Übach-Palenberg is a town in the Heinsberg district

Heinsberg (district)

Heinsberg is a Kreis in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Viersen, district-free city Mönchengladbach, Neuss, Düren and Aachen, and also the Dutch province Limburg.-History:...

 of North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Geography

The town is located at the border with the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, at approx. 10 km east of Heerlen

Heerlen

Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...

 and 15 km north of Aachen

Aachen

Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...

. The river Wurm

Wurm

The Wurm is a river in Germany , a left tributary of the Rur. The source of the Wurm are several brooks in the forests southwest of Aachen, which form the Wurm after the Diepenbenden reservoir. From there the Wurm nowadays flows through canals through the city of Aachen, until it resurfaces at the...

 flows through the area. The town has an area of 26.106 km². More than half the area is agricultural.

History

• 867 the village Palenberg was first mentioned in a written document, 1172 the village Übach. 1794 three Bürgermeistereien were created - Übach, Scherpenseel, Frelenberg - which were merged into one municipality in 1935. 1967 it received town rights.
• 1917 coal mining
  Coal mining
  The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
  
   was started in the town, until in 1962 the Carolus Magnus
  Charlemagne
  Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
  
   coal-mine was closed.

International relations

Übach-Palenberg has two twin towns

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

; since 1989 with Rosny-sous-Bois

Rosny-sous-Bois

Rosny-sous-Bois is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.It is the seat of the national centre of road information of the national gendarmerie.- Heraldry :-Transport:...

, (France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

) and since 1999 neighbouring Landgraaf

Landgraaf

Landgraaf is a municipality in southeastern Limburg.- Special information :A pop music festival called Pinkpop is held annually on the Pentecost weekend in the vicinity of Landgraaf....

, (Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

).

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the town is subdivided into three fields. In the top blue field are two crossed golden scepter with a lily head, with a black letter T on top. Both symbols refer to the Grundherrschaft Thorn. In the left golden field is a black lion, the symbol of Jülich

Jülich

Jülich is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Jülich is well known as location of a world-famous research centre, the Forschungszentrum Jülich and as shortwave transmission site of Deutsche Welle...

, as both Frelenberg and Palenberg belonged to the county Jülich. To the right is a silver lion on a red field, the symbol of Heinsberg

Heinsberg

Heinsberg is the capital of the district Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx...

, where Scherpenseel belonged to historically. The coat of arms were granted on December 2, 1937 by the Oberpräsident of the province Rhineland

Rhineland

Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....

.

Gallery