Monschau Old Town

Fascinating half-timbered houses and inviting inns characterize Monschau.

The city started around 1195 from the castle of the same name on a mountain spur above the Rur. It is first mentioned in 1198 as Mons Ioci, then in 1217 as Munioie and in 1226 as Monjoje. The name is a typical castle name from the area of the Crusades. Walram von Limburg-Monschau, the first lord of the castle and later Duke of Limburg, was a crusader in the Holy Land in 1197.

In the late Middle Ages and in the early modern period, the writing form Monjoye dominated. Around 1800, during the French rule in the Rhineland, the form Montjoie appeared. In autumn 1918, as a result of the lost First World War and the associated Francophobia, the name was "Germanized" by official decree in Monschau.

There is no formal award of city rights, but there have been several confirmations of customary city rights since 1476.

(monschau.de/de/erleben/stadtgeschichte-und-stadtteile/)

The place is geared towards tourism.