Schwelm
Schwelm is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr Rural District the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Schwelm within Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district  | |
| Coordinates: 51°16′N 7°16′E / 51.267°N 7.267°ECoordinates: 51°16′N 7°16′E / 51.267°N 7.267°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Arnsberg |
| District | Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gabriele Grollmann |
| Area | |
| • Total | 20.5 km2 (7.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 213 m (699 ft) |
| Population (2009-06-30) | |
| • Total | 29,043 |
| • Density | 1,417/km2 (3,669/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 58332 |
| Vehicle registration | EN |
| Website | www |
Geography
Schwelm is in the southeast of the "Ruhrgebiet", the Ruhr Area of Germany, between Westphalia and the "Bergisches Land". Schwelm is commonly known as the "Pforte Westfalens" ("Gate to Westphalia").
History
The history of Schwelm goes back to the ninth century, where it is first mentioned as "Suelmiu". The city of Schwelm was officially established in 1496 and became seat of the Ennepe-Ruhr district in 1929. According to its area, Schwelm is the smallest town in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Points of interest
Schwelm is home to the "Brauerei Schwelm", the Schwelm Brewery, one of the few remaining private breweries in Germany. It was started in 1830 by Haarmann & Kathagen, the brewery was one of the first worldwide to switch from wooden to metal barrels. The original office building of the brewery, the "Rietz'sche Haus" built in 1701, is still in use today.
The oldest piano manufacturer in the world is in Schwelm. Since 1794, "Rud. Ibach Sohn" has been building pianos and, until 1904, organs in Schwelm.
Notable citizens
- Friedrich Christoph Müller (1751 in Allendorf (Lumba) - 1808): theologian and map maker (in Schwelm between 1785 and 1808)
- Gustav Heinemann (July 23, 1899 - July 7, 1976): third president of the Federal Republic of Germany (from 1969 to 1974)
- Johannes Joachim Degenhardt (January 31, 1926 - July 25, 2002): Cardinal and Archbishop of Paderborn
- Franz Josef Degenhardt (March 12, 1931): political singer/songwriter
- Friedrich Niewöhner (September 7, 1941 - November 1, 2005): philosophy historian
- Martin Grötschel (October 9, 1948): mathematician and laureate of the Leibniz price
- Rolf Rüssmann (October 13, 1950): footballer and football manager
- Judith Kuckart (June 17, 1959): tripper, choreographer, stage director and author
- Thorsten Schmidt (February 18, 1972): racing cyclist and participant of the Tour de France
- Olivia Luczak (November 24, 1981): Polish-German amateur boxer
Schwelm Media
Town map by Johann Ricer, 1722
Results of the 2020 city council election.
- For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme.
References
Other websites
Media related to Schwelm at Wikimedia Commons
- www.schwelm.de (in German)
- Ibach Pianos Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine (in German)
- Schwelmer Brauerei Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine