Living in Laurensberg means living with contrasts. Not only because Laurensberg is made up of many very different villages or because of its immediate proximity to the Netherlands. The contrast between the importance of the Aachen hospital as a major economic factor in the region on the one hand and the otherwise still widespread agriculture and rural life on the other is also a determining factor.
Vetschau, Orsbach and Lemiers
Life in the charming villages of Vetschau, Orsbach and Lemiers is still largely rural. Even today, they still seem like small enclaves where time seems to have passed by. There are not only a few churches and castles worth seeing here, but also large farms, intact farmsteads with livestock and dairy farming.
Seffent
Seffent is a place that was already revered by the Celts. The name Seffent is derived from the Latin "Septem Fontes", the "Seven Springs". These springs, which emerge from an enclosed spring pot, are still the strongest springs within a radius of 70 km. They feed the torrent that flows through Laurensberg. Not far from this "geological natural monument" is the historic Seffent Castle, which today houses a modern residential complex and a restaurant.
Soers
The Soers is also still a rural district that stretches all the way to Lousberg Park. The extensive area is best known for the Tivoli, the soccer stadium of Alemannia Aachen and the equestrian stadium. Despite some intersecting roads, a diverse habitat has been preserved here, which has been shaped into a cultural landscape by people over many centuries. The lifeline of the Soers is the torrent, which was already used in the Middle Ages to generate energy for grinding and hammer mills. This evidence of the early industrial use of water power is currently to be restored in harmony with nature conservation concerns. As part of the Euregionale 2008, the Soers, as the southern part of the "Horse Country Park", is to be made even more accessible for local recreation than it already is today.
"Old" Laurensberg
At the heart of the district is "Alt"-Laurensberg with its hilltop parish church and beautiful cemetery. In old Laurensberg, where ministerial families settled in the days of the Aachen Empire and where there were numerous aristocratic and later factory owners' residences - for example in Seffent and Schurzelt - old castles and palaces still bear witness to this wealth today. For example, Seffent Castle or Orsbach Castle. The showpiece is Rahe Castle, surrounded by a magnificent park, the former estate of a patrician family from Aachen, which a merchant had converted into a stately four-winged palace in the 17th century. Today, Rahe Castle is used for commercial purposes and can be hired for events and conferences. This guarantees its continued existence.
The neighborhood with the Netherlands has always been specific to Laurensberg. There are many friendly, neighborly and also family relationships on both sides across the border.
At the time of the Aachen Empire, the now Dutch municipality of Vaals and Vaalserquartier belonged together, at least ecclesiastically. It is not only in Vaalserquartier that the border with the Netherlands is fluid in the truest sense of the word. The border stream "Senserbach", which has always divided the idyllic little village into a German and a Dutch part, also flows through Lemiers, which used to be popular with smugglers. The path leads from one side to the other via a small wooden bridge.
Gut Kullen and Steppenberg
The two housing estates built in the 1980s and 1990s are evidence of the rapidly growing demand for living space in Laurensberg.
Young families in particular prefer the suburban residential area in the countryside. This is not least due to the family-friendly infrastructure - in addition to a wide range of kindergartens, playgrounds and schools, this also includes the many dedicated (sports) clubs. They guarantee a wide range of leisure activities in the immediate living environment.
New residential areas are being developed. However, land prices have also risen in line with demand. As a result, many "higher earners" are attracted to Laurensberg.
People from over 90 nations live in Gut Kullen. This often gives rise to Gut Kullen being described as a "United Nations in miniature". The challenge of integration is mastered here in an exemplary manner on a daily basis. Not that there are no problems here. But it is thanks in particular to the commitment of the Vaalserquartier working group and the ambitious youth work of "OT Gut Kullen" and the integrative power of GGS Gut Kullen that living together here is open and tolerant and that the residential area has not developed into a social hotspot. The mixed residential structure of detached houses, larger residential units and social housing contributes to this.
It is said that the boundaries of Laurensberg have the "shape of an angel". Based on this and true to the motto "Unity through diversity", the people of Laurensberg are rightly proud of their district, which "angelically" unites the diversity of contrasts and differences into a harmonious whole.