Founding and age
Zülpich goes back to the Roman settlement of Tolbiacum, which lay at the junction of important long-distance roads. The first written mention falls in AD 70 in Tacitus. In the early Middle Ages the place appears in the sources under changing name forms and designations such as civitas and castrum; today’s municipality as a whole arose essentially through the municipal reorganization of 1 July 1969. The Zülpich historical society also emphasizes nearly 2,000 years of continuous settlement in the municipal area; the oldest Roman finds in the market area date to the first half of the 1st century AD. The Rheinischer Städteatlas dates the development of the town-like vicus Tolbiacum from the mid-1st century AD and the fortification with a ring wall to the early 4th century. The parish church of St. Peter is documented for 848 in Wandalbert of Prüm; the historic church building was largely destroyed on Christmas Eve 1944 and rebuilt in the 1950s to plans by Karl Band. For the Clovis year 1996, according to KuLaDig, exhibitions and an international historians’ colloquium took place at Burg Langendorf; in 1999 the Clovis stele by Ulrich Rückriem was inaugurated near the castle.
A classical founding charter is not attested. The settlement developed as an open market settlement (vicus Tolbiacum) on Roman long-distance roads; from the 2nd century a beneficiarius station is attested. The originally open settlement was probably partially fortified in the 4th century. According to the Rheinischer Städteatlas, urban development began in the mid-13th century and was completed in the 1280s; construction of the first town fortification begun in 1275/79 was replaced after 1350 by a wall. In the French period Zülpich lost its urban legal status and regained it in 1856 through the grant of the Rhenish municipal code. Owing to town fires and the consequences of war, according to the Rheinischer Städteatlas Zülpich’s importance declined from the 17th century onward.
In Roman times Tolbiacum was a vicus and road junction with a bathing complex and Matronae cult. Frankish burial grounds and proximity to kingship characterize the early Middle Ages; in 531 the place appears as civitas. In the same century, according to the Zülpich historical society, St. Peter’s Church on the Mühlenberg is first mentioned in writing (AD 848); BauKunst NRW and the Zülpich pastoral area cite Wandalbert of Prüm as the source. In the High and Late Middle Ages a fortified town developed; the visible town fortification dates predominantly from the 14th century and in part stands on Roman foundations. The Electoral Cologne Landesburg on the Mühlenberg was built after the redemption of a pledge under Archbishop Friedrich III of Saarwerden after 1369 in place of a Jülich predecessor and ranks among the last four surviving Electoral Cologne Landesburgen of the 14th century in the Rhineland. In 1864 the railway connection to the Euskirchen–Düren line was established. On 1 July 1969 the town of Zülpich and numerous surrounding municipalities were amalgamated into the new town of Zülpich; the Rheinischer Städteatlas summarizes the municipal reorganization as the amalgamation of 1969/72. Today, according to its own statistics, the town comprises the core town and 24 further localities; the municipal list of districts includes, among others, Bessenich, Bürvenich, Dürscheven, Enzen, Füssenich, Geich, Hoven, Langendorf, Merzenich, Nemmenich, Rövenich, Sinzenich, Ülpenich, Weiler in der Ebene and Wichterich. Into the 19th century, according to the Rheinischer Städteatlas, besides arable farming and livestock husbandry, viticulture was also of importance. The Roman baths were discovered in the late 1920s and excavated in the following decade; as a museum of bathing culture they were made publicly accessible again after reworking. St. Martin’s Church received its pastorate in 1208 for the Abbey of Steinfeld (donation by Count Lothar of Ahr and Hochstaden) and remained there until 1802. After the new ring wall around 1279 under Archbishop Sigfrid of Westerburg, the old church was demolished and rebuilt within the town walls in 1285. Heavily damaged in the Second World War, the tower burned out completely in 1952; today the restored monument serves as a civic meeting place. According to the city’s guided-tour page, the Battle of Zülpich is located on the nearby Wollersheim Heath; in Paris the Rue de Tolbiac recalls the Latin place name.
| Year | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 70 n. Chr. | First written mention as Tolbiacum | Tacitus mentions Tolbiacum in connection with the Batavian revolt; the reference is the earliest securely attested written mention of the place. |
| 2. Jahrhundert | Beneficiarii station | From the 2nd century a beneficiarii station, i.e. a military outpost on the long-distance roads, is attested in Tolbiacum. |
| 4. Jahrhundert | Partial fortification of the settlement | The originally open market settlement was probably partially fortified in the 4th century; the presumed fort area lies on the Mühlenberg. |
| 531 | Designation as civitas | In Merovingian sources the place appears in 531 as Tulbiacum and is designated as a civitas. |
| um 1275/79 | Medieval town fortification | In connection with the first medieval town fortification, building activity within the walls of the Roman fort is attested around 1275/79 under Archbishop Sifrid of Cologne. |
| 1864 | Railway connection | In 1864 Zülpich gained a connection to the Euskirchen–Düren railway line and thus a modern transport link in the Börde region. |
| 1. Juli 1969 | Municipal reorganization into the new town of Zülpich | On 1 July 1969 the previous town of Zülpich as well as, among others, Weiler in der Ebene, Rövenich, Bessenich, Oberelvenich, Nemmenich, Dürscheven, Ülpenich, Enzen, Linzenich-Lövenich, Sinzenich, Merzenich and Langendorf were amalgamated into the town of Zülpich. |
| 2014 | State Garden Show Zülpich | The NRW State Garden Show 2014 made the lakeside park at the watersports lake and the park at the moat central leisure and tourism areas; it recorded over 500,000 visitors. According to reporting by Wirtschaft Eifel, Zülpich was until then the smallest town ever to have hosted a State Garden Show in NRW. |
| 1. Hälfte 1. Jahrhundert n. Chr. | Oldest Roman finds at the market | The Zülpich Historical Society dates the oldest Roman finds in the market area to the first half of the 1st century AD and sees in them early evidence of settlement continuity. |
| spätes 2. Jahrhundert | Commissioning of the Roman baths | According to KuLaDig, the public baths of Tolbiacum were put into operation in the late 2nd century and used at least into the early 4th century; they are regarded as the best-preserved baths of their kind north of the Alps. |
| 848 | First documentary mention of St Peter's Church | According to the Zülpich Historical Society, St Peter's Church on the Mühlenberg is first mentioned in a document in 848 AD. BauKunst NRW and the Zülpich pastoral area cite Wandalbert of Prüm as the source. |
| 925 | Siege in the context of Henry I | The Zülpich Historical Society names for 925 the successful siege of the Grand Duke of Lorraine by King Henry I, the first king of Saxon lineage, as an outstanding event in the town's history. |
| Mitte 13. Jahrhundert bis 1280er Jahre | Emergence of Zülpich as a town | According to the Rhenish Town Atlas, the process of becoming a town began in the mid-13th century and was completed in the 1280s. |
| um 1275/79 bzw. ab 1278 | Medieval town fortification | In connection with the first medieval town fortification, building activity within the walls of the Roman fort is attested around 1275/79 under Archbishop Sifrid of Cologne. BauKunst NRW dates the construction of the defensive works from 1278 under Archbishop Siegfried of Westerburg on foundations of Roman predecessors. |
| 14. Jahrhundert | Curtain wall with four town gates | The medieval wall enclosing the town centre with its four town gates was built in the 14th century; according to the Historical Society, Zülpich is among the few towns in NRW that still have a closed medieval curtain wall. |
| 1856 | Grant of the Rhenish Municipal Code | After Zülpich had lost its municipal legal status in the French period, it regained it in 1856 through the grant of the Rhenish Municipal Code. |
| 1972 | Town twinning with Blaye | From a school exchange initiated in 1970 by headteacher Dr Theo Rohr arose the town twinning with Blaye in France, which was formally documented in 1972 by mayors Josef Peiffer and Gérard Grasilier. |
| 2006/2007 | Opening of the Museum of Bathing Culture | Architectural remains of the baths and parts of the late antique town wall were integrated into the museum “Römerthermen Zülpich – Museum der Badekultur”, opened in 2006/2007. museum-digital:rheinland cites the reworking and opening of the Museum of Bathing Culture for the year 2008. |
| 2024 | Opening of the Hubert Salentin Museum | On 30 September 2024 the Hubert Salentin Museum, supported by the Manfred Vetter Foundation, opened in Zülpich; it presents the foundation's Salentin collection and the collection of the town of Zülpich. |
| Mitte 1. Jahrhundert n. Chr. | Development of the vicus Tolbiacum | According to the Rhenish Town Atlas, the town-like settlement vicus Tolbiacum developed from the mid-1st century AD at the junction of important Roman long-distance roads. |
| Anfang 4. Jahrhundert | Curtain wall around the settlement | The Rhenish Town Atlas dates the fortification of the settlement with a curtain wall to the early 4th century. |
| nach 1369 | Rebuilding of the Electoral Cologne state castle | After redeeming a pledge, Archbishop Frederick III of Saarwerden after 1369 replaced the Jülich predecessor building with the Gothic castle keep visible today. |
| 17. Jahrhundert | Loss of importance through fires and wars | According to the Rhenish Town Atlas, Zülpich's importance declined from the 17th century due to town fires and the consequences of war. |
| 2003 | Private takeover of the state castle | Private investors took over the Electoral Cologne state castle in 2003 and restored it in stages; since then commercial and service businesses as well as the Zülpich history workshop have been based on the castle grounds. |
| 2005 | Premiere of the Zülpich Clovis Run | Since its premiere in 2005, the Zülpich Clovis Run has, according to the town, been a fixed part of the sports calendar of the Euskirchen district; with sometimes more than 1,500 starters it ranks among the region's largest running events by participation. |
| 1602 | Completion of the Spicilegium in Tolbiacum | In 1602 Heinrich Rost, Zülpich high court assessor, councillor and twice mayor, completed his manuscript “Spicilegium in Tolbiacum”, a central source on the legal, economic and urban history of Zülpich. |
| 1454 | Construction of the hospital chapel | According to the Zülpich pastoral area, the hospital chapel was built in 1454 from coloured sandstone and added to the first Zülpich hospital for the poor, crippled and blind, first mentioned in 1350. |
| Ende der 1920er Jahre | Discovery of the Roman baths | According to museum-digital:rheinland, the Roman baths were discovered in the late 1920s and excavated in the following decade; at first they remained largely unknown as part of the Propstei museum. |
| 24. Dezember 1944 | Destruction of the parish church of St Peter | In the Allied bombing raid on Christmas Eve 1944, the historic parish church of St Peter was, according to BauKunst NRW and the Zülpich pastoral area, largely or completely destroyed; the Romanesque crypt survived. |
| 1953–1957 | Reconstruction and consecration of St Peter | After the Second World War, reconstruction proceeded to plans by Karl Band; according to BauKunst NRW and the pastoral area, the foundation stone was laid in 1953, the bell tower was completed in 1957 and the church was consecrated. |
| 1670 | Construction of the Rochus Chapel | According to the Zülpich pastoral area, the magistrate of the town of Zülpich had the chapel in honour of Saint Roch built in 1670 after 350 people in Zülpich had died of the plague between 1666 and 1669. |
| 1988 | Town twinning with Elst | According to the town of Zülpich, the town twinning with the Dutch place Elst, which today belongs to the municipality of Overbetuwe, has existed since 1988. |
| 2014–2019 | Beginning of the Illuminated Gardens | According to Seepark Zülpich and the town, the light festival “Leuchtende Gärten” has taken place since the State Garden Show 2014; from 2014 to 2019 it was staged in the park at the moat by World of Lights. |
| 01.08.2017 | Change of sponsorship of the Stephanus School | According to the town of Zülpich, the special needs school Stephanusschule transferred to the sponsorship of the Euskirchen district on 1 August 2017. |
| 1208 | Pastorship of St Martin's Church granted to Steinfeld Abbey | In 1208 Count Lothar of Ahr and Hochstaden granted the pastorship over St Martin's Church to Steinfeld Abbey; it remained there until 1802. |
| 1285 | Reconstruction of St Martin's Church within the town walls | After Archbishop Sigfrid of Westerburg had a new curtain wall laid out around 1279, the old St Martin's Church was demolished and rebuilt within the town walls in 1285. |
| 1952 | Tower fire at St Martin's Church | In 1952 the tower of St Martin's Church burned out completely; after war damage the building had long been considered abandoned to decay and was later restored as a monument. |
| 14.–19.08.1978 | First contacts with the Finnish municipality of Kangasala | At the partnership seminar in Tampere, town director Wolfram Ander established first contacts with Kangasala; this had been preceded in December 1977 by a visit by Finnish youth leaders as part of the International Youth Exchange. |
| 17.07.1993 / 18.06.1994 | Town twinning with Kangasala | On 17 July 1993 the first act of twinning took place in Kangasala; on 18 June 1994 the partnership was confirmed in Zülpich. |
| 1996 | Clovis year in Zülpich | To mark the 1,500th anniversary of the legendary Battle of Zülpich and the baptism of Clovis, exhibitions and an international historians' colloquium at Langendorf Castle took place in 1996. |
| 1999 | Inauguration of the Clovis stele by Ulrich Rückriem | Manfred Vetter and Prof. Henrik Hanstein had the over seven-metre-high granite Clovis stele by Ulrich Rückriem made near Langendorf Castle in memory of the Clovis year 1996 and inaugurated it in 1999. |
| 18.12.2024 | Groundbreaking for flood diversion into the watersports lake | On 18 December 2024 the Erftverband began construction work on a flood diversion from the Vlattener Bach between Floren and Lövenich into the watersports lake with around 800,000 m³ of retention volume. |