Roetgen () is a municipality in the district of Aachen, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Geography

Roetgen is located approximately 16 km (10 mi) south-east of Aachen, near the border with

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. It is in the north of the High Fens-Eifel Nature Park on the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

stream which rises a few kilometres to the south. Between Roetgen and Rott is the Dreilägerbach Reservoir, which is fed by the Dreilägerbach stream and the artificially Schleebachgraben and Hasselbachgraben ditches. The attached

waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. The ...

supplies large parts of Aachen and the Dutch town of

Kerkrade Kerkrade ( Ripuarian: ; li, Kirkraoj; german: Kerkrade or ''Kirchrath'') is a town and a municipality in the southeast of Limburg; the southernmost province of the Netherlands. It forms part of the Parkstad Limburg agglomeration. Kerkrade is th ...

with

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...

. The parish of Roetgen includes the villages of Roetgen, Rott and Mulartshütte, which is the oldest part of Roetgen. To the northwest is the borough of Aachen with its quarters of

Kornelimünster Kornelimünster ( ksh, Mönster) is a town in the rural ''Münsterländchen'' area of Kornelimünster/Walheim, a district of Aachen, Germany. History The Kornelimünster Abbey was founded in 814 on the Inde River by Benedict of Aniane (750– ...

and Walheim, to the northeast is the town of Stolberg with its quarters of Venwegen and Zweifall, to the southeast is the Simmerath parish of Lammersdorf. To the west, on the far side of the German-Belgian

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

lies the town of

Eupen Eupen (, ; ; formerly ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border ( Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the " High Fe ...

and the municipalities of

Raeren Raeren () is a municipality of east Belgium located in the Walloon province of Liège. It was part of Germany until the First World War, after which it became part of Belgium. It is one of several towns in eastern Belgium which predominantly spe ...

, whose parish of Petergensfeld borders immediately on Roetgen north of Charliers Mill. Roetgen is attractive for commuters as it is already part of the

Eifel The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

and yet is still close in proximity to Aachen.

History

In World War II, Roetgen was the first German town to fall under American control. American forces arrived in the town on 12 September 1944 at 14.30. The city was the location of the

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of me ...

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, c ...

Private

Eddie Slovik Edward Donald Slovik (February 18, 1920January 31, 1945) was a United States Army soldier during World War II and the only American soldier to be court-martialled and executed for desertion since the American Civil War. Although over 21,000 Amer ...

in November 1944, notable because of all US military personnel in World War II, only Slovik was ever

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...

for

desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), whic ...

. On March 13, 2019, Roetgen was hit by a low-end F3

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

. The tornado caused moderate to severe damage to buildings and trees. Vehicles were also overturned and flipped. 5 people were injured by the tornado.

Division of the municipality

Roetgen consists of three districts: * Roetgen * Rott * Mulartshütte Mulartshütte is the oldest settlement of the three.

Sights

* St. Mary's Chapel (''Marienkapelle'', 1636–1660) is the surviving part of the first Roman Catholic parish church in Roetgen. It was partially demolished when the Neogothic St. Hubert's Church (1854–1856) was built. It was consecrated to Saint

Hubertus Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727 A.D.) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Liège in 708 A.D. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the Ardennes", he wa ...

of Liège, the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

and

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

. * In Roetgen's town hall there is a sculpture of a weaver by Hermann Pier (1925–1985); outside on the forecourt is a replica. It has historical as well as artistic value, because this craft was an important part of Roetgen's economic history. * Charliers Mill (substructure of rubble stone, 1768) is an old

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the productio ...

(today a domestic residence) on the

stream. In the countryside behind the mill, with its pastures, rows of beech rows and ponds runs Stage 1 of the

Eifelsteig The Eifelsteig is a long-distance hiking trail in the Eifel, Germany. It leads in 15 stages of from the Aachen district Kornelimünster to Trier and is maintained by the Eifel Club. File:Eifelsteig Kornelimünster.JPG, Kornelimünster Kor ...

hiking trail.

Gallery

Image:Roetgen, kerk1 2008-05-03 15.10.JPG, St. Hubert's Roman Catholic Church File:Roetgen Marienkapelle.JPG, St. Mary's Chapel Image:Roetgen, kerk2 foto8 2011-03-23 15.41.JPG, The Protestant church

References

External links

* {{Authority control Aachen (district)