Wermelskirchen

Wermelskirchen
Town
Church of Saint Michael
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Wermelskirchen within Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis district
Wermelskirchen Show map of Germany Wermelskirchen Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 51°09′N 7°13′E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis
Government
• Mayor (2020–25)	Marion Lück[1] (Ind.)
Area
• Total	74.66 km^2 (28.83 sq mi)
Elevation	345 m (1,132 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	34,673
• Density	460/km^2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	42929
Dialling codes	02196 02193 (Dabringhausen) 02174 (Bechhausen)
Vehicle registration	GL
Website	www.wermelskirchen.de

Wermelskirchen (German pronunciation: [ˈvɛʁml̩sˌkɪʁçn̩] ^ⓘ; Ripuarian: Wärmelßkirrshe) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, southeast of Remscheid. It is home to one of Europe's biggest live Christmas trees (measuring 26m).

Geography

The distance to Cologne is about 35 kilometers, to Düsseldorf about 45 kilometers. The neighboring municipalities are Remscheid, Hückeswagen, Wipperfürth, Kürten, Odenthal, Burscheid and Solingen. The townscape is characterized by Altberg slate and half-timbered houses.

The city area of Wermelskirchen (area: 74,74 km²) composed out of three district's: the initial Wermelskirchen and the incorporated, previously independent municipalities, Dhünn and Dabringhausen.

Coat of arms

Historic marker

The coat-of-arms of the city of Wermelskirchen looks like a silver shield split into thirds. In the left field is an oak tree. In the right field there is a Swan and pictured in the middle field there is a church.

History

From 1822 to 1945, Wermelskirchen was part of the Prussian Rhine Province.

Education

Wermelskirchen has an Evangelical, a Roman Catholic church and a Latin school.

Economy

The city has the head office of OBI[3] and the origin of the caster manufacturer TENTE.

Twin towns – sister cities

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

Wermelskirchen is twinned with:[4]

• Forst, Germany since 1990
• Loches, France since 1974

Notable people

• Carl Leverkus (1804–1889), founder of a German chemical and pharmaceutical company and the namesake of the city of Leverkusen
• Uwe Boll (born 1965), film director and writer, restaurateur and founder of Bauhaus Restaurant chains in Canada
• Tim Schrick (born 1976), racecar driver, and television presenter
• Thomas Kleine (born 1977), footballer
• Christian Lindner (born 1979), politician and Federal Minister of Finance (2021–present)
• Marike Steinacker (born 1992), athlete, who competed in the women's discus throw event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics, in which she placed 6th and 4th respectively

Honorary citizens

• 1876: Ludwig von Bohlen
• 1889: Carl Leverkus
• 1895: Otto von Bismarck
• 1933: Paul von Hindenburg

References

1. Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 29 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. "Impressum." OBI. Retrieved on 2 February 2011. "Komplementär OBI Heimwerkermarkt Systemzentrale GmbH, Albert-Einstein-Straße 7-9, 42929 Wermelskirchen, Amtsgericht Köln HR B 36389."
4. "Städtepartnerschaften & Patenschaften". wermelskirchen.de (in German). Wermelskirchen. Retrieved 2021-02-17.

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wermelskirchen" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 523.

External links

• Official website (in German)
• Website of the borough Dabringhausen (in German)