on Ash Wednesday, is one of Germany's biggest. The Dülken Bierbörse (beer fair) in July, situated on the marketplace and within the old town, offers beers from various regions and countries. Mühlenfest (mill festival), end of August with bands and shows on the market square. Dülkener Herbstmarkt (autumn market) begin of October. Here, local producers and traders offer various fruits and vegetables which are grown in the vicinity of the city – often very rare sorts of apples or pears. In addition, small producers sell handmade mustard, jam, or oils up to mead. Various plants and flowers are available from local nurseries. Objects of interest The old town of Dülken consists of mainly houses from the period of Gründerzeit (promoterism) to about 1920 around the marketsquare, towered above by the church of St. Cornelius, one of the biggest churches in the Lower Rhine region. Some older structures close to the former city wall date around 1720. The Narrenmühle "fools´ wind mill" is domicile for a Carnival society: Narrenakademie "fools´academy" with the moon as coat of arms. This is one of the oldest Carnival societies worldwide, dating back to 1554. The fool´'s academy provides diplomas as "doctor humoris causa", e.g. for Salvador Dalí, Neil Armstrong, Konrad Adenauer, current politicians or artists and local persons. A small museum shows curiosities and historic exhibits. Some parts of the old city fortifications (wall, watchtower, ditch). As curiosity, the citizens donated a lifesize bronze statue in 1980, remembering a man emptying slurry pits in the outskirts before 1890 as "an early example of outstanding service orientation". The place for this statue is more prominent than emperor Wilhelm's statue. Notable people Hilde Bruch (1904–1984), German-born American psychoanalyst Reinhard Kluth (1950–2020), church musician and composer Gustav von Mevissen (1815–1899), German businessman and politician Erik Martin (born 1936), German writer, editor, songwriter and composer of songs References Literature and sources Geschichte der Stadt Dülken (chronicles of Dülken) http://digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de/ihd/content/titleinfo/1673945 Peter Norrenberg, Baedeker Verlag 1874, Viersen, digitized at University of Düsseldorf. Arie Nabrings: Dülken einst und jetzt. Ein Bild- und Textband zur Geschichte der Stadt. Stadtarchiv (city archive), Viersen 1993, . Arie Nabrings: Die Dülkener Narrenmühle und das Museum Narrenakademie Dülken. The fool`s academy and her story, 2002. Werner Mellen: Viersen-Dülken. (= Rheinische Kunststätten, Band ###.) Köln 1987, . André Schmitz: Napoleon in Dülken. Stories from the nightwatch by André Schmitz. Dülken. Iris Kater Verlag 2014. Norbert Bonus, Eleonore Föhles: