Erkelenz
Federal state	North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region	Cologne
District	Heinsberg
Population	45,279 NA (2005)
Area	117.35 km²
Population density	386/km²
Elevation	92 m
Coordinates	51°4′ N 6°19′ E
Postal code	41812
Area code	02431
Licence plate code	HS
Mayor	Peter Jansen (CDU)
Website	erkelenz.de

Erkelenz is a town in Rhineland, in the state North Rhine-Westphalia, in the rural district (Kreis) Heinsberg, has 45279 inhabitants (May 2005) and covers an area of 117,35 Km². Image File history File links Sin_escudo. ... Image File history File links Lage_der_Stadt_Erkelenz_in_Deutschland. ... Germany is a Federal Republic made up of 16 States, known in German as Länder (transliterated as Laender in English, singular Land). ... North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Nordrhein-Westfalen or short: NRW) is - in population and economic output - the largest Federal State of Germany. ... A Regierungsbezirk is an administrative region of Germany, a subdivision of certain federal states (Bundesländer). ... Cologne is one of the five Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the south-west of the country. ... There are 439 German districts, administrative units in Germany. ... Heinsberg is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... -1... Basic Definition In geography, the elevation of a geographic location is its height above mean sea level (or some other fixed point). ... See Cartesian coordinate system or Coordinates (elementary mathematics) for a more elementary introduction to this topic. ... German Postleitzahl map of the first two digits Postal codes in Germany, known as Postleitzahl (pl. ... see also Telephone numbering plan of Germany for further codes including service numbers, cell phones etc. ... German car number plates show the place where the car carrying them is registered. ... A mayor (from the Latin maÄ«or, meaning larger,greater) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The front page of the English Wikipedia Website. ... Main street in Bastrop, Texas, a small town A town is a residential community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... The Rhineland (Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany, although some consider the lands to the east of the river culturally distinct, jovially referring to them as Schäl Sick; the bad or wrong side... North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Nordrhein-Westfalen or short: NRW) is - in population and economic output - the largest Federal State of Germany. ... There are 439 German districts, administrative units in Germany. ... Heinsberg is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...

Geography

Erkelenz is situated in the lowland of the "Niederrheinische Bucht". The area is covered by loess, a very fertile soil. The landscape is called "Börde" and is plain. The agriculture is very productive. Loess in Hungary has travelled by wind from Asia This article is about the geologic material, for the statistical technique see Loess curve. ... Soil is material capable of supporting plant life. ...

River

The Niers River has his sources at Kuckum and Keyenberg. Niers is a river in Germany and the Netherlands, tributary to the river Meuse. ...

Neighboring towns

From North to West to south to East :

Town of Wegberg (district Heinsberg), district-free city Mönchengladbach, Municipality of Jüchen (district Rhein-Kreis Neuss), Municipality of Titz (district Düren), Town of Linnich (district Düren), Town of Hückelhoven (district Heinsberg), Town of Wassenberg (district Heinsberg) Wegberg is a town in the rural districht Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Heinsberg is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Mönchengladbach is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Jüchen is a village and a municipality in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Neuss is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Titz is a village and a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Düren is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Linnich is a town and a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Hückelhoven is a town and a municipality in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... Wassenberg is a town and a municipality in the district Heinsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...

Villages and hamlets of the town

In the area ot the city are 45 villages and hamlets. A village is a human settlement commonly found in rural areas. ... A hamlet is (usually — see below) a small settlement, too small or unimportant to be considered a village. ...

Bellinghoven, Berverath, Borschemich, Commerden, Etgenbusch, Fronderath, Geneiken, Genhof, Genfeld, Genehen, Gerderath, Gerderhahn, Golkrath, Granterath, Grambusch, Hetzerath, Holzweiler, Houverath, Houverather Heide, Hoven, Immerath, Katzem, Kaulhausen, Keyenberg Kleinbouslar, Kückhoven, Kuckum, Lentholt, Lövenich, Lützerath, Matzerath, Mennekrath, Moorheide, Neuhaus, Oberwestrich, Oerath, Pesch, Scheidt, Schwanenberg, Tenholt, Terheeg, Unterwestrich, Venrath, Vossem, Wockerath

Brown coal open-pit mining

In the future the brown coal open-pit mining called Garzweiler II will expand from the area of the towns Juechen and Gevenbroich ( district Rhein Kreis Neuss) and dig in the area of Erkelenz. Villages have to resettle. Coal Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by mining. ... El Chino, located near Silver City, New Mexico, is an open-pit copper mine Open-pit mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow. ... Neuss is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is parted horizontally. The upper part is blue, and contains the golden lion of the duchy of Guelders (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. A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. ... For the present province also called Guelders in English, see Gelderland. ... Binomial name Mespilus germanica L. The Medlar is a large shrub or small tree, and the name of the fruit of this tree. ...

History

966 Erkelenz was first mentioned in a document as Herclinze, 1118 as Erkelenze.

1326 Erkelenz received town rights from the count of Guelders. (1339 the noble man became duke.) The area of Erkelenz was an exclave of the duchy of Guelders in the duchy of Jülich. The town belonged to the Upper Quarter Roermond. Look up Count in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Countess redirects here. ... For the present province also called Guelders in English, see Gelderland. ... D is Bs exclave, but is not an enclave. ... The Duchy of Jülich was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in present Germany (part of North Rhine-Westphalia) and the Netherlands (part of Limburg). ... Roermond is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands. ...

1543 The Spanish Netherlands (Spanish Habsburg) got Erkelenz. Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ...

1713 After the war of the spanish succession the duke of Jülich, who was also prince of palatine (Pfalz-Neuburg) received the town. Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain. ... The term duke is a title of nobility which refers to the sovereign male ruler of a Continental European duchy, to a nobleman of the highest grade of the British peerage, or to the highest rank of nobility in various other European countries, including Portugal, Spain and France (in Italy... The term prince (the female form is princess), from the Latin root princeps, when used for a member of the highest aristocracy, has several fundamentally different meanings - one generic, and several types of titles. ... See Palatine Hill for geography of Rome. ...

1794 France captured the area, Erkelenz belonged to this state and became the capital of the district Canton Erkelenz in the Roer (département). A canton is a territorial subdivision of a country, e. ... Roer is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Germany and the Netherlands. ...

1815 After the defeat of Napoleon Erkelenz became part of Prussia. The district was now called Kreis Erkelenz. For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: Prūsa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad...

1818/1819 The medieval walls and gates of the town were demolished. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...

1852 The railway Aachen-Düsseldorf was built Aachen Cathedral Printen Figurine at Aachen Cathedral Top Floor of Aachen Cathedral Tree-lined boulevard in Aachen Typical Aachen street with early 20th century Gründerzeit houses Aachen (French Aix-la-Chapelle, Dutch Aken, Latin Aquisgranum, Ripuarian Oche) is a spa city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the border... Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and (together with Cologne and the Ruhr Area) the economic center of Northwestern Germany. ...

1897 The engineer Anton Raky established a drilling machine factory, today WIRTH Group. A drill is a tool with a rotating drill bit used for drilling holes in various materials. ...

1938 The synagogue was desecrated. Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ...

26th February 1945 Erkelenz was conquered by the 407th infantry regiment of the U.S. 102nd Infantry Division (Ozarks), US Ninth Army. A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ... The 102nd Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War II. World War II Activated: 15 September 1942. ... The US Ninth Army was one of the main US combat commands used during the campaign in northwest Europe in 1944 and 1945. ...

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. A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ...

Town twinning

Saint James in France, at the border between Brittany and Normandy, in the near of Mont St. Michel. Saint James can refer to the following: Several men mentioned in the New Testament, whose various epithets and euphemisms cause some uncertainties: James, son of Zebedee, an apostle, brother of John the Apostle; also called Saint James the Great. ... National motto: Kentoch mervel eget bezañ saotret (Breton: Rather dead than soiled) Official languages French Capitals Rennes and Nantes Largest city Nantes Area -Total 27 208 Km² km² Population -Total (2004) 4,198,500 Currency Euro (€) (EUR) Time zone UTC, Summer: UTC +2 National emblem Ermine Patron saints St. ... Flag of Normandy Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... Mont-Saint-Michel: sheep graze on the reclaimed pré-salé or salt meadow (2004) Mont Saint Michel is a small rocky islet, roughly one kilometer from the north coast of France at the mouth of the Couesnon River, near Avranches in Normandy, close to the border of Brittany. ...

Transportation

motorway Bundesautobahn 46 Bundesautobahn 46 (translates from German as Federal Motorway 46, short form Autobahn 46, abbreviated as BAB 46 or A 46) is an Autobahn in Germany. ...

motorway Bundesautobahn 61 Map of the A 61 in Germany Bundesautobahn 61 (BAB 61 or A 61) is an German Autobahn that links the border to the Netherlands near Venlo in the northwest to the Hockenheim intersection (A 6). ...

railwaystaton of the Deutsche Bahn Germanys main train operator, the Deutsche Bahn AG (German Railway Corporation, also known as DB or DBAG) provides passenger and freight service via federally owned tracks. ...

Buildings

Das Alte Rathaus - The old cityhall (1546 AD) A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special_purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... Anno Domini (In the Year of the Lord), abbreviated as AD or A.D. defines an epoch based on the traditionally-reckoned year of the birth (or actually Incarnation) of Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Der Kirchturm - The steeple of the catholic church St. Lambertus (1458 AD)-1... The Roman Catholic Church believes its founding was based on Jesus appointment of Saint Peter as the primary church leader, later Bishop of Rome. ... Saint Lambert (c. ...

Die Burg - The castle (1377 AD) The main gatehouse of Harlech Castle, Wales. ...

Museum

In the village Loevenich exists a fire museum

• http://www.rheinisches-feuerwehrmuseum.de/

External links

• Official webpage (German & English & French & Dutch)
• Private, informative website (German & English)