Herzogenrath

Herzogenrath
Coat of arms
Herzogenrath
Location of Herzogenrath within Aachen district
Coordinates: 50°52′N 6°06′E / 50.867°N 6.100°E / 50.867; 6.100Coordinates: 50°52′N 6°06′E / 50.867°N 6.100°E / 50.867; 6.100
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Aachen
Government
• Mayor	Christoph von den Driesch (CDU)
Area
• Total	33.401 km2 (12.896 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	46,583
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	52134
Dialling codes	02406 und 02407
Vehicle registration	AC
Website	www.herzogenrath.de

Herzogenrath is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running along the middle of a main road and even directly through the centre of the cross-border Eurode office complex.

Herzogenrath began in the 11th century as a settlement called Rode near the river Wurm. In 1104, Augustinian monks founded an abbey, called Kloosterrade, to the west of this settlement.

It became 's-Hertogenrode or 's-Hertogenrade (Dutch: the Duke's Rode) after the Duchy of Brabant took control of the region; in French it was called Rolduc (Rode-le-Duc).

As is the case for many parts of Duchy of Brabant, Herzogenrath changed hands several times in the last few centuries. Together with the rest of the Southern Netherlands, it was under Spanish control from 1661, Austrian between 1713 and 1795 and French between 1795 and 1813. In 1815, when the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed under the terms of the Vienna Congress, the border was drawn through the town, the eastern part being Prussian Herzogenrath and the western part Dutch Kerkrade. The former abbey is now the Rolduc Congress Center in Kerkrade.

During World War I, the Germans erected a fortification along the border street for the first time; although it was dismantled at the end of the war, it was reconstructed again at the beginning of World War II. Following the end of that war, the border fortifications were reduced at various times, although they were not fully dismantled until the early 1990s preparations for the Schengen Area.