Heimbach
| Heimbach | ||
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  Heimbach | ||
Location of Heimbach within Düren district 
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| Coordinates: 50°37′59″N 06°28′59″E / 50.63306°N 6.48306°ECoordinates: 50°37′59″N 06°28′59″E / 50.63306°N 6.48306°E | ||
| Country | Germany | |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia | |
| Admin. region | Köln | |
| District | Düren | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Bert Züll (CDU) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 64.8 km2 (25.0 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 227 m (745 ft) | |
| Population (2012-12-31)[1] | ||
| • Total | 4,359 | |
| • Density | 67/km2 (170/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
| Postal codes | 52396 | |
| Dialling codes | 02446, 02425 | |
| Vehicle registration | DN | |
| Website | www.heimbach-eifel.de | |
Heimbach is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 20 km south of Düren. Heimbach is the city with the smallest number of residents in North Rhine-Westphalia. Parts of the city are Blens (290 residents), Düttling (80 residents), Hasenfeld (1200 residents), Hausen (290 residents), Hergarten (600 residents) and Vlatten (1000 residents). The city has included these parts since 1972. Before 1972 these villages had their own administrations. Between Hausen and Hergarten there is located a small housing estate called Walbig, and between Hasenfeld and Schmidt (City of Nidegen) there is located a housing estate called Buschfelder Hof, which former belonged to Blens.
Heimbach and its Hengenbach Castle was the seat of the local noble family which has inherited County of Jülich in 1207 and Heimbach was attached to the said County (and later Duchy) since 1237.
After the fire of 1687 the city of Heimbach was rebuilt because it was necessary to house the town's population; however, the castle of Hengebach was left a ruin until 1904 when restoration work began. Now restored, the castle is owned and operated as a tourist attraction by the city of Heimbach. The castle itself is located on a rock in the middle of Heimbach. Today it is used as a restaurant and a location for public events. There are also castles in the villages Blens, Hausen and Vlatten, which are now part of Heimbach.
Heimbach is an important town for pilgrims. As there is the monastery of Mariawald, too, there are many pilgrims, who want to see the statue of Mary in the church of Heimbach.
The Mayor of Heimbach is Bert Züll (CDU). The Council of Heimbach contains 11 members of the Christian Democratic Union, 3 members of the SPD, one member of the Green Party, 3 members of the FDP and 2 members of the UWV.
Heimbach is a popular town for tourists. Most of them come from the near cities Cologne, Aachen or Düsseldorf and there are many who come from the Netherlands. Most of them just visit Heimbach for a day. The most important objects of interest are the National Parc Eifel, the power house built in style of Art Nouveau, the water supply dam of Rur, the monastery of Mariawald and Hengebach castle. There is a famous series of concerts called Spannungen which is placed in the power house. Musicians as Sharon Cam, Lars Vogt or Sabine Meyer have already taken part in these concerts.
From the villages of Hausen and Blens, which are located in the North of Heimbach you have a great view on a row of great rocks. Earlier they were open for climbing, but to conserve the animals there they are now part of a nature conservancy area. A lot of people also spend their time in Heimbach on one of the lot of campgrounds around Heimbach. There are impressive ones in the shades of those rocks.
Most residents of Heimbach are Roman Catholics. So there are churches in Heimbach (St. Clemens), Hausen (St. Nikolaus), Vlatten (St. Dinysius) and Hergarten (St. Martin) and chapels in Blens (St. Georg), Hasenfeld (St. Nepomuk), Düttling (St. Apollonia) and Vlatten (St. Michael).
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heimbach. |
- ↑ "Amtliche Bevölkerungszahlen". Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW (in German). 31 July 2013.
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