Woffelsbach

Woffelsbach community Simmerath
Coordinates: 50 ° 37 ′ 32 "  N , 6 ° 22 ′ 58"  E
Height :	304  (280-380)  m above sea level NHN
Residents :	531  (December 31, 2011)
Postal code :	52152
Area code :	02473
Location of Woffelsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia
The Rursee between Woffelsbach and Eschauel

Slate rocks near Eschauel

Marina

In the Schilsbach valley

Woffelsbach is a district of the municipality of Simmerath in the Aachen city region . The place is located on the Rur dam in the North Eifel and is the center of sailing tourism on the Rursee, especially for weekend guests from the areas of Aachen (approx. 40 km northwest) and Cologne (approx. 60 km northeast).

geography

Woffelsbach is about 3 km north of Rurberg on Rursee in the composite system of Rurtalsperre and about 9 km southeast of the dam Schwammenauel (outflow of Rur in the reservoir Heimbach ). The opposite east bank of the Rursee on the Kermeter slope belongs to the Eifel National Park , as does the areas of the Obersee that adjoin to the southeast in Rurberg in the direction of the Urfttalsperre and Ordensburg Vogelsang .

history

The history of the place has not yet been systematically processed by the Eifelverein . Woffelsbach lies in the center of a Roman settlement in the Rur valley documented by archaeological finds. In addition to the Weidenauel peninsula approx. 2 km south of Woffelsbach in the direction of Rurberg, the Eschauel peninsula, which protrudes far into the lake approx. 5 km northwest (in the direction of Schwammenauel), is the richest site for Roman relics. The foundations of a country estate, ceramic shards, grinding stones, a Jupiter column, a grave urn, remains of kilns and coins were found here. However, there is a lack of supporting written sources and evidence of settlement continuity.

Woffelsbach was first mentioned in 1516 as Wolffelsauwell . The oldest preserved courtyards date from the 17th century. In 1676/77 the village is mentioned as Woiffelsbach .

Like the entire Monschauer Land, the Rur valley belonged to the Duchy of Jülich until the end of the 18th century . After the entire Left Bank of the Rhine was occupied during the First Coalition War in 1794 , the area belonged to France from 1798 to 1814 . Simmerath and the surrounding area belonged to the canton of Montjoie in the Aachen arrondissement in the Rur department . Due to the agreements reached at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 , the area was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia , and from 1822 until the end of World War II it was part of the Rhine Province .

In 1860 it was decided to build a chapel. It took another 52 years until St. Wendelinus was inaugurated in 1912 . In Woffelsbach there was fruit growing, as indicated by street names such as Kirschberg and Wingertsberg.

Postcard Woffelsbach, around 1915

With the construction of the Rurtalsperre 1934–1938 and its expansion 1955–1959, a large part of the old Woffelsbach in the Rursee disappeared. At the same time, tourism began in Woffelsbach, initially in the 1930s, and with the second expansion stage of the Rur dam (1955–1959) and the founding of the Yacht Club Rursee in 1956, it got a significant boost. Today Woffelsbach is home to more than 15 sailing clubs. Campsites, sailing schools, apartments and private weekend houses emerged. Between 2012 and 2014, a new center was built with parks directly on the lake and a lake terrace with a floating stage.

Through the law of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on the reorganization of the municipalities and districts of the reorganization area Aachen (the so-called Aachen law ) of December 14, 1971, Woffelsbach, which previously belonged to Rurberg, was assigned to the municipality of Simmerath.

The Eifel National Park was founded on January 1st, 2004.

Culture, sights and tourism

Buildings

See also the list of architectural monuments in Simmerath / Woffelsbach

• The center of the village is the Wolfsbrunnen set up in 1954 ; it was renovated in 2005. According to the WDR research, some long-established Woffelsbach residents believe that the name of their village comes from the wolves who used to come to the Rur to drink.

Wolf fountain

• The courtyards in Obershausener Strasse are among the oldest buildings in the town (17th century). However, some buildings are heavily modified.

Inscription on the house at Seestrasse 15 / Obershausener Strasse

• The Wendelinus Chapel was built between 1910 and 1912.

St. Wendelinus in Woffelsbach

Natural monuments

• Woffelsbach is primarily a meeting place for regional sailors who maintain their berths here and camp for the weekend or live in their own weekend house. In winter the place is left to the locals, as all sailing boats have to be hauled in mid-November. Hotels, guesthouses, cafés and restaurants play a subordinate role in comparison to holiday quarters such as Rurberg or Einruhr, which serve a broader range of tourist interests . Until the beginning of the 21st century there was a meeting point for bikers, which was also covered by the WDR program “ Lokalzeit” on September 30, 2004, but now it is forbidden to drive through town.
• The liner shipping the Rursee shipping KG between Rurberg and the dam Schwammenauel makes stopover in Woffelsbach. The opposite bank of Kermeter, with its natural landscapes and nature trails on the territory of the national park, is also connected to a ship landing stage.
• The Schilsbachtal (youth holiday home of the Eifelverein), which flows into a deeply cut lake bay about 1 km north of Woffelsfach, is a largely natural landscape. Around the peninsula Eschauel (fishermen coves, beach) leads the way along steep for Nordeifel typical slate - and greywacke -Felsformationen that with brooms are overgrown and due to their sun-exposed south-facing slopes the principle native to the Mediterranean area Mauereidechsen favorable habitats Offer. It is the northernmost occurrence of these animals in Germany.

Bike paths

The lakeside paths (around 27 km around the Rursee) are passable by bike and walkable. They lead through beech and oak forests and tall herbaceous meadows on both sides .

The long-distance cycle paths lead through the village:

• Eifel-Höhen-Route , which leads as a circuit around the Eifel National Park ;
• RurUfer cycle path , which connects the highest point of the High Fens with the confluence of the Rur and the Meuse .

swim

Swimming is permitted in the bay near Woffelsbach (official bathing area).

literature

• Maria Pfeifer u. a .: Eifel National Park . Topic Tours, 1st edition Cologne 2004, Bachem-Verlag
• Th. Schreiber: The upper Rurtal in the mirror of official topographical maps, in: Das Monschauer Land Jahrbuch, 1992, pp. 87-104
• W. Günther: The Rursee region in history, in: Das Monschauer Land Jahrbuch, 1976, pp. 146–155

Web links

Commons : Woffelsbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Woffelsbach's website
• Website of the historical association Monschauer Land eV

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population figures in the community of Simmerath (main residence) at www.simmerath.de
2. ↑ Website of the Monschauer Land history association, accessed on June 4, 2020
3. ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 309 .
4. ↑ Woffelsbach-Rursee.de, accessed June 7, 2020
5. ↑ Aachener Nachrichten May 1, 2005, accessed June 7, 2020
6. ↑ Woffelsbach official website, accessed June 4, 2020
7. ↑ https://www.bezreg-koeln.nrw.de/brk_internet/amtsblatt/2015/26_2015.pdf p. 237ff + appendix. 1