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Witten

Coordinates: 51°26′N 7°20′E / 51.433°N 7.333°E / 51.433; 7.333
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Witten (disambiguation).
Witten
Town
Town hall in Witten
Town hall in Witten
Flag of Witten
Flag
Coat of arms of Witten
Coat of arms
Location of Witten within Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district
BochumDortmundEssenGelsenkirchenHagenHerneMettmann (district)Unna (district)Märkischer KreisOberbergischer KreisRemscheidWuppertalBreckerfeldEnnepetalGevelsbergHattingenHerdeckeSchwelmSprockhövelWetter (Ruhr)Witten
Witten is located in Germany
Witten
Witten
Witten is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
Witten
Witten
Coordinates: 51°26′N 7°20′E / 51.433°N 7.333°E / 51.433; 7.333
CountryGermany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. regionArnsberg
DistrictEnnepe-Ruhr-Kreis
Subdivisions8 districts
Government
 • Mayor (2020–25) Lars König[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total
72.40 km2 (27.95 sq mi)
Elevation
104 m (341 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[2]
 • Total
95,724
 • Density1,300/km2 (3,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
58401 - 58456
Dialling codes02302, 02324 (Buchholz)
Vehicle registrationEN, WIT
Websitewitten.de

Witten (German: [ˈvɪtn̩] ⓘ) is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Geography

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Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area.

Bordering municipalities

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Boroughs

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Witten is divided into eight boroughs and each borough is further divided into two or more city-districts. Every district has its own district-number:

  • Witten-Mitte: 11 Innenstadt, 12 Oberdorf-Helenenberg, 13 Industriegebiet-West, 14 Krone, 15 Crengeldanz, 16 Hauptfriedhof, 17 Stadion, 18 Industriegebiet-Nord, 19 Hohenstein
  • Düren: 21 Düren-Nord, 22 Düren-Sued
  • Stockum: 31 Stockum-Mitte, 32 Dorney, 33 Stockumer Bruch, 34 Wilhelmshöhe
  • Annen: 41 Tiefendorf, 42 Wullen, 43 Annen-Mitte-Nord, 44 Annen-Mitte-Süd, 45 Kohlensiepen, 46 Wartenberg, 47 Gedern
  • Rüdinghausen: 51 Industriegebiet-Ost, 52 Rüdinghausen-Mitte, 53 Buchholz, 54 Schnee
  • Bommern: 61 Steinhausen, 62 Bommerbank, 63 Bommerfeld, 64 Wettberg, 65 Buschey, 66 Bommeregge
  • Heven: 71 Papenholz, 72 Hellweg, 73 Wannen, 74 Heven-Dorf, 75 Lake
  • Herbede: 81 Herbede-Ort, 82 Vormholz, 83 Bommerholz-Muttental, 84 Durchholz, 85 Buchholz-Kaempen

Population 1739–2020

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Year Inhabitants
1739 566
1787 690
1808 1,587
1830 2,210
1 December 1840 2,987
1 December 1855 5,112
3 December 1858 6,908
3 December 1864 10,500
3 December 1867 12,200
1 December 1871 15,161
1 December 1875 18,100
1 December 1880 21,600
1 December 1885 23,879
Year Inhabitants
1 December 1890 26,310
2 December 1895 28,769
1 December 1900 33,517
1 December 1905 35,841
1 December 1910 37,450
1 December 1916 34,864
5 December 1917 35,033
8 October 1919 37,441
16 June 1925 45,519
16 June 1933 72,580
17 May 1939 73,365
31 December 1945 70,276
29 October 1946 69,384
Year Inhabitants
13 September 1950 76,312
25 September 1956 91,706
6 June 1961 96,462
31 December 1965 98,506
27 May 1970 97,379
31 December 1975 108,771
31 December 1980 105,876
31 December 1985 102,259
25 May 1987 102,902
31 December 1990 105,403
31 December 1995 104,754
31 December 2000 103,196
30 June 2005 101,019
Year Inhabitants
31 December 2011 98,330
31 December 2015 96,700
31 December 2016 96,781
31 December 2019 96,459
31 December 2020 95,876

History

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The Roburit Explosion in 1906

Witten was first mentioned in historic sources in 1214, however the borough Herbede (which was incorporated into the city in 1975) dates back to 851. The city was a mining town from 1578. In 1946, it was included in North Rhine-Westphalia on its establishment. In 1975 Witten was included in the administrative district Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis and it is now its biggest city. 1975 was also the year Witten was first counted to have more than 100,000 inhabitants, the threshold to be considered a large city ("Großstadt") in Germany.

Roburit Explosion

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In the late 19th century Witten was known for the Roburit dynamite. This dynamite was once used by coal mines around the world. In 1906 an explosion occurred, resulting in the deaths of 41 people.[citation needed]

Politics

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Townhall and Johannis-Church

In the local elections of 2004 the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was the largest party on the council with 24 seats. It was followed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 18 and the Alliance 90/The Greens with 7, the WBG (a conservative lis) and Free Democrats with four each, FLW (also a conservative list) with three, National Democratic Party two, and the PDS/WAL (socialists) and AUF Witten (a left wing list) with one each.

From 2004 to 2020, for the first time in its history, the council was led by a female mayor: Sonja Leidemann (SPD). In the election of 2020 she lost her mandate to Lars König (CDU).

Mayor

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The current mayor of Witten is Lars König of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

Candidate Party First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Sonja Leidemann Social Democratic Party 12,365 34.5 11,365 40.0
Lars König Christian Democratic Union 10,595 29.6 17,036 60.0
Stefan Borggraefe Pirate Party Germany 4,005 11.2
Martin Strautz Citizens' Forum 2,276 6.4
Ursula Weiß The Left 2,227 6.2
Richard Surrey Witten Citzen's Association/Free Voters 1,793 5.0
Michael Hasenkamp CityClimate Witten 1,110 3.1
Hans-Peter Skotarzik Witten.Direct 1,052 2.9
Norman Kerner Independent 397 1.1
Valid votes 35,820 98.1 28,401 98.7
Invalid votes 709 1.9 369 1.3
Total 36,529 100.0 28,770 100.0
Electorate/voter turnout 78,110 46.8 77,920 36.9
Source: City of Witten (1st round, 2nd round)

City council

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Results of the 2020 city council election.

The Witten 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) 9,052 25.2 Decrease 10.0 16 Decrease 9
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 8,349 23.2 Decrease 0.3 15 Decrease 2
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 7,404 20.6 Increase 7.6 13 Increase 4
Citizens' Forum (BF) 2,182 6.1 Decrease 4.4 4 Decrease 3
Alternative for Germany (AfD) 1,681 4.7 New 3 New
Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) 1,536 4.3 Increase 2.2 3 Increase 1
The Left (Die Linke) 1,441 4.0 Decrease 2.0 3 Decrease 1
Witten Citizens' Association/Free Voters (WGB-FW) 1,120 3.1 Increase 0.9 2 ±0
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 838 2.3 Increase 0.1 2 ±0
Die PARTEI 739 2.1 New 1 New
CityClimate Witten (SKW) 631 1.8 New 1 New
Witten.Direct (W.D) 535 1.5 New 1 New
Alternative Independent Progressive Witten (AUF) 227 0.6 Decrease 0.6 0 Decrease 1
Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) 139 0.4 New 0 New
Grassroots Democratic List Witten (BLW) 87 0.2 New 0 New
Independent Norman Kerner 13 0.0 New 0 New
Valid votes 35,974 98.5
Invalid votes 547 1.5
Total 36,521 100.0 64 Decrease 8
Electorate/voter turnout 78,108 46.8 Decrease 0.4
Source: City of Witten

State Landtag

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In the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, Witten is part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II constituency. Nadja Büteführ of the SPD was elected as representative in the 2017 state election. Verena Schäffer of the Greens also ran in the constituency and was elected to the Landtag on her party's state list.

Federal parliament

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In the Bundestag, Witten is part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis II constituency. Axel Echeverria of the SPD was elected as representative in the 2021 German federal election.

Transport

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Tram in Witten-Heven

Witten is connected to the Autobahn network by the A 43 and A 44 motorways. It has a central station, connecting the city to the regional-train-network of Deutsche Bahn with direct connections to Hagen, Bochum, Essen, Siegen, Wuppertal, Düsseldorf, Aachen or Dortmund. Local service is carried out by the BOGESTRA, a joint venture between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen, to which most of the bus lines in Witten belong. There is a tram line connecting to Bochum. From mid-December on, there will be two tram lines, which will run in Witten (lines 309 and 310). When the new track to Langendreer is completed (September 2020), the tram lines will ride to the station of Bochum-Langendreer (309) or to Wattenscheid-Höntrop via Bochum main station (310). Public transport in the city is carried out according to the fare system of the VRR transport association.

Coat of arms

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The coat of arms of Witten with its two lions once belong to the Everhards von Witten-Steinhausen and was first mentioned in 1283. The family of Witten-Steinhausen belongs to the founders of the town of Witten. Their slogan was: "Sigillum Hermanni de Wittene". Because of its long history this coat of arms was the only one in the Ruhr area, that was not forbidden by the Allies in May 1945, after the end of the Second World War.

Culture

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Twin towns – sister cities

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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Witten is twinned with:[3]

Religions

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St. Maria Church

Roman Catholic

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When Witten was first mentioned in historical documents, it was part of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Since 1821 it has been a part of the Diocese of Paderborn; however, the borough of Herbede belongs to the Diocese of Essen. In the 19th century the Ruhr area drew up to 500,000 Poles from East Prussia and Silesia, most of whom were Catholic. Hundreds settled in Witten, leading to a growth in the Catholic community. Today, between 30 and 40 per cent of the population is Catholic.

Protestant

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In the 16th century Witten was influenced by Martin Luther's Reformation, and until the late 19th century, Witten was a predominantly Protestant town with just a few Catholic inhabitants. Between 30 and 40 per cent of the population is Protestant today.

Muslims

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There are four mosques in Witten, Annen and Herbede today, founded by immigrants from Turkey who arrived in the 1970s and 1980s. Between five and eight per cent of the population is Muslim.

Jews

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Memorial at the place of the former synagogue

In 1815 the first Jewish community was mentioned in Witten. In 1938 the synagogue was destroyed during the so-called "Reichspogromnacht" (also known as Kristallnacht) of 9–10 November 1938. Today, only about a dozen Jews live in Witten. They belong to the Jewish community in Dortmund.

Since 1994 the place of the former synagogue is marked with a memorial.

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 19 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2023 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 2024-06-20.
  3. ^ "Städtepartnerschaften". win.witten.de (in German). Witten. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
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