page_title: Alsdorf
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Alsdorf / History
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Die furchtbare Grubenkatastrophe in Alsdorf b/Aachen, bei welcher über 233 Tote zu beklagen sind. Eine Stätte des Grauens. Der vollständig zusammengestürzte Förderturm der Grube Anna II in Alsdorf b/Aachen.
context_page_description: Alsdorf 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. Alsdorf has an indoor arena, a cinema, a mining museum and a zoo. One of Alsdorf's famous sights is the old Castle.
context_section_description: Today´s city of Alsdorf is a 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.
  With the reconstruction of Germany after the Second World War, Prussia was eliminated. Its western provinces are now the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Alsdorf belongs to.
  Until the middle of the 19th century, farming was the main industry. Only Alsdorf (approximately 1,200) and Hoengen (about 1,400) had more than 1,000 inhabitants.  Population in the greater area of today's Alsdorf totalled 4,000 people.
  Today the population is more than ten times larger as a result of mining, which came to Alsdorf in the middle of the 19th century.  The mining industry needed many workers.  First, it was possible to cover the demand with local workers but as the mine grew, the need for workers grew.  To be an attractive employer, the mine company built new houses to offer its employees good working conditions. Between 1860 and 1960, a few bigger and smaller villages were founded.  These villages are: Begau, Blumenrath, Broicher Siedlung, Busch, Kellersberg, Mariadorf, Neuweiler, Ofden, Ost and Zopp.  In 1932, the villages Kellerberg, Ofden, Schaufenberg, and Neuweiler were incorporated and the population grew from 11,500 to 19,711.
  The great tragedy on October 21, 1930, demonstrated the danger of mine work.  In the Anna II Mine, 270 men and one woman were killed.  It was the second largest mining accident in Germany history.
  The mine Maria closed in September 1962; the last mine in Alsdorf shut down in 1992.  Since this time, Alsdorf has successfully changed its image away from a coal city to a modern business location.  A few business parks have been founded, where a lot of companies have located.
caption: Bundesarchiv Bild 102-10600, Alsdorf, Grubenunglück
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