Viersen

Viersen
Coat of arms	Location

Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Düsseldorf
District	Viersen
Town subdivisions	4
Mayor	Günter Thönnessen (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	91.07 km² (35.2 sq mi)
Elevation	40 m (131 ft)
Population	76,479 (31/12/2005)
- Density	840 /km² (2,175 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	VIE
Postal codes	41747–41751
Area codes	0 21 62
Website	www.viersen.de Coordinates: 51°15′22″N 6°23′50″E / 51.25611, 6.39722

Viersen is the capital of the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

[edit] Geography

Viersen is situated approximately 8 km north-west of Mönchengladbach, 15 km south-west of Krefeld and 20 km east of Venlo.

The city of Viersen is made up of three (formerly independent) cities: Süchteln, Dülken and Viersen.

The companies "Masterfoods" (Mars Bar) and the "Kaiser's Tengelmann AG" are situated in one of Viersen's industrial districts named Mackenstein.

International Jazz Festival in Viersen's Festival Hall (Festhalle). September
The World Championships of Carom Billards take place in Viersen's Festival Hall (Festhalle). March
Big Carnival Parades in all 3 city parts. The one in Dülken is one of the biggest and most traditional Parades in North Rhine-Westphalia. February
The "Schöppenmarkt" in Dülken, a type of flea/junk market, which takes place on the day after the last Carnival parade, is one of Germany's biggest. February
Big free-of-charge flea market in the Viersen's pedestrian zone where only children are allowed to sell. Biggest market of this type in Germany. Summer
"Viersen blüht" (Viersen is blooming) is a voluntary initiative which places arrangements and sculptures of flowers all over the city's pedestrian zone. Summer
International Biker Meeting, organized by the local biker-club "MC Viersen 1980 e.V.". 2nd weekend each September
Viersen Jazz Festival. 4th weekend each September
Big kite-flying-festival. Autumn