Why Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath is a municipality situated in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Positioned directly along the nation's frontier with the Netherlands, the town lies adjacent to the Dutch community of Kerkrade. The international border is so closely integrated that it runs along the center of a major street and passes directly through the shared Eurode office building complex. Historically, local regional dialects such as Ripuarian and Limburgish have been spoken in the area alongside Standard German, reflecting its unique border setting.
The town's origins trace back to the eleventh century, developing around the river Wurm as a settlement named Rode. In 1104, Augustinian monks established the nearby Kloosterrade abbey to the west. Over the centuries, control of the region shifted through various powers, including the Duchy of Brabant—which gave the town its historical names—followed by periods of Spanish, Austrian, and French rule. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna partitioned the settlement between Prussia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, giving rise to modern Herzogenrath on the eastern side and Dutch Kerkrade on the west.
physical barriers along the border fluctuated throughout the twentieth century. Fortifications were initially constructed during World War I and rebuilt during World War II, remaining in place until their eventual removal in the early 1990s ahead of the Schengen Agreement. Today, Herzogenrath and Kerkrade maintain close ties, sharing selected public services and partnering under the binational banner of the "City of Eurode" to promote regional economic development. The municipality is also twinned with Plérin in France and Bistrița in Romania.
Once centered heavily on coal mining and coking operations until the 1950s, Herzogenrath's industrial landscape has transformed over time. Overgrown slag heaps remain in the surrounding countryside as physical reminders of its mining heritage. Modern enterprise dominates the local economy, supported by major employers in glass textiles, materials manufacturing, and electronics, as well as several technology start-ups linked to the nearby RWTH Aachen University.
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