Country Germany Adm. region Cologne Time zone CET (UTC+1) Population 268,089 (30 Jun 2010) Administrative region Cologne | State North Rhine-Westphalia Founded 1972 Vehicle registration DN, JÜL Capital Düren Team TuS Langerwehe | |
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Points of interest Mariawald Abbey, Brückenkopf‑Park Jülich, Burg Hengebach, Burg Nideggen, Museum Zitadelle | ||
Düren is a Kreis (district) in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Heinsberg, Neuss, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, Euskirchen and Aachen.
Contents
Map of D%C3%BCren, Germany
History
The district was created in 1972 by merging the former districts of Jülich and Düren. Both districts date back to 1816 when the new Prussian province Rhineland was created. Before the Napoleonic Wars all of the area belonged to the duchy of Jülich.
Geography
Geographically it covers both the lowlands of the Lower Rhine Bay as well as the mountains and hills of the Eifel. The district has rich lignite (brown coal) deposits, which is used in open pit mining. Another big industry is paper production, which dates back to the second part of the 16th century. The main river in the district is the Rur.
Sister County
Düren has a partnership with Dorchester County in Maryland.