Geilenkirchen (, Ripuarian: ) is a town in the district Heinsberg, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is situated near the border with the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, on the river

Wurm Wurm or Würm may refer to: Places * Wurm (Rur), a river in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany * Würm (Amper), a river in Bavaria, southeastern Germany ** Würm glaciation, an Alpine ice age, named after the Bavarian river * Würm (Nagold ...

, approx. 15 km (9.3 mi) north-east of

Heerlen Heerlen (; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is the third largest settlement proper in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Measured as municipality, it is the f ...

and 20 km (12.4 mi) north of

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

. It was the site of

Operation Clipper During the World War II, Second World War, Operation Clipper was an Allied offensive by the British XXX Corps (United Kingdom), XXX Corps (which included the American 84th Division (United States), 84th Infantry Division) to reduce the Geilenk ...

in November 1944. The town gives its name to nearby

NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen (E-3A Component) is located near Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the main operating base of the NATO Boeing E-3 Sentry Component, one of two operational elements of the NATO Airborne Early Warn ...

. The base is home to seventeen

E-3A The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weathe ...

airborne early warning and control An airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system is an airborne radar early warning system designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles and other incoming projectiles at long ranges, as well as performing command and control of the ...

aircraft flown by aircrew from over fourteen nations. On 24 July 2019 the highest temperature ever recorded in Germany was measured in Geilenkirchen at during a

heat wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

that affected much of Europe. The record was broken the following day when temperature in

Lingen Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2024, its population was 59,896 with 2,262 people who had registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is located on the river Ems ...

reached .

Born in Geilenkirchen

* Marlon Bröhr (born 1974), CDU politician *

Ludolf Camphausen Gottfried Ludolf Camphausen (10 January 1803 – 3 December 1890) was a Rhenish banker and politician who served as a Prime Minister of Prussia. Life During the Revolutions of 1848 in Germany, Ludolf Camphausen stepped suddenly from his ba ...

(1803–1890), banker, Prussian minister president in the revolutionary year 1848 *

Otto von Camphausen Otto von Camphausen (21 October 1812 – 18 May 1896) was a Prussian statesman. Biography Camphausen was born at Hünshoven, part of Geilenkirchen on the right bank of the River Wurm, in the Rhine Province. Having studied jurisprudence and politi ...

(1812–1896), Prussian Finance Minister * Christoph Dohmen (born 1957), professor of the Old Testament at the University of Regensburg * Hans Meyer (1900–1962), German physician and ministerial official * Max Wilms (1867–1918), German physician and surgeon

References

Heinsberg (district) Districts of the Rhine Province {{Heinsberg-geo-stub