Wurm

River in Germany

50°44′15″N 6°05′16″E / 50.7374694°N 6.0877111°E / 50.7374694; 6.0877111 • elevation265 m above sea level (NN) Mouth

• location

North of Heinsberg into the Rur

• coordinates

51°05′52″N 6°06′22″E / 51.0977°N 6.1062°E / 51.0977; 6.1062

• elevation

32 m above sea level (NN)Length57.1 km (35.5 mi) ^[1]Basin size355.518 km² (137.266 sq mi) ^[1]Basin featuresProgressionRur→ Meuse→ North SeaLandmarks

Cities: Aachen
Large towns: Geilenkirchen

The Wurm (German pronunciation: [vʊʁm]; Dutch: Worm [ʋɔr(ə)m]) is a river in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. It rises in the Eifel mountains and flows for 57 kilometres before discharging into the Rur.

Geography

The Wurm is a left (western) tributary of the Rur (Dutch: Roer). The Rur is a tributary of the Meuse.

The sources of the Wurm are several brooks in the forests southwest of Aachen, which form the Wurm after the Diepenbenden reservoir. From there the Wurm nowadays flows through canals through the city of Aachen, until it resurfaces again at the Europaplatz in the east of Aachen. North of Aachen (between Kerkrade and Herzogenrath) the river forms the border with the Netherlands for approximately 10 km. It flows into the Rur near Heinsberg.

Other towns on the river Wurm are Würselen, Übach-Palenberg and Geilenkirchen.

The name Wurm is thought to originate from the German word warm (same meaning in English), as the source brooks were fed from the thermal springs in Aachen.

Gallery

Meanders of the Wurm near Kohlscheid
Wilderness
Rimburg Castle near Übach-Palenberg
Watermill near Zweibrüggen
Castle Trips, Geilenkirchen
Wurm valley near Süggerath
Wurm at Gut Kalkofen, Aachen

References

^ ^a ^b Hydrographic Directory of the NRW State Office for Nature, the Environment and Consumer Protection (Gewässerverzeichnis des Landesamtes für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz NRW 2010) (xls; 4.67 MB)