Marc Foxx in Los Angeles and Hotel in...
, the artist, was born here in 1973.