Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghausen is the 60th-largest city in Germany and the 22nd-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia.

History

First mentioned in 1017 as ''Ricoldinchuson'', in 1150 the city was the center of the surrounding Vest Recklinghausen. In 1236, Recklinghausen received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

. There is record of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

in the city as early as 1305. As part of the

County of Vest A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, ownership of Recklinghausen changed several times in the 15th and 16th century, and in 1576, the entire county was pawned to the Elector of Cologne. In 1582–83, again in 1586, and again in 1587, the city was plundered by partisan armies during the Cologne War, a feud over religious parity in Electorate of Cologne and electoral influence in the Holy Roman Empire. Recklinghausen was also the site of more than 100 witchcraft trials (1514–1710). The trial activity reached a climax twice: In the time period of 1580/81 and again in 1588/89. The last person to be convicted of

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have u ...

was Anna Spickermann; after spending 16 months in prison, she was sentenced to death by sword and burned afterward. Circa 1600, the administration of the Vest Recklinghausen was divided into two parts, with the eastern part administered by Recklinghausen. The town of Recklinghausen including the parish of Recklinghausen and the parishes Ahsen, Datteln, Flaesheim, Hamm-Bossendorf, Henrichenburg,

Herten 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; ks ...

, Horneburg,

Oer OER may stand for: *OER - the IATA airport code for Örnsköldsvik Airport in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden *Open educational resources, open documents that are useful for teaching, learning, educational, assessment and research purposes. *Offense efficie ...

, Suderwich, Waltrop and Westerholt. In 1803-1811 became the capital of a sovereign Principality of the Dukes of Arenberg who retain the title. Circa 1815, the Vest was made a Bürgermeisterei, with the town becoming the seat. In 1819,

joined the Recklinghausen Bürgermeisterei, and Erkenschwick followed in 1821. As a target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, oil production at Recklinghausen/Forstezung was bombed by the RAF on 15 January 1945; and South Recklinghausen (''Recklinghausen Süd'') was captured by the US 137th Infantry on 1 April 1945.

Main sights

Recklinghausen is home to a museum of

icons An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most c ...

, which includes more than 1,000 Orthodox works from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

and the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

countries, as well as early

Copt Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Co ...

ic Christian art from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. The icon museum – the largest outside the Orthodox world – was founded in 1956 and reopened after renovation in February 2006 for its 50th anniversary. The Ruhrfestspielhaus (Ruhr Festival Theatre), whose remodeling in 2001 won the German Architecture Award is home of "Die Liegende Nr 5", a famous sculpture by

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Mo ...

. At the Lohtor in front of a memorial for the victims of World War I, there is a large sculpture made of more than 30,000 bricks by Per Kirkeby.

Annual events

Recklinghausen hosts the annual

Ruhrfestspiele Ruhrfestspiele (Ruhr Festival) in Recklinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is one of the oldest theatre festivals in Europe. Founded after World War II, the festival is a major annual cultural event for the Ruhr area. It always starts on 1 ...

(Ruhr Festival), a cultural festival with an international reputation. Every year there is a cultural programme with many national and international theatrical productions starting on 1 May. In 2008 the programme included the play ''Speed the Plow'' starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum as one of the major productions. The main theatrical stage is the Ruhrfestspielhaus but other theatres in and around Recklinghausen participate.

Transport

The two major motorways crossing the area of the city are the A2 and the A43. The city is connected to the larger waterways by the Rhein-Herne-Kanal. Recklinghausen has two railway stations. The ''Central Station'' ( Recklinghausen Hauptbahnhof), which is served by

Intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at ma ...

and EuroCity services, and the '' South Station'' (Recklinghausen Südbahnhof). There are two Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn - S 2 to Dortmund via Herne - Castrop-Rauxel and

S 9 S9 may refer to: Transportation * SIAI S.9, a 1918 Italian flying boat * Aircraft registration prefix of São Tomé and Príncipe * USS ''S-9'' (SS-114), a 1920 S-class submarine of the United States Navy * County Route S9 (California) * Rans ...

to Hagen via Gladbeck - Bottrop - Essen - Velbert - Wuppertal.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Recklinghausen is Christoph Tesche of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). 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, Christoph Tesche , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 26,556 , 60.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Andreas Becker , align=left, Social Democratic Party , 7,286 , 16.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Thorben Terwort , 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 ...

, 4,031 , 9.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Sascha Menkhaus , 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 ...

, 2,264 , 5.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Erich Burmeister , align=left, The Left , 1,493 , 3.4 , - , , align=left, Claudia Ludwig , align=left, Independent Citizens Party , 1,213 , 2.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Irina Oberpichler , align=left, Die PARTEI , 864 , 2.0 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 43,707 ! 99.0 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 435 ! 1.0 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 44,142 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 92,107 ! 47.9 , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Recklinghausen

City council

The Recklinghausen 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) , 16,078 , 37.0 , 0.6 , 21 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD) , 10,924 , 25.2 , 12.8 , 14 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 7,757 , 17.9 , 8.3 , 10 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 2,861 , 6.6 , New , 4 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 1,867 , 4.3 , 1.7 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , 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 ...

(FDP) , 1,561 , 3.6 , 0.4 , 2 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Independent Citizens' Party (UBP) , 1,477 , 3.4 , 3.4 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI , 614 , 1.4 , New , 1 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP) , 199 , 0.5 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, Party of Holistic Democracy (PHD) , 103 , 0.2 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 43,441 ! 98.4 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 687 ! 1.6 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 44,128 ! 100.0 ! ! 56 ! 4 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 92,107 ! 47.9 ! 0.4 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Recklinghausen

Twin towns – sister cities

Recklinghausen 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: *

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

, Israel *

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', german: Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. ...

, Poland *

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

, Netherlands *

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Do ...

, France *

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popu ...

, Germany

Notable people

* Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg (1750–1820), prince of Recklinghausen * Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg (1785–1861), 2nd prince of Recklinghausen *

Fritz Emil Irrgang Fritz Emil Irrgang (born May 10, 1890, in Linderode, Province of Brandenburg – died December 16, 1951, in Northeim) was a German politician and member of the Nazi Party and the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA). Irrgang joined the Nazi Party in 1929, joi ...

(1890–1951), Nazi politician and storm trooper * Walter Giller (1927–2011), actor * Karl Ridderbusch (1932–1997), opera singer * Ursula Dirichs (born 1935), actress *

Rosemarie Koczy Rosemarie Inge Koczy (March 5, 1939December 12, 2007) was an artist and teacher known for her many works dealing with the Holocaust. Life Koczy was born March 5, 1939, in Recklinghausen, Germany, the eldest daughter of Martha Wusthoff and Karl ...

(1939–2007), artist and teacher, concentration camp survivor * Klaus Schulten (1947–2016), biophysicist * Renate Künast (born 1955), politician (

) * Ralf Möller (born 1959), actor * Ludger Pistor (born 1959), actor * Hape Kerkeling (born 1964), comedian and author * Martin Max (born 1968), footballer *

Mark Dragunski Mark Dragunski (born 22 December 1970) is a former German team handball player and currently a coach. He received a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens with the German national team German(s) may refer to: * Germany ...

(born 1970), handball player * Moguai (born 1973), DJ and producer * Frank Busemann (born 1975), decathlete * Thomas Godoj (born 1978), Polish-German singer, ''

Deutschland sucht den Superstar ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (''DSDS''; "Germany is looking for the Superstar") is a German reality talent show. Part of the ''Idol'' franchise, it was created by British media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show '' ...

'' winner

Mayors since 1809

;Bürgermeister * 1809–1833:

Alois Joseph Wulff Alois (Latinized ''Aloysius'') is an Old Occitan form of the name Louis. Modern variants include ''Aloïs'' ( French), ''Aloys'' (German), ''Alois'' (Czech), ''Alojz'' ( Slovak, Slovenian), ''Alojzy'' (Polish), '' Aloísio'' (Portuguese, Spanish, ...

* 1833–1839:

Peter Banniza Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

* 1840–1842:

Karl Boelmann Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

* 1843–1850: Franz Bracht * 1854–1890:

Friedrich Hagemann Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

* 1890–1899:

Alexander Rensing Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

;Oberbürgermeister * 1899–1904:

Albert von Bruchhausen Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albe ...

* 1904–1919:

Peter Heuser Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

* 1919–1931: Sulpiz Hamm * 1932–1939:

Fritz Niemeyer Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin a ...

* 1939–1945:

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

* 1945–1946:

Josef Hellermann Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...

, CDU * 1946–1948:

Wilhelm Bitter Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

, CDU * 1948–1952: Joseph Dünnebacke, CDU * 1952–1972: Heinrich Auge, SPD * 1972–1984:

Erich Wolfram The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

, SPD ;Bürgermeister * 1984–1987:

, SPD * 1987–1998:

Jochen Welt Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s *Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II *Jochen Babock (born 1953), East G ...

, SPD ;Hauptamtliche Bürgermeister * 1998–1999:

Peter Borggraefe Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, SPD * 1999–2014:

Wolfgang Pantförder Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

, CDU * 2014–:

Christoph Tesche Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenhofe ...

, CDU

Gallery

Markt Recklinghausen.jpg, Central market Lohtor RE NOR.jpg, Lohtor Square with Saint Peter's Church and sculpture of Per Kirkeby AOK Recklinghausen.jpg, Former hospital in ''Westviertel'' Kunibertistraße Nr. 16 (ältestes Haus der Stadt).JPG, Half-timber houses in the city Palais Vest.JPG, The "Palais Vest" shopping mall Stadtmauer RE NOR.jpg, City wall from the Middle Ages

References

External links

Museums of Recklinghausen

''Corpus juris'' of the county of Recklinghausen
{{Authority control Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Oil campaign of World War II