Düren [key], city, North Rhine–Westphalia, W Germany, on the Rur (Roer) River. It is a transportation and industrial center; manufactures include paper, food products, textiles, transportation equipment, plastics, and chemicals. Düren was a center of Carolingian culture. In 1246 it was given to the count of Jülich by Emperor Frederick II. In 1543 it was captured and burned by the troops of Emperor Charles V. The city was severely damaged during World War II, but has been largely reconstructed. Annexations in the early 1970s of Gurzenich and Birkesdorf enlarged the city by more than half.
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