Hürtgen Forest

The Krawutschke Tower (German: Krawutschketurm) is a 13 metre tall observation tower in the Hürtgenwald municipality in Germany, about one kilometer east of the village center of Bergstein, approximately 10 km south of Düren. The Krawutschke Tower is 400.5 m above sea level, situated on the Burgberg (Engl. castle mountain), which, during World War II, also had the Allied-given name Hill 400 due to its elevation. The Krawutschke Tower has three platforms, one above the other, each separated by three meters. On a clear day, one can see Cologne cathedral. Looking eastward, the Nideggen Castle is visible on the other side of the Rur valley. The tower has a panoramic view over the reservoir with the dam at Obermaubach. In 1911 an observation tower was built on the ruins of the former Berenstein castle, the medieval name Berenstein eventually becoming today's Bergstein. In 1933 a new tower was erected, named Eifelwanderer Franz Krawutschke after the locally famous Eifel Club member, Franz Krawutschke (1862-1940). The tower, which also was being used as a fire lookout tower, was heavily damaged during World War II and then destroyed by a forest fire in 1945. It was rebuilt in 1972, financed by the municipality of Hürtgenwald, the Eifel Club, the district of Düren and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. From July 2005 to November 2006 the tower had to be closed for safety reasons. After renovation of a substantial part of the supporting wooden construction (costs about € 65,000), the tower is open to the public again.

Rinnebach is a river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rur.

Hürtgenwald is a municipality in the district of Düren in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Eifel hills, approx. 15 km south-west of Düren. Much of the area is covered by forest (Hürtgenwald in literal translation means Hürtgen Forest). Hürtgenwald is composed of the villages Bergstein, Brandenberg, Gey, Großhau, Horm, Hürtgen, Kleinhau, Raffelsbrand, Schafberg, Simonskall, Strass, Vossenack and Zerkall (in alphabetical order). Kleinhau with the town hall is not only the administrational center of the community, but has become the commercial center as well (shops and a few supermarkets). In World War II, Hürtgenwald was the theater of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, a major battle. Two large war graves (one in Hürtgen, one in Vossenack) are places to commemorate those who fell. Nowadays, the pleasing landscape of forested hills, lakes and rivers attracts a lot of people from nearby densely populated areas, e.g. from the Cologne area and the Ruhr Area, for recreational reasons.

Nideggen (German: [ˈniːdɛɡn̩] ) is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 15 km south of Düren. Nideggen is known for its ruined, but partly restored castle (Burg Nideggen) and the sandstone rocks along the Rur. It is twinned with Thatcham in Berkshire, England. The first mention in history was in 1184. The town was created in 1972 by amalgamation of eight until then independent communities: Abenden (782 inhabitants), Berg-Thuir (709), Brück (301), Embken (734), Muldenau (161), Nideggen (2,983), Rath (757), Schmidt (2,974), Wollersheim (637) (December 2014). It is situated between 250 and 450 metres above sea level.

Mühlbach is a small river of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows into the Rur in Abenden.

Blens Castle (German: Burg Blens) stands at a height of 205 m above sea level (NHN) on the eastern edge of Blens, a town quarter of Heimbach (Eifel) above the River Rur in the county of Düren, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Kreuzau is a municipality in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, approx. 5 km south of Düren.

The Rur Dam (German: Rurtalsperre Schwammenauel) is a 77.2 metre high dam located in the southwestern part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It was built in 1939 and impounds the River Rur to form the Rur Reservoir (Rurstausee or Rursee) which is 7.83 km2 in area. It lies within the districts of Aachen and Düren.

Kraftwerk Heimbach is a hydro-electric power station in Heimbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was built in Jugendstil architecture, completed in 1905, then the largest hydro-electric power station in Europe. It is also known as Urftkraftwerk, because it uses water from the Urft reservoir. The original eight Francis turbines served until 1974, when they were replaced by two more powerful turbines, leaving two in place for historic value. The power station is still operating to cover peak demand, run by RWE. In 1998, the Spannungen festival of chamber music has been held in the turbine hall for one week in June. The turbines are stopped during the concerts. The upper floor of the power station houses a museum for historic electric appliances.

The Rur Eifel (German: Rureifel) lies in the district of Düren in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and is a local recreation area from the regions of Cologne, Aachen, Düsseldorf, Krefeld, Mönchengladbach and Bonn. Its name comes from the river Rur and the Eifel Mountains. The Rur Eifel geographically includes the towns of Nideggen, Heimbach and Schleiden as well as the municipalities of Hürtgenwald, Kreuzau and Hellenthal. This holiday and day-excursion region is widely known for having the second largest dam in Europe, the Schwammenauel, or Rur Dam, the Eifel National Park and the North Eifel Nature Park.

The Eifel National Park (German: Nationalpark Eifel) is the 14th national park in Germany and the first in North Rhine-Westphalia. The park was founded in 2004, and is classified as a "national park in development".Eifel National Park is part of the much larger High Fens – Eifel Nature Park, a cross-border protection between Germany and Belgium established in 1960.

The Sonnenberg, near Heimbach in the county of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is a hill, 393.3 m above sea level (NHN), in the Rur Eifel, a northern part of the Eifel mountains in Germany.