Herten (;
Westphalian: ''Hiätten'') is a town and a municipality in the
district of Recklinghausen, in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is situated in the industrial
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
, some west of
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...
.
Geography
Town area
Herten covers an area of 37.31 km
2, with a maximum north-south extent of 9.5 km, and a maximum east-west extent of 6.5 km. The municipality's highest natural point is in Scherlebeck, close to the border with
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...
, with an altitude of 110 m.
Herten is divided into the following urban districts:
Neighbouring towns
Herten borders
Marl
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.
Marl makes up the lower part o ...
in the north, Recklinghausen in the east,
Herne in the south, and
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...
in the west.
History
Herten was the seat of the governors of the
County of Vest Recklinghausen
Vest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south, and to the ...
, an autonomous state within the
Archbishopric of Cologne
The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.
History
The Electorate of Cologn ...
. The first time Herten was mentioned in official documents was in 1050 as ''Herthene''. In 1867 Herten was a village with 891 inhabitants. The first coal mines in Herten were founded in 1872 and Herten developed from a village to a mining town. Depending on additional workers, the coal mines attracted many people. Therefore, Herten rapidly grew by immigration from surrounding Westphalia, from the eastern provinces of Prussia and from eastern Europe. The number of inhabitants rose from 3,616 in 1890 to 6,698 in 1895 and to 12,186 in 1900. At the beginning of the 1920s 18,519 people lived in Herten. When Herten obtained municipal status in 1936 it had 33,000 inhabitants.
During World War II Herten was spared serious destruction, although it was hit by bombs 53 times. 62 civilians were killed and 143 injured, 18 industrial plants and commercial enterprises and 145 houses were destroyed or seriously damaged. Herten as a whole was destroyed by 16%. After the war 11,600 cubic metres of demolition rubble had to be removed from the streets.
After the villages Westerholt and Bertlich had been incorporated into Herten in 1975 the number of inhabitants rose to 70,676. Due to the crisis of the mining industry in the 1980s the number of inhabitants started declining. The last coal mine in Herten was closed in 2008.
Sights
Its best known sights are the
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
ed red
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
castle of
Schloss Herten
Herten Castle (german: Schloss Herten) is a moated castle situated in the town of Herten in the administrative district of Recklinghausen in the state of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. It is located within an old English landscape garden and i ...
, dating back to the 14th century and surrounded by a park with a pavilion called ''Tabakhaus''. The
orangery
An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...
dating from 1725 is just being renovated.
The "altes Dorf Westerholt" (Westerholt old village) with its many historic
half-timbered
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
houses is in the northwestern part of Herten. Westerholt is known for its castle ''Schloss Westerholt'' which was founded in 1359, and its present buildings date from 1833. The small chapel ''Schlosskapelle St. Martinus'' is just a small part of the remains of a church dating from 1310 which had been torn down in 1907. Beside the chapel a well-preserved medieval clocktower can be seen. Around the chapel and the castle many old wooden houses were renovated in the traditional style.
The former
Ewald Colliery
The Ewald Colliery (German: Zeche Ewald) is a disused coal mine in Herten, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Established in 1872, it was one of several major mining sites in the heavily-industrialized Ruhr district in northwestern Germany dur ...
, which is a repurposed coal mine, now houses commercial space and a visitor center for
green energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenho ...
. Another cultural centre is ''Glashaus Herten'' dating from 1994.
Rail transport
Originally Herten had a train station on the
Oberhausen-Osterfeld Süd–Hamm railway
The Oberhausen-Osterfeld Süd–Hamm railway, also called the Hamm-Osterfeld line (german: Hamm-Osterfelder Bahn), is a 76-kilometre long double-track electrified main line railway at the northern edge of the Ruhr in the German state of North Rhin ...
which was inaugurated in 1905. Passenger services, however, were discontinued in 1983 and the train station has been shut since then. When the railway line was renovated and reopened for passenger trains of line no. 9 of
Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn
The Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr) is a polycentric and electrically driven S-train network covering the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region in the German federated state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This includes most of the Ruhr (and ci ...
in September 2020 the train station of Herten was not reopened again and since then the trains have passed Herten without stopping there. In August 2021, however, construction of a new train station in the centre of Herten was started. This new train station ''Herten (Westf)'' was inaugurated on 11 December 2022. Line no. 9 of the Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn offers direct rail connections from Herten to Essen, Wuppertal and Hagen in the
Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region
The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region (german: Metropolregion Rhein-Ruhr) is the largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers ...
. Another new train station will be built in Westerholt. Its inauguration is planned for December 2024.
Twin towns – sister cities
Herten is
twinned with:
*
Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
, France
*
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
, United Kingdom
*
Schneeberg, Germany
*
Szczytno
Szczytno (german: Ortelsburg) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,970 inhabitants (2004). Szczytno is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodship (since 1999), but was previously in Olsztyn Voivodship (1975-1998). It is located within the h ...
, Poland
Notable people
*
Adolf Galland
Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland (19 March 1912 – 9 February 1996) was a German Luftwaffe general and flying ace who served throughout the Second World War in Europe. He flew 705 combat missions, and fought on the Western Front and in the Defen ...
(1912–1996), Luftwaffe General (Air Chief Marshal)
*
Ludger Pistor
Ludger Pistor (born 16 March 1959) is a German actor.
Career
Born in Recklinghausen, Pistor has played many roles in numerous German-language films and TV productions. He has also appeared in English-language films including the Academy Award-w ...
(born 1959), actor
*
Barbara Mensing
Barbara Mensing (born 23 September 1960 in Herten, North Rhine-Westphalia) is an archer from Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in E ...
(born 1960), archer
*
Christian Timm
Christian Timm (born 27 February 1979) is a German former professional football who played as a striker.
Career
Starting his career at Dortmund in 1996 he managed just 15 appearances for the club and eventually moved to 2. Bundesliga club 1. ...
(born 1979), footballer
File:Schloss Herten am Morgen.jpg, Castle ''Schloss Herten''
File:Herten - Kurt-Schumacher-Straße - Rathaus 01 ies.jpg, Town Hall
File:Herten Glashaus.jpg, Cultural centre ''Glashaus Herten''
File:Herten - Zeche Ewald - Schacht 7 (Balkon 1) 01 ies.jpg, Ewald colliery
File:Herten Westerholt - Schlossstraße - Schloss 05 ies.jpg, Castle ''Schloss Westerholt''
File:Herten Westerholt - Schloßstraße - Schlosskapelle ex 02 ies.jpg, Chapel ''Schlosskapelle St. Martinus''
File:Das Alte Dorf Westerholt - panoramio.jpg, Wooden houses in ''Westerholt''
File:HertenEhem.Bahnhof.jpg, Former railway station
File:HertenNeuerHaltepunkt.jpg, New railway station under construction in July 2022
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia
Recklinghausen (district)