Town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
"Duren" redirects here. For the Southeast Asian fruit, see
Durian
.
Town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Duren
(
German pronunciation:
[?dyː??n]
;
[3]
Ripuarian
: Dure) is a town in
North Rhine-Westphalia
,
Germany
, between
Aachen
and
Cologne
, on the river
Rur
.
History
[
edit
]
Roman era
[
edit
]
The area of Duren was part of
Gallia Belgica
, more specifically the territory of the
Eburones
, a people who were described as both
Belgae
and
Germani
.
It was conquered by the
Roman Republic
under
Julius Caesar
and became part of
Germania inferior
.
Duren became a supply area for the rapidly growing Roman city of
Cologne
(Roman name Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium). Furthermore, a few important Roman roads skirt Duren (including the road from
Cologne
to
Julich
and
Tongeren
and the road from Cologne to
Zulpich
and
Trier
). By the 4th century, the area was settled by the
Ripuarian Franks
.
The name
villa duria
occurred the first time in the Frankish Annals in the year 747.
Frankish king
Pippin the Short
often visited Duren in the 8th century and held a few important conventions there. The Franks made of Duren a royal palace, from which the name
Palatine
(
Pfalz
in German) is derived.
Charlemagne
sojourned a few times there. Due to the frequent visits of Charlemagne, a few markets sprang up, such as the corn, cattle, wood, chicken, and butter markets, all of which contributed to Duren's development. The castle was built at the place where, since 1991, the
Saint Anne
Church is located.
Middle Ages
[
edit
]
Duren obtained
city rights
in the early 13th century. Around 1200, the construction of the city wall was started, which includes 12 towers and 5 gates. The gates faced all directions: in the north, the
Philippstor
and the
Wirteltor
, in the east the
Kolntor
(Cologne gate), in the south the
Obertor
and in the west the
Holztor
(wooden gate). There are still ruins of the gates today.
The chiseler Leonhard stole a small box with the relic of
Saint Anne
out of the Mainzer Stiftskirche St. Stephan in 1501 and brought it to Duren.
Pope Julius II
decided on March 18, 1506, that Duren could keep the remains. They were kept in the
Martinskirche
(church of
Saint Martin
) which was renamed the
Annakirche
(church of
Saint Anne
) in 1505. (Probably the church was renamed much later, because in the 19th century it was still called sometimes parish church of the holy Martinus). Saint Anne became the
patron saint
of Duren. Every year, the
saint's day
of Saint Anne (July 26) is celebrated for one week with the Anna octavos and the Anna parish fair, one of the biggest folk festivals of
Germany
.
17th to 19th century
[
edit
]
In 1642, Duren was embroiled in the
Thirty Years' War
. Opposing troops destroyed the city. After the war has finally ended in 1648,
plague
broke out and caused many lives to be lost. A second plague epidemic broke out in 1665. Due to the various attacks on the debilitated city, Duren was destroyed again in 1679. In this time, the settlement Miesheim was destroyed, never to be rebuilt.
Towards the end of the year 1755 in the area around Duren and
Aachen
began a series of
earthquakes
, which reached its peak on
February 18, 1756
with an earthquake with the strength 8 on the
Mercalli scale
. The series of earthquakes affected all of Europe, most famously the
1755 Lisbon earthquake
.
The businesses in the area of Duren was affected since the 15th century by the
drapery
and metal industry. Since the beginning of the 17th century, paper industry had settled here, advantaged by the exceptionally
soft water
of the
Rur
. Rutger von Scheven built the first
paper mill
in Duren. In 1812, there were already 17 paper factories, 11 cloth- and blanket factories, an iron
rolling mill
or
slitting mill
and two
iron foundries
.
In the year 1794, Duren was occupied by
French revolutionary troops
. From 1798 until 1814, Duren was the main city of the same named canton in the arrondissement
Aachen
of the French
Roerdepartements
(from the name of the River Rur (Roer) and
departement
). After the
Congress of Vienna
in 1815, Duren was ceded to the
Kingdom of Prussia
and was subsequently administered within the
Rhine Province
.
20th century
[
edit
]
By 1900, Duren was among Germany's richest cities (with 42 millionaires and 93 factories) and had a population of 27,168. By comparison, fewer than 5,000 people had lived in Duren a century earlier.
The city of Duren was located on the main
fighting front
during the
Allied
invasion of Germany in
World War II
. During 1944 and 1945, the protracted and bloody
Battle for Hurtgenwald
was fought on Duren's district area, and on November 16, 1944, Duren was completely destroyed by Allied
air bombings
. Approximately 22,000 people lived in Duren at that time, and 3,000 of them died during the bombing. Those who survived were
evacuated
to central Germany. Destroyed buildings included the
Stadttheater Duren
(1907), designed in
Jugendstil
by
Carl Moritz
.
By 1939, the population had risen to over 45,000, but then fell to just 3,806 by June 1945 due to the effects of World War II. After the bombing of November 16, 1944, on March 1, 1945, only four German residents lived in the city, including forced laborers etc. there were 21 people. On April 1, the number of inhabitants had risen to 180 and on May 1, 1945, there were already 1218 people. In December 1945 the number increased to 25,000 inhabitants and in 1958 it was 45,000, the same number as before the war. Due to the incorporation of several places in the area, the city's population grew on January 1, 1972, by 35,522 to 89,087.
On February 25, 1945,
U.S.
troops crossed the
Rur
at Duren. After the war was over in the summer that year, many evacuated people came back to the destroyed city and started to rebuild their homes against the advice of the American troops. By June 1945, the population had risen to 3,806. Most of the architecture in Duren therefore dates from the 1950s.
Culture and points of interest
[
edit
]
The most famous museum of Duren is the Leopold Hoesch Museum. The in 1905 in
Baroque Revival architecture
erected building presents changing exhibitions of contemporary art. Since 1986, can also be seen artworks of the international Biennale PaperArt. Since 2006, is in the former nurses' home of the St. Augustinus Hospital Lendersdorf the Duren Carnival Museum. The most recent museum is the in 2009 founded Stadtmuseum Duren. This museum shows an exhibition of the local history.
Theatre and music
[
edit
]
The former Stadttheater Duren was opened in January 1907. In the bombing of November 16, 1944, the theatre was almost completely destroyed. Today cultural performances take place mainly at the
Haus der Stadt
. Since 2004 the multi-functional
Arena Kreis Duren
, which has around 2000 seats, serves as a venue for major concerts.
Buildings
[
edit
]
At the edge of the forest in the Niederau district lies
Burgau Castle
. The
water castle
ways inhabited by the Counts of
Heinsberg
at the beginning of the 14th Century. After it was destroyed in 1944, the restoration process lasted from 1979 to 1998.
In Theodor Heuss Park is the Bismarck Memorial, erected in 1892 to commemorate the most famous honorary citizen from Duren.
The town hall was inaugurated
[4]
in 1959. It now ranks as an example of 1950s architecture under
Cultural heritage management
.
Politics
[
edit
]
The current mayor of Duren is Frank Peter Ullrich of the
Social Democratic Party
(SPD) since 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:
Candidate
|
Party
|
First round
|
Second round
|
Votes
|
%
|
Votes
|
%
|
|
Frank Peter Ullrich
|
Social Democratic Party
|
10,641
|
36.1
|
14,853
|
69.8
|
|
Thomas Floßdorf
|
Christian Democratic Union
|
7,877
|
26.7
|
6,435
|
30.2
|
|
Maria Belka
|
Alliance 90/The Greens
|
6,724
|
22.8
|
|
Siegfried Fahl
|
Independent
|
2,166
|
7.3
|
|
Karl Cremer
|
Free Democratic Party
|
2,113
|
7.2
|
Valid votes
|
29,521
|
97.2
|
21,288
|
98.3
|
Invalid votes
|
837
|
2.8
|
364
|
1.7
|
Total
|
30,358
|
100.0
|
21,652
|
100.0
|
Electorate/voter turnout
|
69,324
|
43.8
|
69,257
|
31.3
|
Source: City of Duren (
1st round
,
2nd round
)
|
City council
[
edit
]
The Duren city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:
Religion
[
edit
]
- The most important church in the city is the Annakirche. The church was completely destroyed by bombing in 1944 and rebuilt in the 1950s under the guidance of the architect
Rudolf Schwarz
. Throughout the city there are 15 other Catholic parish and church communities, including in Arnoldsweiler.
[5]
- The most important Protestant church in Duren is the Christuskirche. At its inauguration in 1954, it possessed the highest freestanding
bell tower
in Germany.
[6]
- Up to the destruction of
Kristallnacht
, the
synagogue
was located in Schutzenstraße. In its place is now a stele from Duren artist Ruckriem.
[7]
Main sights
[
edit
]
- Burgau Castle
(German: Schloss Burgau)
- Dicker Turm
("Fat Tower"), a remain of the old city's fortifications
- Annakirche
(St. Anne Church)
- Marienkirche
(St. Mary Magdalene Church)
- Monument to
Bismarck
- Leopold Hoesch Museum
Emblem
[
edit
]
The emblem of the city of Duren is divided. It shows on the top a red castle, below that, a black eagle and in the lower half a black lion with a red tongue. The black eagle refers to the old history of Duren as a royal city and
Reichsstadt
. In 1242?46 Duren was bonded to the dukes of Julich (later,
Napoleon
was also Duke of Julich). Their emblem was a lion passant, with open mouth and a red tongue.
Twin towns ? sister cities
[
edit
]
Duren is
twinned
with:
[8]
Media
[
edit
]
Duren has its own radio station (
Radio Rur
). The station broadcasts on 92.7 and 107.5 MHz, and on cable at 87.5 MHz. There are two daily newspapers (Durener Zeitung, Durener Nachrichten) and several weekly papers.
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Rabbi Isaac ben Meir of Duren (13th century rabbi), author of Shaarei Dura
- Karl Benrath
(1845?1924), Church historian
- Johann Bollig
(born 1821),
Pontifical Theologian
and advisor to
Pope Pius IX
- Marita Breuer
(born 1953), actress
- Manfred Donike
(1933?1995), cyclist
- Gert Engels
(born 1957), football coach
- John Engels
(born 1959), historian
- Simon Ernst
(born 1994), handball player
- Margot Eskens
(born 1939),
Schlager
singer
- Jerome Felton
(born 1987), American football player
- Gossen, Hermann Heinrich
(1810?1858), Prussian economist
- Georg Hamel
(1877?1954), mathematician
- Wilfried Hannes
(born 1957), football player
- Ute Hasse
(born 1963), swimmer, Olympic silver medal
- Rudolf Henke
(born 1954), MP
- Leopold Hoesch
(1820?1899), founder of Hoesch AG in
Dortmund
, and founder of the Leopold Hoesch Museum in Duren
- Friedrich Honigmann
(1841?1913), mining entrepreneur
- Gerd Hoppe
(born 1968), Evangelist
- Karin Jacobsen
(1924?1989), actress and screenwriter
- Harald Konopka
(born 1952), football player
- Karl Lauterbach
(born 1963), economist and politician
- Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet
(1805?1859), mathematician
- Michael Lentz
(born 1964), writer and musician
- Christoph Moritz
(born 1990), football player
- Kalle Pohl
(born 1951), comedian
- Eugen Prym
(1843?1913), orientalist and linguist
- Friedrich Prym
(1841?1915), mathematician and musician
- Sven Schaffrath
(born 1984), football player
- Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
(1939?2024), football player
- Max von Schillings
(1868?1933), conductor and composer
- Sybille Schmitz
(1909?1955), German film star
- Rudolf Schock
(1915?1986),
opera
singer
- Rudolf Schoeller
(1902?1978), Swiss racing driver
- Harald Schumacher
(born 1954), football player with
1. FC Koln
and
Germany national
- Hermann Schwarz
(1864?1951), philosopher
- Georg Stollenwerk
(born 1927), football player
- Klaus H. Carl
(born 1935), photographer
- Lars Vogt
(1970?2022), pianist
- Paul J. J. Welfens
(1957?2022), economist
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Duren
.
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