More than 1100 years ...
It seems to be a long way from Wormsalt to Würselen but in 1970, Würselen celebrated its 11 hundreds birthday. Wormsalt was firstly mentioned in a document, dated 17. Oktober 870 that traces to ‘Karl der Große’ who reigned the whole of Europe from Aachen. Aachen, only 10 km away, is well-known to the English speaking world today due to the 'Karl's-Preis'; a reward given to those who contibute substantially to peace and freedom in Europe. Tony Blair and Bill Clinton got that reward in recent times.
Aachen, the great neighbour
During the centuries, Aachen was the cultural and - most of the time - the political centre of the region as it is today. The unequal neighbours Aachen and Würselen got into an argument over taxes, over the border line, over the use of the forest and over all possible and impossible things neighbours can fight for a millenium. Today, Würselen is in economic competition with Aachen. (To vent my heart, it is still the old fight ...-:) ).
In 1815, Würselen belonged to Prussia and was the home of 3500 people This number increases to 10.000 before 1900. In 1924, Würselen finally made it to get city rights and was still growing.
Bardenberg and Broichweiden
The last mark stone in 1972 was the incorporation of two villages in the vicinity of the city of Würselen, Bardenberg and Broichweiden. By 
the way, Bardenberg is now the oldest part of Würselen, firstly mentioned in a document dated 867 and it is proud of it. This document indicates that in those early days there was a mill in the valley of the river Wurm. In contrast, Broichweiden is rather young and well-known since the 13. Century. Before incorporation, it was the ‘longest village’ in Germany.
Coal mining
During the last century the industry in Würselen was dominated by coal mining. The first pits are dated 1353, may be the first one in Europe? Up today, one can find coal drirectly at the ground in the valley of the river Wurm. When the last pit was closed in the ‘70ies of the last century, Würselen took the chance to re-structure the economic life and convert the city into a modern centre of service industry. Today, Würselen had found a new identity.
Since 870 much has changed. However, Würselen still is in the heart of Europe, a heart that is beating faster then ever.