Würselen

Würselen
Würselen
Town
	Saint Sebastian Church
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location of Würselen within Aachen district
	Würselen Würselen
	Coordinates: 50°49′N 6°08′E / 50.817°N 6.133°E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Aachen
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Roger Nießen (CDU)
Area
• Total	34.385 km2 (13.276 sq mi)
Elevation	191 m (627 ft)
Population (2023-12-31)
• Total	38,750
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC 01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC 02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	52146
Dialling codes	02405
Vehicle registration	AC
Website	www.wuerselen.de

Würselen (German pronunciation: [ˈvʏʁzələn] ^ⓘ, Ripuarian: Wöschele [ˈβœʃələ]) is a town in the borough of Aachen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Geography

Würselen lies north of the city of Aachen in the immediate vicinity of the tripoint of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Its neighbouring settlements are, in clockwise order, the towns of Herzogenrath, Alsdorf and Eschweiler and the city of Aachen. Würselen is part of Aachen's Nordkreis quarter and is the only part of the city borough without external boundaries.

Subdivisions

As part of the administrative reform in North Rhine-Westphalia and the related 1971 Aachen Act, the territory of the borough of Würselen was expanded in 1972 to incorporate the hitherto independent municipalities of Bardenberg and Broichweiden. Since then Würselen has consisted of the following quarters:

These are subdivided in turn into the following parishes:

Würselen:

Bissen
Dobach
Elchenrath
Grevenberg
Markt-Preck
Morsbach
Oppen-Haal
Scherberg
Schweilbach
Teut-Siedlung

Broichweiden:

Broich
Euchen
Linden-Neusen
St. Jobs
Vorweiden
Weiden
Wersch

Bardenberg:

Coat of arms

The coat of arms show the eagle of the coat of arms of Aachen in the topleft corner. The second quarter shows the coat of arms of the Rhine Province, however the bend also represents the river Wurm which flows through the town. The mining tools in the third quarter remember the mining history of the town, which dates back till the 12th century. The cross in the fourth quarter is the symbol of the prince-bishopric of Cologne, as the town belonged to the archdiocese of Cologne until the creation of the diocese of Aachen.

History

During the time of the Roman Empire, Roman soldiers were based at Würselen, on an area today known as "Mauerfeldchen" (small mural field).

The first mention of the town was as Wormsalt in 870. Between 1265-69, Duke Wilhelm IV of Jülich built the castle of Wilhelmstein. Since 1616 the town has been known as Würselen. In 1972, the neighbouring municipalities of Bardenberg and Broichweiden were incorporated into the town.

Twin towns – sister cities

Würselen is twinned with:^[3]

Hildburghausen, Germany
Morlaix, France
Réo, Burkina Faso
Campagnatico, Italy
Ruichang, China

Notable people

Jakob Dautzenberg (1897–1979), politician (KPD), resistance fighter against national socialism, Reichstag deputy
Adolf Wamper (1901–1977), sculptor, created the Black Madonna in the War Crimes Camp 'Golden Mile'
Jupp Derwall (1927–2007), football player and manager
Jupp Kapellmann (born 1949), footballer
Martin Schulz (born 1955), former leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, former President of the European Parliament, was Mayor of Würselen
Nadine Capellmann (born 1965), dressage rider
Der Graf (born 1970s), frontman and songwriter of the band Unheilig
Roland Bartetzko (born 1970), soldier, charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism
Torsten Frings (born 1976), footballer
Norman Langen (born 1985), percussionist
Yannick Gerhardt (born 1994), footballer
Achim Großmann (1947-2023), politician