Bergkamen (; Westphalian: ''Biärgkoamen'') is a town in the district of Unna, 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 south of the river

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The d ...

, approx. north-east of

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

and south-west of

Hamm Hamm (, Latin: ''Hammona'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railwa ...

. Bergkamen, a fairly new town in the east part of the

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 ...

and south of the Münsterland, was founded in 1966 by the merging of at first five smaller communities. The town‘s history, however, reaches back to ancient Roman times - this can be experienced by visiting the Bergkamen Municipal Museum, which has a large Roman department, and the nearby archeological site, the “Roemerlager“.

Main sights

*''Westphalian Sports Boat Centre - Marina Ruenthe'' *The neighbouring national trust area, “Beversee“, and the wooded hill, “Grosses Holz“, a renaturalized former slag heap, provide an inviting atmosphere for relaxation.

Cultural events

*Harbour Festival ("Hafenfest") in June *Light Festival ("Lichtermarkt") in October. Bergkamen is home to theatre performances at the “studio theater bergkamen“ and numerous exhibitions in the town‘s own art gallery “sohle1“ or the “Stadtmuseum“

History

In February 1946, a coal mine in the city suffered a dust explosion that killed 418 miners. This was the worst mining accident in German history.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bergkamen is twinned with: *

Hettstedt Hettstedt is a town in Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, on the Wipper. It consists of Hettstedt proper and the ''Ortschaften'' (municipal divisions) Ritterode and Walbeck.Silifke Silifke ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια, ''Seleukeia'', la, Seleucia ad Calycadnum) is a town and district in south-central Mersin Province, Turkey, west of the city of Mersin, on the west end of Çukurova. Silifke is near the Mediterranean coast ...

, Turkey (1994) *

Gennevilliers Gennevilliers () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 46,907. History On 9 April 1929, one-fifth of the ...

, France (1995) *

Wieliczka Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of P ...

, Poland (1995)

Notable people

Ernst von Bodelschwingh-Velmede Ernst Albert Karl Wilhelm Ludwig von Bodelschwingh auf Velmede (26 November 179418 May 1854) was a Prussian politician. Von Bodelschwingh-Velmede was born in Velmede, near Hamm in the County of Mark as the son of Franz Christoph Gisbert Friedrich ...

(1794–1854), Prussian Minister of Interior and Cabinet *

Carl von Bodelschwingh Ludwig Carl Christian Gisbert Friedrich von Bodelschwingh auf Velmede (10 December 1800 – 12 May 1873) was a Prussian politician. Von Bodelschwingh-Velmede was born in Velmede, near Hamm in the County of Mark as the son of Franz Christoph Gi ...

(1800–1873), Prussian Finance Minister *

Ernst von Bodelschwingh Ernst Albert Karl Wilhelm Ludwig von Bodelschwingh auf Velmede (26 November 179418 May 1854) was a Prussian politician. Von Bodelschwingh-Velmede was born in Velmede, near Hamm in the County of Mark as the son of Franz Christoph Gisbert Friedrich ...

(1906–1993), politician (Member of Bundestag, CDU) *

Hans Sennholz Hans F. Sennholz (; ; 3 February 1922 – 23 June 2007) was a German-born American Austrian School economist and prolific author who studied under Ludwig von Mises. A Luftwaffe pilot during World War II, he was shot down over North Africa on 31 Au ...

(1922–2007), economist *

Dietrich Schwanitz Dietrich Schwanitz (April 23, 1940 – December 17, 2004) was a German writer and literary scholar. He became known to larger audiences after publishing the bestselling campus novel ''Der Campus'' in 1995. Life Schwanitz's parents were teachin ...

(1940–2004), best-selling author, grew up in Rünthe *

Eugen Drewermann Eugen Drewermann (born 20 June 1940) is a German church critic, theologian, peace activist and former Catholic priest. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Drewermann was born in Bergkamen near Dortmund. He is best kno ...

(born 1940), theologian, church critic, best-seller author *

Peer Steinbrück Peer Steinbrück (born 10 January 1947) is a German politician who was the Chancellor-candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the 2013 federal election. Steinbrück served as the eighth Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia f ...

(born 1947), politician (SPD), Member of Landtag, for Bergkamen 2000–2005 *

Konrad Ott Konrad Ott (born May 20, 1959) is a German philosopher with a special interest in discourse ethics and environmental ethics. Biography Konrad Ott was born 1959 in Bergkamen, Germany. From 1981 to 1986, he studied philosophy, history and Germa ...

(born 1959), philosopher and ethicist * Heiko Antoniewicz (born 1965), cook *

Frauke Petry Frauke Petry (; ; born 1 June 1975) is a German politician who chaired the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from July 2015 to September 2017. A chemist by training and with a professional background as a businesswoman, some political scientis ...

(born 1975), politician ( AfD), lived in Bergkamen and went to school there

References

External links

*
Website of Roland Schäfer, the former mayor of Bergkamen
{{Authority control Unna (district)