(This page is mostly a translation of the article in the German language Wikipedia.)

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Coat of Arms	Map
Missing image Wappen_Juelich.png The coat of arms of Jülich	Missing image Jülich-Position.png Map of Germany, position of Jülich emphasized
Motto: Historical fortification Modern city of science
Basic data
Federal State:	Nordrhein-Westfalen
Administrative Region:	Cologne
District:	Düren (district)
Area:	90,4 km²
Number of inhabitants:	34.074 (31.12.2003)
Population density:	377 inhabitants/km²
Elevation:	83 m above sea level
Postal code:	52428
Area code:	02461
Geographic coordinates:	50° 50' northern latitude 6° 21' eastern longitude
License plate code:	`DN`
Official municipality code:	05 3 58 024
Organisation:	16 boroughs
Website:	www.juelich.de
E-Mail-Address:	info@juelich.de (mailto:info@juelich.de)
Politics
Mayor:	Heinrich Stommel (no party affiliation)

Jülich is a medium-size town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, in Germany. Jülich is well known as location of a world-famous research centre.

Contents

8 Culture and landmarks

8.1 Museums
8.2 Buildings
8.3 Shortwave broadcasting facility
8.4 Miscellaneous

Geography

Jülich is situated in the Rur valley on the banks of the river Rur. The town is bordered by the town of Linnich in the north, the municipality of Titz in the north-east, the municipality of Niederzier in the south-east, by the municipality of Inden in the south and the municipality of Aldenhoven in the west. Its maximum size is 13,3 km from east to west and 10,9 km from north to south. The highest point in Jülich is in Bourheim and is 110 m above sea level (except Sophienhöhe), the lowest point is 70 m above sea level and is found in Barmen.

Boroughs

The town of Jülich comprises 16 boroughs:

Town centre
Altenburg
Barmen
Bourheim
Broich
Daubenrath
Güsten
Kirchberg
Koslar
Lich-Steinstraß
Mersch
Merzenhausen
Pattern
Selgersdorf
Stetternich
Welldorf (including Serrest)

History

Missing image
Juelich-Franzosen-MaxAusPlan-1805.jpg

Maximum extent of the French fortification of Jülich

Jülich is first mentioned in Roman times as Juliacum along a road through the Rur valley. The counts and dukes of Jülich extended their influence during the Middle Ages and granted Jülich city status in 1234 (Count Wilhelm IV). During battles with the Archbishop of Cologne, Jülich was destroyed in 1239. In 1416, the city was granted fiscal independence by Duke Rainald of Jülich-Geldern. Following a fire in 1547, the city was rebuilt as an ideal city in the Renaissance style under the direction of the architect Alessandro Pasqualini. The citadel of Jülich was later visited by the French military engineer Sébastien le Prestre de Vauban and was rated exemplary. After the ducal family line was extinguished in 1609, the Duchy of Jülich was divided. The city later belonged to Pfalz-Neuburg, then the Palatinate (1685) and Bavaria (1685).

From 1794 to 1814, Jülich was part of France under the name of Juliers. The French added the Napoleonic bridge head to the fortifications. In 1815, Jülich became a Prussian fortification and district town. The fortification was razed in 1860.

Missing image
Juelich-zerstoert-1944.jpg

Jülich destroyed

On 16 November 1944 (World War II), 97% of Jülich was destroyed during Allied bombing, since it was considered one of the main obstacles to the occupation of the Rhineland, although the city fortifications, the bridge head and the citadel had long fallen into disuse. From 1949 to 1956, the town centre was rebuilt along the plans of the Renaissance town.

In 1998, the state garden fair took place in Jülich. This made the extensive restoration of the bridge head fortifications and the establishment of a large leisure park, the bridge head park, possible.

Today, Jülich is mainly known for its world-famous research centre (established in 1956) and its university (established in 1970). The town's landmark is the Witchtower.

Population history

Missing image
Population_Statistics_Jülich_1800.png

Population growth of Jülich since 1800

Population history
Year	Population	Year	Population	Year	Population
300	1.500	1860	3.119	12/31 1960	14.339
1533	1.300	1900	4.964	12/31 1970	20.778
1647	1.300	1920	7.688	12/31 1980	30.433
1735	1.520	1931	10.051	12/31 1990	31.149
1795	2.025	1939	12.000	12/31 2000	33.434
1802	2.429	12/31 1951	10.182	12/31 2004	34.022

Town twinnings

Since 1964, Jülich is twinned with the French town of Haubourdin in the Nord département.

Transportation

A4 (Düren / Jülich Interchange)
A44
- (Jülich Ost (East)/ Mersch Interchange)
- (Jülich West (West)/ Koslar Interchange)
Rurtalbahn, literally the Rur Valley Rail (Linnich - Jülich - Düren - Heimbach)

Other

Jülich has a school, middle schools, high schools/gymnasiums, a post office, banks, and squares.

Culture and landmarks

Museums

Historical Town Museum (Website (http://www.juelich.de/museum/))

Buildings

Missing image
180px-Hexenturm_Jülich.jpg

Hexenturm, Jülich

Particularly notable:

the Witchtower (Hexenturm)
the Citadel
the Napoleonic bridge head
the church of St. Mariä Himmelfahrt
the Aachener Tor (lit. Aachen Gate)
aerial towers of shortwave broadcasting facility

Shortwave broadcasting facility

In 1956 the WDR broadcaster established the first short wave transmitter near the borough Mersch. In the subsequent years this site was expanded. On September 1st, 1961 this site was handed over to the German Federal Post for establishing the German foreign broadcasting service, "Deutsche Welle". In the course of time 10 transmitters of 100 kilowatts were installed, whereby as transmitting antennas enormous dipole arrays between free standing steel framework towers were installed. Today these transmitters are rented to the predominant part to non-German broadcasting organisations. In the 90's on the area of the shortwave transmission facility also a transmitting plant for medium wave was installed, using a long wire antenna which is spun at a tower on the transmitter site. It should be used for transmitting of the program of radio Viva on 702 kHz, but it went never into regular service.