Remscheid
Remscheid | |
|---|---|
| German Röntgen Museum German Röntgen Museum | |
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Coat of arms of Remscheid Coat of arms | |
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| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Düsseldorf |
| District | Urban district |
| Government | |
| • Lord mayor (2025–30) | Sven Wolf (SPD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 74.6 km2 (28.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 365 m (1,198 ft) |
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| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 42801–42899 |
| Dialling codes | 02191 |
| Vehicle registration | RS |
| Website | www.remscheid.de |
Remscheid (German pronunciation: [ˈʁɛmʃaɪt] Audio file "De-Remscheid.ogg" not found) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third-largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on the south side of the Ruhr area.
Remscheid had around 109,000 inhabitants in 2015. At the end of 2019 it had 113,703 inhabitants. A variety of the Limburgish language, known locally as Remscheder Platt is spoken in the city through all generations.
Geography
[edit | edit source]Remscheid comprises four boroughs, Alt-Remscheid, Remscheid-Süd, Lennep, and Lüttringhausen.
Its highest point is the Brodtberg (378 m).
History
[edit | edit source]Remscheid was founded in the 12th century, but remained a small village until the 19th century. Early spellings for the city included Remissgeid (1217), Rymscheyd (1351), Reymscheyd (1487) and Rembscheid (1639). The economic growth of the entire Rhine-Ruhr region led to an increase of the population of Remscheid. Mechanical engineering and toolmaking were the main industries practised within the town. This is carried on today with the Hazet tool company which has three factories in Remscheid. Remscheid was part of the Prussian Rhine Province from 1822 to 1945.
On 31 July 1943, during World War II, Remscheid was almost completely destroyed during a British bombing raid which caused a firestorm. This bombing raid was the final operation of RAF's Battle of the Ruhr involving 273 aircraft. Today around one third of the city consists of buildings from before World War II.[1] During 14 and 15 April 1945, Remscheid was captured by the 78th Infantry Division (United States).[2][3]
An A-10 Thunderbolt II crashed in the city on 8 December 1988. Six people died.
Demographics
[edit | edit source]As of 31 December 2019, the city's population was 113,703, of which 92,726 (81.6%) were German citizens and 20,977 (18.4%) were non-Germans (Ausländer); of the non-German population, the top 10 nationalities represented were as follows:[4]
| Rank | Nationality | Population (31.12.2019) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | File:Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey | 5,749 |
| 2 | File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy | 3,158 |
| 3 | File:Flag of Syria (2025-).svg Syria | 1,264 |
| 4 | File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland | 1,187 |
| 5 | File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria | 1,039 |
| 6 | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | 866 |
| 7 | File:Flag of North Macedonia.svg North Macedonia | 748 |
| 8 | File:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia | 646 |
| 9 | File:Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia | 583 |
| 10 | File:Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal | 493 |
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Politics
[edit | edit source]Mayor
[edit | edit source]The current mayor of Remscheid is Sven Wolf of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), elected in 2025.
The previous mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burkhard Mast-Weisz | Social Democratic Party | 22,431 | 60.6 | |
| Heidemarie Alexa Bell | Christian Democratic Union | 9,710 | 26.2 | |
| Peter Keck | Pro Remscheid | 1,908 | 5.2 | |
| Fritz Beinersdorf | The Left | 1,309 | 3.5 | |
| Roland Kirchner | W.i.R. Remscheid | 877 | 2.4 | |
| Bettina Stamm | Real Remscheid | 775 | 2.1 | |
| Valid votes | 37,010 | 98.5 | ||
| Invalid votes | 548 | 1.5 | ||
| Total | 37,558 | 100.0 | ||
| Electorate/voter turnout | 85,783 | 43.8 | ||
| Source: State Returning Officer | ||||
City council
[edit | edit source]
The Remscheid city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:
| Party | Votes | % | +/− | Seats | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 12,718 | 34.5 | Decrease 0.3 | 20 | Decrease 1 | |
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 11,036 | 29.9 | Decrease 7.3 | 17 | Decrease 3 | |
| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 5,409 | 14.7 | Increase 6.3 | 9 | Increase 5 | |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 1,945 | 5.3 | Increase 0.6 | 3 | Increase 1 | |
| Pro Remscheid (PRO) | 1,870 | 5.1 | Increase 0.7 | 3 | Increase 1 | |
| The Left (Die Linke) | 1,700 | 4.6 | Decrease 1.4 | 3 | ±0 | |
| W.i.R. Remscheid (WIR) | 1,092 | 3.0 | Decrease 1.5 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Real Remscheid (Echt) | 788 | 2.1 | New | 1 | New | |
| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 358 | 1.0 | New | 0 | New | |
| Valid votes | 36,916 | 98.4 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 592 | 1.6 | ||||
| Total | 37,508 | 100.0 | 58 | Increase 6 | ||
| Electorate/voter turnout | 85,783 | 43.7 | Increase 0.7 | |||
| Source: State Returning Officer | ||||||
Main sights
[edit | edit source]- The Müngstener Brücke is a railway bridge crossing a valley and connecting Remscheid with the neighbouring town of Solingen. It is 107 m above the ground, making it the highest railway bridge in Germany. It was constructed in 1897 and originally named the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Brücke after Wilhelm I (whose 100th birthday would have been in 1897).
- The Eschbachtalsperre, the first dam built in Germany for the supply of drinking water is located here. It was built in 1891.
- The old city of the borough Lennep consists of 116 houses from 1756.
Twin towns – sister cities
[edit | edit source]
Remscheid also cooperates with Mrągowo County, Poland and Schmalkalden, Germany.[5]
Notable people
[edit | edit source]- Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt (1773–1854), scientist
- Gottfried Duden (1789–1856), writer
- Ewald Over (1835-1912), entrepreneur and veteran
- Oscar Schlitter (1838–1939), banker
- Johannes Fastenrath (1839–1908), lawyer, writer and translator
- August Gissler (1857–1935), adventurer and treasure hunter
- Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923), discoverer of x-rays
- Walter Freitag (1889–1958), trade union leader and politician
- Otto Jungtow (1892–1959), footballer
- Otto Kuhler (1894–1977), American designer of locomotives
- Hans Stammreich (1902–1969), German-Brazilian chemist
- Teo Otto (1904–1968), stage designer
- Wolfgang von der Nahmer (1906–1988), conductor
- Gustav Adolf Theill (1924–1997), composer and musicologist
- Karl Michael Vogler (1928–2009), actor
- Wolfgang Seiler (born 1940), biogeochemist and climatologist
- Peter Brötzmann (1941–2023), free jazz saxophonist
- Christel Frese (born 1944), athlete
- Michael Bacht (born 1947), artist
- Frank Plasberg (born 1957), journalist
- Lutz Huelle (born 1966), fashion designer
- Wolfgang Tillmans (born 1968), photographer
- Georg Wurth (born 1972), lobbyist and activist
- Christiane Soeder (born 1975), German-Austrian cyclist
- Robert A. Küfner (born 1988), entrepreneur, raised here
- The Rotation (born 1996), professional wrestler
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
Kraspütt 3 in Lennep
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Bond of the town Remscheid, issued 25 August 1922
References
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Available on Stadt Remscheid website under "Bevölkerung und Bevölkerungsentwicklung Archived 16 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine".
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External links
[edit | edit source]
- Official website
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- German Roentgen-Museum (in German)
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