Bottrop () is a city in west-central

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, on the

Rhine–Herne Canal The Rhine–Herne Canal () is a transportation canal in the Ruhrgebiet, Ruhr area of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with five canal locks. The canal was built over a period of eight years (5 April 1906 – 14 July 1914) and connects the har ...

, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

Gladbeck Gladbeck () is a town in the district of Recklinghausen (district), Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Gladbeck is quite a young town, first recognised 21 July 1919 when it was given town rights. The town established itself aroun ...

, and

Dorsten Dorsten (; Westphalian: ''Dössen'') is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of about 75,000. Dorsten is situated on the western rim of Westphalia bordering the Rhineland. Its histori ...

. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives, chemicals, textiles, and machinery. Bottrop grew as a mining center beginning in the 1860s, was chartered as a city in 1921, and bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II. In 1975, it unified with the neighbouring communities of Gladbeck and Kirchhellen, but Gladbeck left it in 1976, leading to Kirchhellen becoming a district of Bottrop as Bottrop-Kirchhellen. It is also twinned with

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Boroughs

The total area of the municipal territory is about . The longest north-south distance is , and from west to east . The highest peak within the city's territory is , the lowest one being

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. Bottrop is divided into three boroughs: Bottrop-Mitte (Bottrop-Center), Bottrop-Süd (Bottrop South) and Bottrop-Kirchhellen, each having a borough representation and a borough ruler. These boroughs are further subdivided into city parts, partly named after their traditional names, while the newly built parts are only recently named: *Bottrop-Mitte: Eigen, Fuhlenbrock, Stadtmitte, and Marktviertel *Bottrop-Süd: Batenbrock, Boy, Ebel, Lehmkuhle, Vonderort, Gartenstadt Welheim (Garden city Welheim), and Welheimer Mark *Bottrop-Kirchhellen: Ekel, Feldhausen, Grafenwald, Hardinghausen, Holthausen, Im Loh, Kirchhellen, Kuhberg, and Overhagen For statistical reasons, Bottrop is also divided into ''statistical'' boroughs. They are (with their official numbering):

Kirchhellen

From 1919 until 1976, Kirchhellen was its own town. Following a communal reorganization reform in 1975, both Kirchhellen and Gladbeck joined the city of Bottrop. This resulted in the nickname "GlaBotKi". Gladbeck left the city in 1976, and became part of the district of Recklinghausen. Most of Kirchhellen is Catholic (around 65%). It has three churches, including one Lutheran church.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Bottrop is Bernd Tischler of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD) since 2009. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Candidate ! Party ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Bernd Tischler , align=left,

, 31,795 , 73.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Andrea Swoboda , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

, 4,117 , 9.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Andreas Bucksteeg , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 3,023 , 7.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Michael Gerber , align=left,

German Communist Party The German Communist Party (, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports far-left positions and was an observer member of the European Left before leaving in February 2016. History The DKP considered itself a reconstitution of the C ...

, 2,071 , 4.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Marianne Dominas , align=left,

Ecological Democratic Party The Ecological Democratic Party (, ÖDP) is a green conservative and ecologist minor party in Germany. The ÖDP was founded in 1982. The strongest level of voting support for the ÖDP is in Bavaria, where in federal state elections they have ...

, 1,334 , 3.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Günter Blocks , align=left, The Left , 1,153 , 2.7 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 43,493 ! 97.5 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 1,114 ! 2.5 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 44,607 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 92,241 ! 48.4 , - , colspan=5, Source
State Returning Officer

City council

The Bottrop 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: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 17,668 , 40.2 , 7.4 , 24 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 10,513 , 23.9 , 3.2 , 14 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 5,639 , 12.8 , 7.4 , 8 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) , 3,076 , 7.0 , 5.2 , 4 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(ÖDP) , 1,856 , 4.2 , 0.4 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(DKP) , 1,832 , 4.2 , 0.2 , 2 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 1,821 , 4.1 , 1.5 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 1,507 , 3.4 , 0.7 , 2 , ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 43,912 ! 98.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 672 ! 1.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 44,584 ! 100.0 ! ! 58 ! 4 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 92,241 ! 48.3 ! 0.2 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Culture and attractions

Theaters, museums, and buildings

* Main Post Office, constructed 1921-1923 * The

Quadrat A quadrat is a frame used in ecology, geography, and biology to isolate a standard unit of area for study of the distribution of an item over a large area. Quadrats typically occupy an area of 0.25 m2 and are traditionally square, but modern quad ...

is a museum housing permanent exhibitis on local history and displaying works by

Josef Albers Josef Albers ( , , ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born American artist and Visual arts education, educator who is considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. Born in 1888 in Bottrop, Westp ...

and many temporary exhibitions. * City Hall (Neo-Renaissance 1910–1916) is regarded as the emblem of the city. *

Schloss Beck Schloss Beck (''Beck Castle'') is a Baroque castle in Bottrop, Germany, planned and built as a “maison de plaisance” between 1766 and 1777 by Johann Conrad Schlaun. It is currently run as an amusement park. History Although the building was ...

theme park and castle (late baroque period 1766–1777) * Villa Dickmann, constructed 1901–1903 (art nouveau) * Alte Apotheke (Old Pharmacy, Wilhelminian style 1895) * Catholic churches ** Heilige Familie ** Heilig Kreuz, built 1955–57, windows by

Georg Meistermann Georg Meistermann (June 16, 1911 – June 12, 1990) was a German painter and draftsman who was also famous for his stained glass windows in the whole of Europe. From 1930, Meistermann studied art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under Wer ...

** Herz Jesu, built 1929 ** Liebfrauen ** St. Antonius ** St. Barbara ** St. Bonifatius ** St. Cyriakus, Propstei, built 1861/62 by

Emil von Manger Emil may refer to: Literature *''Emil and the Detectives'' (1929), a children's novel *"Emil", nickname of the Kurt Maschler Award for integrated text and illustration (1982–1999) *''Emil i Lönneberga'', a series of children's novels by Astr ...

** St. Elisabeth, built 1954 ** St. Franziskus ** St. Johannes Baptist (BOT-Boy) ** St. Johannes der Täufer (BOT-Kirchhellen) ** St. Joseph ** St. Ludger ** St. Mariä Himmelfahrt ** St. Matthias ** St. Michael ** St. Paul ** St. Peter ** St. Pius ** St. Suitbert, built 1955 * Protestant churches ** Auferstehungskirche ** Friedenskirche ** Gnadenkirche ** Martin-Niemöller-Kirche ** Martinskirche, erbaut 1884 ** Paul-Gerhardt-Kirche ** Pauluskirche * Malakow-Turm (1872) of the coal mine Prosper II * Coal Mining Tip Haniel with an open-air theater (

Amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

) and the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

Attractions

* Alpincenter - the world's longest

indoor ski slope Indoor skiing is done in a climate-controlled environment with snowmaking, artificially produced snow. This enables skiing and snowboarding to take place regardless of outdoor temperatures. Facilities for both alpine skiing and nordic skiing a ...

* Tetraeder is a 50-m-tall walkable steel

tetrahedron In geometry, a tetrahedron (: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular Face (geometry), faces, six straight Edge (geometry), edges, and four vertex (geometry), vertices. The tet ...

, placed on a 90-m

slag heap A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. Spoil tips are not formed of slag, but in some areas, such as England and Wales, ...

. It has been the town's landmark since its construction in 1995. *

Movie Park Germany Movie Park Germany is a theme park in Bottrop-Kirchhellen in western Germany, north of Düsseldorf, with an area of . It consists of 7 areas based on movies and TV series. Nearby the park are several film studios. History The park originall ...

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

(in Bottrop-Kirchhellen) *

is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

turned into an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

(in Bottrop-Kirchhellen). * Indoor Skydiving Bottrop, a powerful vertical wind tunnel, attracts skydivers from all over Europe. * Since September 12, 2005, so called ''

Stolpersteine A (; plural ) is a concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Literal translation, Literally, it means 'stumbling stone' and metaphorically 'stumbling block'. ...

'' have been placed by artist

Gunter Demnig Gunter Demnig (born 27 October 1947) is a German artist. He is best known for his ''Stolperstein'' ("stumbling block") memorials to the victims of Nazi persecution, including Jews, homosexuals, Romani people, Romani and the disabled. The project ...

all over the city in remembrance of the people deported and killed by the Nazis.

Periodic events

*January:

Festival Orgel PLUS A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes ...

(music festival started in 1989) *February: Rose Monday Parade and

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

*May: Horse Market *May:

Asparagus Asparagus (''Asparagus officinalis'') is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus (genus), Asparagus'' native to Eurasia. Widely cultivated as a vegetable crop, its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. Description ...

- Farmers' Market in

Kirchhellen Bottrop () is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail cente ...

*Brezelfest (Pretzel Festival) in Kirchhellen *May/June/July:

Schützenfest A Schützenfest (, '' marksmen's festival'') is a traditional festival or fair featuring a target shooting competition in the cultures of Switzerland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. At a Schützenfest, contestants compete based on thei ...

e (marksmen festivals) of Bottrops marksmen companies (BSV Bottrop Batenbrock, BSV Bottrop Eigen, BSV Bottrop Fuhlenbrock, BSV Bottrop Vonderort, BSV Andreas Hofer, Alte Allgemeine Bürgerschützengesellschaft, BSV Bottrop Boy) *September: Michaelismarket

Religion

* Catholic: 50% (19 churches) * Protestant (Lutheran): 20% (8 churches) * Atheist/agnostic: 20% * Muslim: 2%

Notable people

(1888–1976), painter, graphic artist, designer, art teacher *

August Everding August Everding (; 31 October 1928; Bottrop, Germany – 26 January 1999; Munich) was a German opera director and administrator. He studied at the Universities of Bonn and Munich, where launching his career in the 1950s. He was a member of the Ro ...

(1928–1999), director of the

Hamburgische Staatsoper The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

1973–77, general director of the Bavarian State Theater rector *

Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser (born 25 June 1965) is a German archaeologist. She is a professor at the Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz and Director of the Monrepos Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for human behavioural Evolution of th ...

(born 1965), archaeologist *

Andrea C. Hoffer Andrea C. Hoffer (born 1964 in Kirchhellen)German Modern Art.com''K-Hoffer, Andrea C.'' accessdate: March 17, 2024. is a German painter. Life and work Andrea C. Hoffer studied costume and set design at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf from 1992 t ...

(born 1964), painter * Paul Holz (1952–2017), football player * Martin Honert (born 1953), artist, professor at the

Dresden Academy of Fine Arts The Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (German language, German ''Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden''), often abbreviated HfBK Dresden or simply HfBK, is a vocational university of visual arts located in Dresden, Germany. The present institutio ...

Da Hool Frank Tomiczek (born 30 December 1968), better known as Da Hool, is a German DJ and producer. It was in Bottrop that he first honed his skills as a DJ, and by 1990 he was an acclaimed performer in his native country. Da Hool Biography, AMG/ref> ...

(born 1968), DJ and music producer *

Theo Jörgensmann Theodor Franz Jörgensmann (born 29 September 1948) is a German jazz clarinetist. Activities Theo Jörgensmann belongs to the second generation of European free jazz musicians. He was part of the clarinet renaissance in the jazz and improvisat ...

(born 1948), jazz musician and composer * Gisela Kinzel (born 1961), athlete and Olympian * Ulla Kock am Brink (born 1961), television presenter *

Bernhard Korte Bernhard H. Korte (3 November 1938 – 26 April 2025) was a German computer scientist, a professor at the University of Bonn and an expert in combinatorial optimization. Biography Korte earned his doctorate ( Doctor rerum naturalium) from the U ...

(1938–2025), mathematician and computer scientist * Werner Münch (born 1940), politician (CDU), prime minister of Saxony-Anhalt (1991–1993) *

Christian Scheuß Christian Scheuß (born 14 January 1966 in Bottrop) is a German author and journalist. Life After school and a first apprenticeship as technician for consumer electronics he changed to journalism. His education as journalist started 1991 at t ...

(born 1966), journalist and writer * Claus Spahn (born 1940), journalist and author

Twin towns – sister cities

Bottrop is twinned with: *

, England, United Kingdom (1980) *

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

, Poland (2007) *

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

, Germany (1989) * Mitte (Berlin), Germany (1983) *

Tourcoing Tourcoing (; ; ; ) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a commune within the department of Nord. Located to the north-northeast of Lille, adjacent to Roubaix, Tourcoing is the chef-lieu of two ca ...

, France (1967) *

Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...

, Hungary (1987) *

Nobeoka 270px, Central Nobeoka City is a city located in the north of Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 113,367 in 51272 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the city is . ...

, Miyazaki, Japan

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Urban districts of North Rhine-Westphalia Münster (region)