Ratingen ( li, Rotinge) is a town in the district of Mettmann 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 state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

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 lies in the northwestern part of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states * Berg (state), county and duchy of the Hol ...

about 12 km northeast of

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

Administration

With a communal reform of 1975 the independent municipalities of Breitscheid, Eggerscheidt, Hösel, Lintorf (seat Angerland) as well as the local part of Homberg and the municipality of Homberg-Meiersberg (seat Hubbelrath) were added into the city of Ratingen.

History

Ratingen was settled before 849. Since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the Ratingen area belonged to the count and later dukes of

. On December 11, 1276 the settlement received city rights. Ratingen was one of the four places of Berg which experienced an economic boom in the end of the Middle Ages, but slowed during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

. At the beginning of the Industrial Age, the first manufacturing plants opened in 1783. In Cromford the first mechanical spinnery of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

opened, which grew into the ''

Textilfabrik Cromford The Textilfabrik Cromford in Ratingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany was built in 1783 by Johann Gottfried Brügelmann. It was the first cotton spinning mill on the European mainland. Today it is an industrial museum specialising in textile ...

'', now part of the ''

Rheinisches Industriemuseum The Rheinisches Industriemuseum (lit. Rhineland Museum of the Industry) is a decentralized museum with six locations in Rhineland, western Germany. The locations are: *Oberhausen: the main site at the old Zinkfabrik Altenberg (zinc factory), near ...

'' (Rhine Industry Museum). In the

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

times, it became part of the city of

and in 1815, into the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

. In the communal re-organization of 1929, Ratingen maintained its independence. After relatively small war damage, Ratingen in the 1960s and the 1970s experienced years of growth and development (West Ratingen with 20,000 inhabitants, developed in the late 1960s-1980s). In 1970, before further incorporations the number of inhabitants surpassed 50,000.

Politics

The current mayor of Ratingen is Klaus Konrad Pesch of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2014. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Klaus Konrad Pesch , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 16,433 , 41.5 , 12,874 , 52.1 , - , , align=left, Rainer Vogt , align=left, Citizens' Union Ratingen , 7,490 , 18.9 , 11,833 , 47.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Wiglow , align=left,

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 Fo ...

, 6,178 , 15.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Heinz Martin Tönnes , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 5,434 , 13.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Markus Sondermann , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 2,344 , 5.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Hans Michael Gericke , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazi ...

, 1,029 , 2.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Manfred Evers , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, 700 , 1.8 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 39,608 ! 98.9 ! 24,707 ! 99.4 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 432 ! 1.1 ! 162 ! 0.7 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 40,040 ! 100.0 ! 24,869 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 72,748 ! 55.0 ! 72,741 ! 34.2 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Ratingen
1st round

City council

The Ratingen 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, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 13,595 , 34.4 , 0.2 , 24 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 7,553 , 19.1 , 9.5 , 14 , 9 , - , , align=left, Citizens' Union Ratingen (BU) , 6,964 , 17.6 , 6.7 , 12 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 6,056 , 15.3 , 5.6 , 11 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 2,479 , 6.3 , 1.7 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , 1,607 , 4.1 , 1.0 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

, 1,159 , 2.9 , New , 2 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , , align=left, The Optimists , 119 , 0.3 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Independent Manfred Evers , 40 , 0.1 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 39,572 ! 98.9 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 458 ! 1.1 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 40,030 ! 100.0 ! ! 70 ! 12 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 72,748 ! 55.0 ! 3.4 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Ratingen

Economy

Several important international enterprises (particularly from the IT industry) as

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

, ASUS, Hewlett-Packard,

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

CEMEX CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., known as Cemex, is a Mexican multinational building materials company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Mexico. It manufactures and distributes cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates in more than 50 countries ...

and Esprit maintain branches and/or main centres in Ratingen. It is also the hometown of automotive dealer Gottfried Schultz.

Sport

Since 1997 the town has hosted the Mehrkampf-Meeting, an annual decathlon and pentathlon meeting.

Twin towns – sister cities

Ratingen is twinned with: * Maubeuge, France (1958) *

Le Quesnoy Le Quesnoy (; pcd, L' Kénoé) is a commune and small town in the east of the Nord department of northern France. It was part of the historical province of French Hainaut. It had a keynote industry in shoemaking before the late 1940s, followed ...

, France (1963) *

Vermillion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It is v ...

, United States (1969) *

Kokkola Kokkola (; sv, Karleby, ) is a town and municipality of Finland. The town is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipali ...

, Finland (1989) *

Beelitz Beelitz is a historic town in Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is chiefly known for its cultivation of white asparagus (''Beelitzer Spargel''). Geography Beelitz is situated about 18 km (11 mi) south of Potsdam, ...

, Germany (1990) * Gagarin, Russia (1998) * Huishan (Wuxi), China (2007) Between 1972 and 2016 Ratingen was also twinned to

Cramlington Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, 6 miles (9 kilometres) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of its city centre. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. T ...

/ Blyth Valley, United Kingdom.

Notable people

* Martin J. Beckmann (1924–2017), economist * Heribert Fassbender (born 1941), sports presenter * Claudia Jung (born 1964), singer * Johann Peter Melchior (1747–1825), sculptor and porcelain designer *

Marius Müller-Westernhagen Marius Müller-Westernhagen (born 6 December 1948) is a German musician and actor. He has been a feature in German rock music since the mid-1970s. Müller-Westernhagen is known for his energetic public concerts, and his fans know his anthem-like ...

(born 1948), rock musician and actor * Rosemarie Nitribitt (1933–1957), luxury call girl * Dieter Nuhr (born 1960), comedian, author and cabaret artist * Norbert Pohlmann (born 1960), computer scientist *

Sönke Wortmann Sönke Wortmann (; 25 August 1959 in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German film director and producer. Biography Wortmann's father was a miner. After Wortmann's A-Levels he wanted to become a professional football player and started playin ...

(born 1959), film director

References

External links

Official websiteLUX - local community center
{{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Mettmann (district) Members of the Hanseatic League