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 inhab ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It lies in the northwestern part of Berg about 12 km northeast of

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

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 Berg. 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 battl ...

. 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 enti ...

opened, which grew into the '' Textilfabrik Cromford'', now part of the '' Rheinisches Industriemuseum'' (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 who ...

times, it became part of the city of Berg and in 1815, into the

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

. 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 Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

, 5,434 , 13.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Markus Sondermann , align=left,

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

, 2,344 , 5.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Hans Michael Gericke , align=left, Die PARTEI , 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 * Independe ...

, 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,

(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,

(FDP) , 2,479 , 6.3 , 1.7 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany ...

(AfD) , 1,607 , 4.1 , 1.0 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI , 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 Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

, 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 Esprit or L'Esprit may refer to: * the French for Spirit; as a loanword: ** Enthusiasm, intense interest or motivation ** Morale, motivation and readiness ** Geist "mind/spirit; intellect" * Esprit (name), a given name and surname * ''Esprit'' (m ...

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

Gottfried Schultz Gottfried Schultz GmbH, based in Ratingen, is the largest car dealership, dealer for the automotive brands owned by Volkswagen Group. The company employs approximately 1,900 people in 26 plants. It distributes and services cars of the marques Volk ...

Sport

Since 1997 the town has hosted the Mehrkampf-Meeting, an annual

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

and

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...

meeting.

Twin towns – sister cities

Ratingen is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Maubeuge, France (1958) *

Le Quesnoy Le Quesnoy (; pcd, L' Kénoé) is a Communes of France, commune and small town in the east of the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department of northern France. It was part of the historical province of French Hainaut. It ...

, France (1963) * Vermillion, 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 municipal ...

, 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 Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...

, 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 Blyth Valley was a local government district and borough in south-east Northumberland, England, bordering the North Sea and Tyne and Wear. The two principal towns were Blyth and Cramlington. Other population centres include Seaton Delav ...

, United Kingdom.

Notable people

Martin J. Beckmann Martin Joseph Beckmann (5 July 1924, Ratingen, Germany – 11 April 2017) was a professor for Economics and Applied Mathematics. He was professor at the University of Chicago, Yale University and Brown University, as well as the University of B ...

(1924–2017), economist * Heribert Fassbender (born 1941), sports presenter *

Claudia Jung Claudia Jung (born Ute Krummenast; 12 April 1964) is a German Schlager singer and politician. Biography Jung was born in Ratingen, North Rhine-Westphalia. From 1974 till 1980, she attended the school Liebfrauenschule in Ratingen. As a child ...

(born 1964), singer *

Johann Peter Melchior Johann Peter Melchior (8 March 1747 – 13 June 1825) was a German porcelain modeller. Melchior was born in Lintorf. He was interested in art from an early age and was apprenticed to a sculptor in Düsseldorf. He made a name for himself ...

(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 Maria Rosalia Auguste Nitribitt (February 1, 1933 – October 29, 1957The exact time of day of her death was found to be unsatisfactorily determined during the trial for her murder. See Guido Golla: ''Rosemarie Nitribitt. Recherchen und Theo ...

(1933–1957), luxury call girl * Dieter Nuhr (born 1960), comedian, author and cabaret artist *

Norbert Pohlmann Norbert Pohlmann (born 20 March 1960) is a computer scientist and a professor at the . He is also chairman of the board of the IT security association TeleTrusT. Career Born in Ratingen, Pohlmann studied electrical engineering from 1981 to 1985, ...

(born 1960), computer scientist * Sönke Wortmann (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