Alsdorf

Alsdorf
Coat of arms
Alsdorf
Location of Alsdorf within Aachen district
Coordinates: 50°53′N 6°10′E / 50.883°N 6.167°E / 50.883; 6.167Coordinates: 50°53′N 6°10′E / 50.883°N 6.167°E / 50.883; 6.167
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Aachen
Government
• Mayor	Alfred Sonders (SPD)
Area
• Total	31.658 km2 (12.223 sq mi)
Elevation	163 m (535 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	46,880
• Density	1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	52477
Dialling codes	02404
Vehicle registration	AC
Website	www.alsdorf.de

Alsdorf (German pronun­cia­tion: [ˈalsdɔʁf]) is a municipality in the district of Aachen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Until the 21st century Alsdorf was a mining area, but now many service companies have established themselves in Alsdorf. Besides, Alsdorf has an indoor arena, a cinema, a mining museum and a zoo. One of Alsdorf's famous sights is the old Castle.

Alsdorf is located near the border triangle Germany/Belgium/Netherlands in the west of Germany. Communes bordering Alsdorf are Baesweiler, Aldenhoven, Eschweiler, Würselen, Herzogenrath and Übach-Palenberg. Alsdorf belongs to the district of Aachen.

Today´s city of Alsdorf is a very complex mixture of very different ingredients. A part of today's city was a part of the duchy of Limburg (later united with duchy of Brabant); and one part belonged to the territory of the duchy of Jülich.

In addition, Alsdorf consists of ancient settlements whose history dates back to medieval times, as well as settlements that arose because of the long coal mining tradition in Alsdorf. The old settlements are: Alsdorf, Bettendorf, Hoengen, Ofden, Schaufenberg, Warden and Zopp.

The name Alsdorf was mentioned for the first time in a document of the Catholic Church in the year 1191. But it might be much older than 800 years. During its history, Alsdorf changed its affiliation a few times. Along with the duchy of Brabant and the duchy of Limburg, it also belonged to the duchy of Burgundy (1430) and fell to the Habsburgs in 1482. Then in 1555, it became part of the Spanish Netherlands under the Spanish Habsburgs. In 1714, it belonged again to Austrian Habsburgs until the French invasion. After that, pursuant to a judgement of the Congress of Vienna, Alsdorf belonged to Prussia.