In the center of Herzogenrath, we encounter Rode Castle and the remains of the town wall, witnesses to the Middle Ages. Then we dive into the green tunnel of the nature-protected Broichbach valley with its babbling brook, alluvial forests and agricultural tradition. On the horizon, the Noppenberg slag heap rises out of the panorama and, like the settlement of Zopp, is reminiscent of the mining era. The Energeticon industrial monument has a new function. Instead of coal, the focus is now on tourist information, a museum and the energy source of the future.