On July 4, 1923, the Jülich Historical Society was founded to preserve regional history. The driving force behind the establishment of the Jülich Historical Society was the Jülich publisher and deputy mayor Adolf Fischer, who was elected as the vice-chairman of the newly founded association.
The founding was a response to the occupation of the city by French and Belgian troops after World War I. The society reactivated the local museum in the Hexenturm and organized regular lectures. After a pause during World War II, the society was officially re-established in 1957. In the following years, the society intensified its activities and established new event formats, such as the Jülich Book Fair.
When the society celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1998, it gifted itself a nearly 1,000-page commemorative publication. In that year, a lawyer named Erwin Fuchs was elected as the new chairman. He was succeeded in 2007 by the current chairman, Guido von Büren. In the 66 years since its re-establishment, the society has thus had only five chairpersons.
With numerous cooperation partners in the region and in Leverkusen’s European partner cities, a collaboration has been established that has elevated local historical work to a whole new dimension.
