It was established as a station for plague and leprosy patients in the High Middle Ages at this busy crossroads because the "Siechen" (Middle High German: the sick) could easily beg for alms from travellers there. The inn that was later built there also indicates that travellers from near and far met here.
The farm track that now runs past the sick house from Sievernich no longer reveals that the military road “Aachen-Frankfurt Heerstraße” ran here. Its age can be traced back to Carolingian times. However, archaeologists believe that it had a Roman predecessor. In the Middle Ages, it served not only as a military road, but also as a trade, pilgrimage and postal route.
In the 19th century, the east-west route gradually lost importance or was replaced by new roads built from Düren via Zülpich to Euskirchen. The Roman road between Cologne and Trier was also renovated and rerouted in the second half of the 19th century. By this time, both roads had lost much of their importance compared to new routes from Cologne and Düren via Euskirchen to Trier and the Rhine, but above all due to the new railway lines in both directions.
