Euskirchen

Infobox German Location
Name =
German_name =
Wappen = EU-Wappen.pngArt = Stadt
lat_deg = 50 |lat_min = 39 |lat_sec = 35
lon_deg = 6 |lon_min = 47 |lon_sec = 30
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Nordrhein-Westfalen
Regierungsbezirk = Köln
Kreis = Euskirchen
Höhe = 137
Fläche = 139.63
Einwohner = 55235
Stand = 2006-06-30
PLZ = 53879–53881
Vorwahl = 02251, 02255
Kfz = EU
Website = [http://www.euskirchen.de/ www.euskirchen.de]
Bürgermeister = Uwe Friedl
Partei = CDU

Euskirchen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted town-status in 1302. As of December 2005, it had a population of just over 55,000.

Culture

Parts of the ancient town wall, and three of its defensive towers, are still standing. Tourists are also attracted by Euskirchen due to the proximity of two large cities, Cologne and Bonn, to the North-East, and the hills of the Eifel region to the South. It is also the birthplace of Emil Fischer, born 1852, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1902. German pop singer Jamie Stevens (who has achieved international fame in the late 1990s) was also born in Euskirchen but does not reside there anymore. The local theatre in The Emil Fischer Gymnasium offers a wide variety of cultural events. In addition to that The City Forum and the Parkhotel Euskirchen * [http://www.parkhotel-euskirchen.com/] contribute to the cultural offerings.

Twinnings

Euskirchen is twinned with the following towns:
*flagicon|United Kingdom Basingstoke, United Kingdom, since 1986
*flagicon|France Charleville-Mézières, France, since 1964
*flagicon|USA Kutztown, USA, since 2004