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Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Cologne District

Kreis Düren

Merzenich

Bürgewald (formerly Morschenich)

Discover

Places to see

Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia

Cologne District

Kreis Düren

Merzenich

Bürgewald (formerly Morschenich)

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Bürgewald (formerly Morschenich)

Recommended by 150 cyclists out of 168

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Location: Merzenich, Kreis Düren, Cologne District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

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Top cycling routes to Bürgewald (formerly Morschenich)

4.3

(3)

riders

1. Krachbrücke (Noise Bridge) – Insect Hotel Kerpen-Buir loop from Morschenich

19.2km

01:07

60m

Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

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2. Church of Alt-Manheim – Remnants of Alt-Manheim loop from Heppendorf

25.1km

01:33

60m

Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Easy

4.2

(5)

riders

3. Morschenicher Forest – Alte Kirche Merzenich loop from Düren

28.3km

01:49

100m

Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Tips

Renue

May 21, 2020

The town lies directly on the Bürgewald, a forested area between the Rur and Erft rivers, which surrounds the town to the west and north. Until the 19th century, Morschenich was even a clearing in the Bürgewald. State Road 257 runs through the town. Morschenich borders Buir and Manheim in the Rhein-Erft district to the east, and Arnoldsweiler, Ellen, and Merzenich to the west.

There are two versions of the origin of the place name. One says that the name Moirsazzin comes from settlers from the Morsatengau region of Emsland, who became known as the Morsassen. The other version says that the Celtic name Morsiniacum was transformed into Morschenich with a German "ich" ending.

The town was first mentioned in 1158 when it was settled by the Moorsassen. During the territorial period, Morschenich belonged to the Amt Nörvenich and the Dingstuhl Hambach.

In 1794, the municipality of Morschenich was incorporated into the Mairie of Arnoldsweiler in the French Département de la Roer, which also included the two municipalities of Arnoldsweiler and Ellen. After the village fell to Prussia in 1815, the Mairie was renamed the Bürgermeisterei (Mayoralty) of Arnoldsweiler in 1816. Its composition remained unchanged. In 1927, the Bürgermeisterei (Mayoralty) was renamed Amt (Office), and on March 8, 1936, the two Amts (Offices) of Arnoldsweiler and Merzenich merged to form the new Amt (Office) of Merzenich. From then on, this included the municipalities of Arnoldsweiler, Ellen, Girbelsrath, Golzheim, Merzenich, and Morschenich. On July 1, 1969, the municipality of Morschenich was dissolved and incorporated into Merzenich.[2][3]

Since 2015, the residents of Morschenich have been gradually resettled. In 2017, the last shooting festival took place in Morschenich, and the first in the new Morschenich district. Since then, club activities have increasingly shifted to the new location. The village was scheduled to be demolished between 2019 and 2024 and then excavated, as the Hambach open-cast mine is moving toward Morschenich. The relocation has been underway since 2015. The village is being rebuilt west of Merzenich, "Zwischen den Höfen," across the L264 highway. The new location was determined through a public survey.

On June 15, 2019, the church in Morschenich was the last church to be deconsecrated at the Hambach open-cast mine.

Source: Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morschenich

Translated by Google •

WARUMICHRADFAHRE

February 1, 2025

The place is now officially called Bürgewald - Place of the Future and is no longer as deserted as it once was. There is even a small airfield where gliders take off and land in the summer. I have even seen a small propeller plane take off once.

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Sumo-Tour

April 9, 2025

The atmosphere, even crossing the highway from Buir, is dystopian: lignite excavators on the horizon, deserted on weekdays on the miles of asphalt roads. Entering the village, many of the houses are still boarded up. There's life, evident in the parked cars and the filled and ready-made garbage cans, but nothing moves on the streets except sparse through traffic. The village is now called "Bürgewald," and the houses can be bought back from the former owners. It's questionable whether this will happen seriously, as the vacancy hasn't done the place any good. Broken bus stops, a burned-out church—the municipality of Merzenich now calls "Bürgewald" the "Village of the Future." It's easy to imagine, even if much of the landscape is dominated by highways, gravel pits, and lignite—but real incentives would have to be created: affordable prices, funding, and investment in the now-dilapidated infrastructure. THEN it could be a new beginning for some—a new village community would be built. The previously known, and very limited, plans suggest that the place will continue to serve as emergency accommodation for refugees for a while—and a slightly spooky tourist destination.

Translated by Google •

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Elevation 160 m

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Thursday 6 November

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Max wind speed: 12.0 km/h

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Location: Merzenich, Kreis Düren, Cologne District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

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Morschenich (Abandoned Village)

Bürgewald (formerly Morschenich)

1. Krachbrücke (Noise Bridge) – Insect Hotel Kerpen-Buir loop from Morschenich

2. Church of Alt-Manheim – Remnants of Alt-Manheim loop from Heppendorf

3. Morschenicher Forest – Alte Kirche Merzenich loop from Düren

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