Niers River at Beller Park

The park's name goes back to the Beller Mühle. The Bellermühle was located in the Odenkirchener Honschaft Bell. It was first mentioned in documents in 1484 and belonged to Canon Dederich Koch at St. Cecilia in Cologne. The undershot mill was originally an oil mill and was recently expanded into a grain mill. In the 18th century the mill became the property of the Otten family. This led to the mill also being called Ottensmühle and Mittelsmühle. In 1927, the then city of Odenkirchen acquired the mill and built a swimming pool in the mill pond and Beller Park all around it. The Bellermühle was completely destroyed in an air raid in 1943. The mill was no longer rebuilt. In 1981 the Odenkirchen outdoor swimming pool was demolished. Today only the name of the Beller Mühle district sports facility reminds us of 500 years of mill history.

The Niers has its source in the Jülicher Börde and, after 113 kilometers, flows into the Meuse near the municipality of Gennep.