Jülich-Zülpicher Börde
The Jülich-Zülpicher Börde (also Niederrheinische Lössbörden ) is a landscape in the Rhineland in North Rhine-Westphalia on the northern edge of the Eifel . It forms the western part of the Lower Rhine Bay on the left bank of the Rhine without the actual Cologne Bay , from which it is separated by the mountain range of the Ville . It is divided into the Jülich Börde around Jülich in the north and the Zülpicher Börde around Zülpich in the south, which are separated from each other by the forest area of the Bürge and both represent the main natural units of the Lower Rhine Bay.
The Jülich-Zülpicher Börde comprises areas of the districts of Euskirchen , Düren , Rhein-Erft district and parts of the Rhein-Sieg district , the district of Heinsberg and the urban region of Aachen . The two stock exchanges are also known as the Rheinische Bördenzone .
The north of the Jülich Börde around Erkelenz is also known locally as the Erkelenz Börde .
Natural structure
In terms of nature , the Jülich and Zülpicher Börde represent main units (three-digit) and are divided into the following sub-units (decimal places):
- 55 (to 55 Lower Rhine Bay )
- 553 Zülpicher Börde (882.9 km²)
- 553.0 Rheinbach loess plate
- 553.00
- 553.01 Swist Bay
- 553.0 Rheinbach loess plate
- 553.1 Zülpich Eifel foreland
- 553.2 Upper Middle Erft Valley
- 553.3 Erper loess plate
- 553.4 Düren Rurn lowlands
- 553.5 Echtzer Loess Plate
- 553.6 Stockheim Forest
- 553 Zülpicher Börde (882.9 km²)
- 554 Jülich Börde (1081.8 km²)
- 554.0 The surety
- 554.1 Erfttal ( Lower Mittelerfttal and Erft estuary )
- 554.10 Bergheimer Erfttal (Lower Mittelerfttal)
- 554.11 Erftbruch (Lower Erft Valley )
- 554.12 Erftmündungstal
- 554.2 Eastern Jülich Börde
- 554.20 Rödinger Loess Plate
- 554.21 Jackerather Loess Threshold
- 554.22 Bedburdycker loess plate
- 554.23 Erkelenz loess plate
- 554.24 Baaler Riedelland
- 554.3 Rur-Inde-Tal ( Middle Rur Valley )
- 554.30
- 554.31 Lower Indetal
- 554.4 Western Jülich Börde
- 554.40 Aldenhovener Loess Plate ( Aldenhofen Plate )
- 554.41 Herzogenrath loess area
geology
The Lower Rhine Bay as a whole has lagged behind the uplift of the low mountain ranges and has disintegrated into individual tipped clods, whose fault lines, running parallel southeast-northwest with the waters often running along them, structure the landscape. A Börden landscape is characterized by fertile soils - often on loess . Especially in the Zülpich Börde, loess was deposited as aeolian sediment during the last cold period ( Vistula Ice Age ) on the northern edge of the Eifel or between the Eifel and Ville (loess plain). This loess is composed of the components clay, quartz and especially lime. In the subsequent warm period, deep, fertile brown soils and para-brown soils were created, which, in connection with favorable climatic conditions, allow very productive agricultural uses today.
climate
With the prevailing westerly winds, the Börde lies in the lee of the Eifel and is therefore drier and warmer than expected. The precipitation is only about 550-600 mm per year. At an altitude of around 120–160 m above sea level. An annual average temperature of 9–11 ° C is measured. The mean temperature during the 170–190 day growing season is 15–17 ° C.
vegetation
Despite the intensive agricultural use since Roman times, the loess plain of the Börden did not have the character of the flat, spacious and monotonous arable landscape that characterizes it today. Due to the mild maritime climate , still influenced by the North Sea , with an average rainfall of 750 millimeters, a dense oak - hornbeam forest was created in this area . At the beginning of our current era, the Börde was covered by a dense forest until man, through clearing over two millennia, created the landscape that we know today. In the 19th century the area was riddled yet of trees and smaller forests, of which many today Flurnamen testify. Today mostly monotonous agricultural areas determine the landscape. Remnants of the old trees or small wooded areas in depressions and geological faults (called fractures) have rarely been preserved. In the Erkelenz area, for example, only the Wahnenbusch remains as a small piece of forest. Some of these forest islands and breaklands were placed under protection with the Kerpen nature reserves .
Waters
Since the loess soil, which is up to 15 m thick, is a very good reservoir of water, there are only a few flowing waters in the Börde. Almost all of the rivers and streams that carry water flow from the edge of the Eifel and cross the Börde on their way to the Rhine or the Maas . Because of the inclination of the clods, the flowing waters are pushed towards the east and undercut the eastern slopes, which are therefore steep, while the western slopes are asymmetrically flat. The most important rivers are:
Other streams, such as the Malefinkbach , as well as the so-called leveling , usually only lead as a result of heavy rainfall when the loess soil is saturated, water. However, since some municipal sewage treatment plants discharge their treated wastewater into these waters, some of them are now always water-bearing. For example the Settericher Fließ, into which the wastewater from the city of Baesweiler is directed.
Lakes formed as a result of lignite mining in the remaining open pit holes . The villa lakes in the Rhineland Nature Park deserve a special mention.
Todays use
In addition to the cultivation of grain , the cultivation of sugar beet and, with less loess cover, of potatoes in the Börde is of great importance. Local processing by numerous sugar factories became less important due to concentration and market adjustments.
In addition to the agricultural use of lignite has tagebau partly caused significant landscape changes here in the 20th century. The last large forest area on the Börde, the Bürgewald (Hambach Forest), is currently falling victim to the Hambach opencast mine . The spoil dump of the Sophienhöhe opencast mine is visible from afar . Below Nörvenich in Isweiler Feld ( Erp / Irresheim ) there is still 1.396 billion m³ of lignite that has not yet been developed.
Since the 1990s, several wind farms have been built for the purpose of more environmentally friendly, resource-saving electricity generation.
The proximity to the metropolitan areas of Cologne / Bonn, Aachen, Neuss / Düsseldorf and Mönchengladbach leads to an increasing urban sprawl in the area around the edge. In addition, the villages that were demolished because of the opencast mine were rebuilt elsewhere in the Börde. In particular, the settlement areas around Bergheim , Kerpen , Erftstadt and Jülich have grown rapidly in recent decades. Part of the natural landscape between these cities was combined in the Rhineland Nature Park and made available to tourists as a recreational area for the nearby metropolitan areas.
history
Stone age
Around 5300 BC The first Neolithic farmers settled in the Jülich-Zülpicher Börde (so-called Bandkeramische Kultur ). They began to clear the forest to make space for their settlements and fields, on which they cultivated the spelled wheat varieties emmer , spelled and einkorn . The Neolithic rubbish pits found and examined during excavations contained not only the remains of grain, peas and lentils but also those of the oil fruits flax and poppy seeds. The settlers collected wild fruits that nature offered them to supplement their diet. They also kept cattle, sheep and pigs.
In July 2011, the Rhineland Regional Association announced that the well located in 2006 in the run-up to the Hambach open-cast lignite mine near Merzenich - Morschenich from the time of the band ceramics was excavated to a depth of 15 meters in 2011. The oak planks of the 7,100-year-old well, which were preserved from a depth of 13 meters through the groundwater, were lifted together with the lower floor of the well in a block recovery so that an intensive examination of the contents can be carried out without being driven by the excavators of the opencast mine.
Flint had been mined in open pits since the band ceramic era. An extensive raw material extraction in civil engineering and opencast mining. Many of the tools found from this period come, for example, from the mine (open-cast mine) on the Lousberg on the northern outskirts of Aachen. At that time there was a brisk trade in Lousberg flint.
Celts
2000 years later, the Celts settled in this area . Pressed by their eastern neighbors, the Teutons , they had to retreat further and further west. For a long time the Rhine formed the eastern border and at the same time a protection from the Germanic tribes.
The Celts referred to their non-Celtic neighbors as "Teutons", who differed from them in their language, religion and customs. The Celts, especially the Eburones who lived here , were culturally and technically highly developed. One already knew the potter's wheel and the four-wheeled cart. They minted coins and wielded the long sword in battle.
Romans
In 54 BC The Romans had mobilized a huge force to destroy the Eburones. But they shouldn't be able to do that so easily. They did not feel comfortable in the jungle-like thicket of this area and were repulsed. From the area of the Meuse , at that time a forestless area, Julius Caesar led in 51 BC. BC again his legions against the Eburones and defeated them in a bitter battle.
Trade flourished under the protection of Roman military rule. The two main Roman roads starting from Cologne to Boulogne via Jülich, the Via Belgica and to Trier via Zülpich, the Agrippastraße Cologne-Trier , cross the Börde. Parts of their routes are still in use today. Roman settlements and stations were founded, numerous farms (villa rustica) were built on the fertile land. Numerous secondary roads were built to further develop the area.
By the 2nd century AD, the number of Roman settlements in this area rose to at least 300. The numerous archaeological finds testify to the density of settlement at that time.
At the end of antiquity, the region began to become Christian. Christianization for the Jülich area is traced back to the hermit Irmund von Mündt, who lived around the 4th century .
Francs
After the year 464 the area of the left Lower Rhine was ruled by the Franks. There were always wild feuds between the members of the royal family. Clovis I , ruler of the Salfranken (481–511), cleared all of his royal tribal cousins out of the way and united the Franks . The conquest of the Franks did not take place in closed tribes. They came as families and groups to settle here. As a rule, they avoided the Roman settlements that were found, which, insofar as they were not yet destroyed, gradually fell into disrepair. They built wooden huts, consisting of a house and several farm buildings. They practiced agriculture and animal husbandry. This area was fenced in and designated as a "pacified district" and was considered a special property of the "free franc". Around these still widely scattered farms, small clusters of smaller houses formed, the owners of which were in a working relationship with the farm owner. The forest, on the other hand, was used equally by all neighbors and was later called the " common land ". The free Franks, who owned land in the same area, were considered neighbors. The Franks also began to clear the forest and cultivate the land on a larger scale. The place names with the ending -rath come from this time. Such as Immerath , Mennekrath, Wockerath, Granterath , to name a few.
King Clovis divided the Franconian Empire into Gaue , whereby our area belonged to the Rurgau . At the head of a Gaus stood the Count . He was elected by the people in meetings and later appointed by the king. These districts were divided into hundreds , the head of which was the " Schultheiss " or "Schulze". All free people could come to the meetings and have a say in the decisions.
middle Ages
At the time of Charlemagne , the title " Duke " was created. The duke was a privileged "suitor" to whom the king gave a good for life. For this favor, this " feudal man " had to commit himself to military service with him. This fiefdom was passed on to the male descendants. Such a duke also ruled Jülich in later years . (The county of Jülich was first mentioned in 847 under the name “ Jülichgau ”.) It was also Charlemagne who recognized the obligation to tithe the church.
Around the 11th century, the Counts of Jülich ruled the old Jülichgau. At that time they were still feudal men of the Archbishop of Cologne . At the end of the 12th century, the archbishops of Cologne had achieved an important position of power and primacy among the Rhenish territorial lords. Through the years of fighting between the German kings and the popes for spiritual and secular supremacy, the bishops and archbishops had increased their power and influence. The Archbishop of Cologne Siegfried von Westerburg tried to expand the Archbishopric of Cologne even further. Naturally, this endeavor led to an argument with the neighbors. The neighbors were Rhenish counts, who also tried constantly to expand their sphere of influence. At the same time, their efforts were aimed at both the release from the superiority of the Archbishops of Cologne and the elevation of their county to a duchy. These include: Berg , Jülich , Kleve and Geldern .
In 1359 the Jülich counts had finally achieved the emperor's appointment as duke. However, this did not change the territorial boundaries of the region, which remained almost the same from the Battle of Worringen in 1288 until the French occupation in 1794, even if the Jülich ducal family died out and the county later belonged to the Palatinate area.
Most of the Jülich Börde belonged to the Duchy of Jülich, while smaller enclaves belonged to the territory of the Archdiocese of Cologne or even to the Netherlands.
Modern times
Even if the dukes of Jülich were initially quite open to the Reformation, the imperial troops in front of the walls of Jülich made it clear to the duke that he should refrain from a Reformation in his territory. The Protestant congregations were tolerated but not supported.
The Thirty Years' War also covered the Börde with the passage of troops, but not to the extent that it happened in other parts of Germany. The Börde was more of a transit area than a battlefield.
From 1794 on, the Rhineland on the left bank of the Rhine fell under French rule. The French made Jülich the canton capital and began to build extensive fortifications around the city. The French legislation and the later Prussian reforms of 1810 brought about progress u. a. the lifting of the mill ban , so that as a result, numerous newly built windmills shaped the image of the Börden landscape in the 19th century.
After the French withdrew in 1813, the Duchy of Jülich fell to Prussia, which after the Congress of Vienna in 1815 made the Rhineland into their Rhine province.
The Prussian era initially brought major improvements in the infrastructure: trunk roads were built, for example the connections from Aachen via Jülich to Düsseldorf and Cologne, from Aachen via Erkelenz to Mönchengladbach or from Cologne to Euskirchen. Road construction was soon followed by the railway . The three main lines Cologne – Düren – Aachen, Dusseldorf – Mönchengladbach – Aachen and Cologne – Euskirchen – Trier have been supplemented and connected by a number of secondary and circular lines. Around 1910 a dense network of railway lines covered the Börde.
Two other factors that have shaped the Börde to this day also emerged in the mid-19th century: lignite and sugar beet. Around 1820 the first lignite mines were built on the edge of the Börde near Eschweiler, Liblar and Zülpich. But it was only with the development of machine technology towards the end of the 19th century that the extensive redesign of the landscape in the Rhenish lignite mining area began . The first sugar factory in the Rhineland was opened in Cologne-Ossendorf in 1859 . The fertile loess soil and the mild climate favored the cultivation of sugar beet. In a short time, further factories were built, for example in Düren, Ameln, Bedburg, Elsdorf, Euskirchen, Brühl and Bergheim. The expansion of arable land and the increasing demand for wood by the mines in the Aachen coalfield led to extensive deforestation in the forest areas in the Börde. Only the Bürgewald (Hambacher Forst) and the forests along the Erft were spared for the time being.
The Second World War led to severe destruction in the Börde. For several months, from November 1944 to February 1945, the Rur formed the front line. Düren and Jülich were among the most heavily damaged cities in Germany. Numerous church and water towers were blown up because they served as good landmarks and vantage points in the flat bordering landscape. To this day, every new building project requires a thorough investigation of the ground by the ordnance disposal service, which still finds grenades, mines and the like.
The post-war period was again marked by major changes in the landscape. The large opencast mines of the Rhenish lignite mining area led to the resettlement of entire villages, the proximity to the metropolitan areas on the Rhine resulted in a further increase in population. The traffic structure also changed: many branch lines of the railway were closed, but the main lines were expanded. Several motorways cut through the Börde: Cologne – Aachen ( A4 ), Düsseldorf – Heinsberg ( A 46 ), Cologne – Euskirchen – Blankenheim ( A 1 ), Mönchengladbach – Aachen ( A 44 ) and Venlo – Bergheim – Koblenz ( A 61 ).
Attractions
- Way Crosses - Processional or hail crosses are among the few landmarks in the Börden landscape. Between Baal , Lövenich and Körrenzig, the Körrenziger Cross stands on an old pilgrimage route and the intersection of five field paths under three linden trees. It was erected around 1775, but a predecessor cross has been found at this point as early as 1549.
- Windmills - Historical windmills have survived in isolated cases, such as the tower hood mill in Immerath , the Grottenherten mill from 1831 or the Düppelsmühle near Titz , a post mill from 1820.
- Moated castles - The fertile land was disputed for centuries between the Archdiocese of Cologne, the Duchy of Jülich, the Duchy of Brabant and some smaller lordships. Several hundred castles were built to protect the places and as border fortifications. Since there are no elevations in the Börde, almost all of the castles were built as water castles. Many of the castles still preserved today by a bicycle route that moated castles route connected,
See also
Web links
- Landscape profiles of the BfN (each accessed in January 2012)
- Original natural space maps from the former Federal Office for Regional Studies - the Jülich Börde includes all landscapes beginning on "554", the Zülpicher Börde all of them on "553" on sheets 122/123: Cologne / Aachen and 108/109: Düsseldorf / Erkelenz
literature
- City of Erkelenz (Hrsg.): Cultural landscape Erkelenzer Börde. Designed home. Erkelenz 1990, ISBN 3-7743-0799-7 .
- Friedel Krings: The Erkelenzer Börde. In: Home calendar of the Erkelenzer Lande. Erkelenz 1953.
- Arndt, Hartwig: Socio-economic changes in the agricultural area of the Jülich-Zülpicher Börde. (= Cologne research on economic and social geography. Volume 26). Cologne 1980, ISBN 3-921790-04-2 .
- Hans Becker: The Jülich-Zülpicher Börde between Erft and Rur In: Cologne Bay and adjacent areas. (= Collection of Geographical Guides. Volume 6). Verlag Bornträger, Berlin / Stuttgart 1972, p. 83 ff.
- Elisabeth Zenses: The Jülich-Zülpicher Börde. (= Landscapes between the Rhine and Eifel . Volume 1). Verlag Zweckverband Naturpark Kottenforst-Ville, 1999.
Individual evidence
- ^ Karlheinz Paffen: Lower Rhine Bay . In: Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany , 6th delivery, 1959, pp. 823–844 (here: p. 836).
- ^ Textbook page Klett-Verlag with a rough map ( memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.1 MB).
- ↑ Hans Becker: The Jülich-Zülpicher Börde between Erft and Rur. In: Kölner Bucht and adjacent areas. (= Collection of Geographical Guides. Volume 6). Verlag Bornträger, Berlin / Stuttgart 1972, p. 83 ff.
- ↑ Jakob Baumann, Bernd Wiese: The Erftkreis. Self-published, Cologne 1986, p. 9.
- ^ Emil Meynen , Josef Schmithüsen : Handbook of the natural spatial structure of Germany . Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Remagen / Bad Godesberg 1953–1962 (9 deliveries in 8 books, updated map 1: 1,000,000 with main units 1960).
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↑ Geographical land survey: The natural space units in single sheets 1: 200,000 . Federal Institute for Regional Studies, Bad Godesberg 1952–1994. → Online maps
- Sheet 108/109: Düsseldorf / Erkelenz (Karlheinz Paffen, Adolf Schüttler, Heinrich Müller-Miny 1963; 55 pages)
- Sheet 122/123 *: Cologne / Aachen (Ewald Glässer 1978; 52 pages).
- ↑ a b c Designation according to the Cologne journal.
- ↑ a b Climate for the Jülich-Zülpicher Börde near Wald und Holz NRW ( memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed October 2012).
- ^ Climate, climate change and climate impacts in North Rhine-Westphalia. (PDF; 442 kB) (No longer available online.) In: Umwelt.nrw.de. Archived from the original on January 25, 2016 ; accessed on January 21, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Map of the lignite deposits and table of the possible opencast mines with details of the coal reserves from an investigation by Rheinbraun and the state government on which the decision for the Garzweiler II opencast mine (= Frimmersdorf West-West) in the 1980s is based ( Memento from June 19 2010 on WebCite ).
- ↑ Deep well. In: FAZ . July 7, 2011, p. 32.
- ^ Therese Frauenrath: Baal on the pilgrimage to Aachen. In: 1100 years of Baal. Contributions to local history. Jülich 1993, p. 33.
