The story of Richerich

Richterich and Horbach have their roots in ancient times. It is not possible to find out exactly when the villages were founded. However, it is assumed that the history of the municipality goes back to the years before the turn of time, as the name refers to a Celtic settlement.

Celts, Romans and Franks

After the Celts, the Romans settled in the local area. "Recteriacum", as Richterich is said to have been called at the time, is already mentioned in documents as a closed Roman settlement. Important connections were established during this time, such as the road from Heerlen to Aachen, which runs through what is now Richterich.

The oldest evidence of the name of the village can be found in the first third of the 11th century in a list of the revenues of the Aachen Minster Abbey. This old list shows that the chapel in Richterich, which already existed at the time, had to hand over the 10th part of its income to Aachen.

In the period after the Roman settlement, the Franks took possession of the area, forming a fiscal estate from the settlement and the surrounding area, which belonged to the Aachen Palatinate.

The Richterich estate belonged to the Count Palatine of Aachen. Temporarily owned by the Lords of Heinsberg, it was taken back by Emperor Frederick II in the 13th century and given to Archbishop Engelbert the Saint of Cologne.

The independent lordship "zur Heyden"

In 1312, the Counts of Jülich came into pledge possession of this area. In 1361, Duke Wilhelm II of Jülich formed the sub-sovereignty of Heyden from the villages of Richterich, Bank, Steinstraß (Horbach), Berensberg and Eygelshoven, a historical naming convention that also appears repeatedly in today's place names.

The remarkably independent lordship "zur Heyden" with its own constitution and jurisdiction was brought to an end with the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 and the invasion of the French occupying troops in 1797, and the old feudal system was dissolved.

Then came the French...

The administration was divided according to French municipal law and initially became a Munizepalität, later, after the separation of the Eygelshoven district, which also belonged to the Heyden dominion, a Mairie (mayor's office). French occupation ended in 1814 after Napoleon was destroyed and defeated at the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig.

In the Peace of Paris on May 13, 1814, the four Rhenish departments were detached from France and became part of the Prussian crown at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

...and the Prussians

Richterich was assigned to the Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine. In the same year, the "Prussian Rhineland" was divided into six administrative districts, namely Düsseldorf, Aachen, Cologne, Kleve, Koblenz and Trier. In 1816, it was determined that the municipality of Richterich was to be included in the district of Aachen.

The world wars

The community of Richterich also suffered during the two world wars at the beginning and middle of this century. There were fallen and missing citizens to mourn. The war graves in the cemetery of the parish church of St. Heinrich zu Horbach and the memorial to the dead of the two world wars on Heinrich-Lehmann-Platz are memorials to the senselessness of what happened. The town itself was spared major destruction and did not need to be rebuilt as was customary at the time.

Richterich: high quality of life

In the years before the municipal reorganization and the associated incorporation into Aachen in 1972, Richterich developed into a municipality with a high quality of life thanks to generous and future-oriented planning and the development of new residential areas. This development was consistently continued after the incorporation and made even more attractive for the citizens of the municipality by the establishment of sports and leisure facilities as well as meeting places.

One example of this is the restoration and conversion of Schönau Castle into a meeting place, the first owners of which were the Counts Palatine of Aachen. Schönau Castle is available to the population and local associations as a cultural center. It should also be mentioned that since 1996 all civil wedding ceremonies of the Aachen-Richterich registry office have been held in the castle's fireplace room.

Close to the city and close to nature

The immediate proximity to the extensive local recreation areas and the direct proximity to the Netherlands, as well as the convenient transport links to the city of Aachen, have made Richterich an attractive place to live.