Recklinghausen
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Recklinghausen | |
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![]() City hall | |
![]() Flag ![]() Coat of arms | |
show Location of Recklinghausen within Recklinghausen district | |
![]() ![]() Recklinghausen | |
Coordinates: 51°35′6″N 7°9′43″E / 51.58500°N 7.16194°ECoordinates: 51°35′6″N 7°9′43″E / 51.58500°N 7.16194°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
Admin. region | Münster |
District | Recklinghausen |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–25) | Christoph Tesche[1] (CDU) |
Area | |
• Total | 66.4 km2 (25.6 sq mi) |
Elevation | 85 m (279 ft) |
Population (2020-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 110,705 |
• Density | 1,700/km2 (4,300/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 45601–45665 |
Dialling codes | 02361 |
Vehicle registration | RE |
Website | www.recklinghausen.de (in German) |
Recklinghausen (German pronunciation: [ˌʁɛklɪŋˈhaʊzn̩] (listen)) is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghausen is the 60th-largest city in Germany and the 22nd-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia.
History[]
First mentioned in 1017 as Ricoldinchuson, in 1150 the city was the center of the surrounding Vest Recklinghausen. In 1236, Recklinghausen received town privileges. There is record of Jews in the city as early as 1305.[3] As part of the , ownership of Recklinghausen changed several times in the 15th and 16th century, and in 1576, the entire county was pawned to the Elector of Cologne. In 1582–83, again in 1586, and again in 1587, the city was plundered by partisan armies during the Cologne War, a feud over religious parity in Electorate of Cologne and electoral influence in the Holy Roman Empire.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Recklinghausen-Merian.png/260px-Recklinghausen-Merian.png)
Recklinghausen was also the site of more than 100 witchcraft trials (1514–1710)[citation needed]. The trial activity reached a climax twice: In the time period of 1580/81 and again in 1588/89. The last person to be convicted of witchcraft was Anna Spickermann; after spending 16 months in prison, she was sentenced to death by sword and burned afterward.
Circa 1600, the administration of the Vest Recklinghausen was divided into two parts, with the eastern part administered by Recklinghausen. The town of Recklinghausen including the parish of Recklinghausen and the parishes , Datteln, , , , Herten, Horneburg, Oer, , Waltrop and Westerholt. Circa 1815, the Vest was made a , with the town becoming the seat. In 1819, Herten joined the Recklinghausen Bürgermeisterei, and Erkenschwick followed in 1821.
As a target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, oil production at Recklinghausen/Forstezung[4] was bombed by the RAF on 15 January 1945; and South Recklinghausen (Recklinghausen Süd) was captured by the US 137th Infantry on 1 April 1945.[5]
Main sights[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Ikonenmuseum_2.jpg/220px-Ikonenmuseum_2.jpg)
Recklinghausen is home to a museum of icons, which includes more than 1,000 Orthodox works from Russia, Greece and the Balkan countries, as well as early Coptic Christian art from Egypt. The icon museum - the largest outside the Orthodox world - was founded in 1956 and reopened after renovation in February 2006 for its 50th anniversary.
The (Ruhr Festival Theatre), whose remodeling in 2001 won the German Architecture Award is home of "Die Liegende Nr 5", a famous sculpture by Henry Moore. At the Lohtor in front of a memorial for the victims of World War I, there is a large sculpture made of more than 30,000 bricks by Per Kirkeby.
Annual events[]
Recklinghausen hosts the annual Ruhrfestspiele (Ruhr Festival), a cultural festival with an international reputation. Every year there is a cultural programme with many national and international theatrical productions starting on 1 May. In 2008 the programme included the play Speed the Plow starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum as one of the major productions. The main theatrical stage is the but other theatres in and around Recklinghausen participate.
Transport[]
The two major motorways crossing the area of the city are the A2 and the A43. The city is connected to the larger waterways by the Rhein-Herne-Kanal. Recklinghausen has two railway stations. The Central Station (Recklinghausen Hauptbahnhof), which is served by Intercity and EuroCity services, and the South Station (Recklinghausen Südbahnhof).
There are two Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn - S 2 to Dortmund via Herne - Castrop-Rauxel and S 9 to Hagen via Gladbeck - Bottrop - Essen - Velbert - Wuppertal.
Twin towns – sister cities[]
Recklinghausen is twinned with:[6]
Notable people[]
- Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg (1750–1820), prince of Reckinghausen
- Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg (1785–1861), 2nd prince of Recklinghausen
- Fritz Emil Irrgang (1890–1951), Nazi politician and storm trooper
- Walter Giller (1927–2011), actor
- Karl Ridderbusch (1932–1997), opera singer
- Ursula Dirichs (born 1935), actress
- Rosemarie Koczy (1939–2007), artist and teacher, concentration camp survivor
- Klaus Schulten (1947–2016), biophysicist
- Renate Künast (born 1955), politician (Alliance 90/The Greens)
- Ralf Möller (born 1959), actor
- Ludger Pistor (born 1959), actor
- Hape Kerkeling (born 1964), comedian and author
- Martin Max (born 1968), footballer
- Mark Dragunski (born 1970), handball player
- Moguai (born 1973), DJ and producer
- Frank Busemann (born 1975), decathlete
- Thomas Godoj (born 1978), Polish-German singer, Deutschland sucht den Superstar winner
Mayors since 1809[]
- Bürgermeister
- 1809–1833:
- 1833–1839:
- 1840–1842:
- 1843–1850:
- 1854–1890:
- 1890–1899:
- Oberbürgermeister
- 1899–1904:
- 1904–1919:
- 1919–1931:
- 1932–1939:
- 1939–1945: Fritz Emil Irrgang, NSDAP
- 1945–1946: , CDU
- 1946–1948: , CDU
- 1948–1952: , CDU
- 1952–1972: , SPD
- 1972–1984: , SPD
- Bürgermeister
- 1984–1987: , SPD
- 1987–1998: , SPD
- Hauptamtliche Bürgermeister
- 1998–1999: , SPD
- 1999–2014: , CDU
- 2014–2021: , CDU[7]
Gallery[]
Central market
Lohtor Square with Saint Peter's Church and sculpture of Per Kirkeby
Former hospital in Westviertel
Half-timber houses in the city
The "Palais Vest" shopping mall
City wall from the Middle Ages
References[]
- ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2020" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "The Jewish Community of Recklinghausen". Beit Hatfutsot Open Databases Project. The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot.
- ^ "Questia".[dead link]
- ^ "The Central Europe Campaign, Page 3 - The 35th Infantry Division in World War Two". www.35thinfdivassoc.com. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
- ^ "Städtepartnerschaften". recklinghausen.de (in German). Recklinghausen. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ^ "Bürgermeister - Stadt Recklinghausen". www.recklinghausen.de. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Recklinghausen. |
- Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia
- Recklinghausen
- Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia
- Province of Westphalia
- Oil campaign of World War II