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 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 ...

. 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 tradition ...

. 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""The ...

in the city as early as 1305. As part of the County of Vest, 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 The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palat ...

. 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 The Electorate of Cologne (german: Kurfürstentum Köln), sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne (german: Kurköln, links=no), was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. ...

and electoral influence in the Holy Roman Empire. Recklinghausen was also the site of more than 100

witchcraft trials A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

(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 us ...

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 Datteln is a town in the Recklinghausen (district), district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on a crossroads of four canals (Datteln-Hamm Canal, Wesel-Datteln Canal, Dortmund-Ems Canal and Rhein-Herne Canal), ...

, Flaesheim, Hamm-Bossendorf, Henrichenburg, Herten, Horneburg, Oer, Suderwich,

Waltrop Waltrop is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approximately 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund. Division of the town The tow ...

and

Westerholt Westerholt is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, 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, ...

. 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, Herten 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 ...

, which includes more than 1,000

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

works from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

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 with ...

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 Christians, Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since Ancient history, antiqui ...

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrative ...

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 Mediter ...

. 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 monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

. 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 Per Kirkeby (1 September 1938 – 9 May 2018) was a Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor. Biography By the time Kirkeby completed a masters degree in arctic geology at the University of Copenhagen in 1964, he was already part of the ...

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 Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...

and

Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and '' Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. ...

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 Recklinghausen Hauptbahnhof is a railway station for the city of Recklinghausen in Germany. History The original station opened in 1870 by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company as part of the construction of the Hamburg-Venlo railway. During the ...

), 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 m ...

and

EuroCity EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteri ...

services, and the ''

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...

'' (Recklinghausen Südbahnhof). There are two

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 ...

- S 2 to Dortmund via Herne - Castrop-Rauxel and S 9 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 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 ...

, 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 politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...

, 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. I ...

, 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 (''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 ...

, 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,

(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 (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,

, 614 , 1.4 , New , 1 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Ecological Democratic Party The Ecological Democratic Party (german: Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei, ÖDP) is a conservative and ecologist minor party in Germany. The ÖDP was founded in 1982. The strongest level of voting support for the ÖDP is in Bavaria, where in ...

(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 with: *

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

, 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, D ...

, France * Preston, 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 popula ...

, Germany

Notable people

Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg Louis Engelbert of Arenberg (3 August 1750 in Brussels – 7 March 1820 in Brussels), nicknamed ''the blind duke'', was between 1778 and 1801 the sixth Duke of Arenberg and 12th Duke of Aarschot. Between 1803 and 1810 he ruled a Duchy in Nor ...

(1750–1820), prince of Recklinghausen *

Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg (28 April 1785, Enghien – 27 February 1861) was the Duke of Arenberg, a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the 13th Duke of Aarschot, 2nd Duke of Meppen and 2nd prince of Recklinghausen.Staff ...

(1785–1861), 2nd prince of Recklinghausen * Fritz Emil Irrgang (1890–1951), Nazi politician and storm trooper *

Walter Giller Walter Giller (23 August 1927 – 15 December 2011) was a German actor. He was very successful in the 1950s and 1960s, when he was often seen as a comedic leading man. One of his most successful and more serious roles was in ''Roses for the Pros ...

(1927–2011), actor *

Karl Ridderbusch Karl Ridderbusch (29 May 1932 – 21 June 1997) was a German operatic bass (vocal range), bass, associated in particular with the music of Richard Wagner, Wagner. He was recognised as a notable exponent of the role of Die Meistersinger von Nürnber ...

(1932–1997), opera singer *

Ursula Dirichs Ursula Dirichs (born 1935, Recklinghausen, Germany) is a Germans, German actress. Early life Ursula Dirichs was born in the northern Ruhr area and grew up in Königsberg. She took acting lessons at the Otto-Falkenberg-Schule in Munich, and retu ...

(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 Klaus Schulten (January 12, 1947 – October 31, 2016) was a German-American computational biophysicist and the Swanlund Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Schulten used supercomputing techniques to app ...

(1947–2016), biophysicist *

Renate Künast Renate Elly Künast (born 15 December 1955) is a German politician of Alliance 90/The Greens party. She was the Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture from 2001 to 2005 and subsequently served as chairwoman of her party's parliame ...

(born 1955), politician (

) * Ralf Möller (born 1959), actor *

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- ...

(born 1959), actor *

Hape Kerkeling Hans Peter Wilhelm "Hape" Kerkeling (; born 9 December 1964) is a German comedian, TV presenter, author, and actor. Career At secondary school in Recklinghausen, Hape Kerkeling and some fellow students formed a band (''Gesundfutter'', meanin ...

(born 1964), comedian and author *

Martin Max Martin Max (born 7 August 1968) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. One of the oldest winners of the Bundesliga's top scorer crown, at the age of 32 and 34, he represented four teams in his country of adoption. ...

(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 Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, At ...

(born 1970), handball player *

Moguai André Tegeler (born 9 August 1973), known by his stage name Moguai (stylised as MOGUAI), is a German music producer and DJ. In the early 1990s, he took the alias Moguai and began organising his own club nights and parties in Ruhrgebiet and M� ...

(born 1973), DJ and producer *

Frank Busemann Frank Busemann (; born 26 February 1975 in Recklinghausen) is a former German decathlete. He currently works as a pundit for athletics coverage by German TV channel Das Erste. Busemann started his career as a 110 m hurdler and was junior ...

(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 ''P ...

'' winner

Mayors since 1809

;Bürgermeister * 1809–1833: Alois Joseph Wulff * 1833–1839: Peter Banniza * 1840–1842: Karl Boelmann * 1843–1850:

Franz Bracht Clemens Emil Franz Bracht (23 November 1877 – 26 November 1933) was a German jurist and politician. Born in Berlin, he studied law at the University of Würzburg and the University of Berlin. He joined the Centre Party (Germany), Centre Party a ...

* 1854–1890: Friedrich Hagemann * 1890–1899: Alexander Rensing ;Oberbürgermeister * 1899–1904: Albert von Bruchhausen * 1904–1919: Peter Heuser * 1919–1931: Sulpiz Hamm * 1932–1939: Fritz Niemeyer * 1939–1945: Fritz Emil Irrgang,

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, CDU * 1946–1948: Wilhelm Bitter, CDU * 1948–1952: Joseph Dünnebacke, CDU * 1952–1972:

Heinrich Auge Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...

* 1972–1984: Erich Wolfram, SPD ;Bürgermeister * 1984–1987: Erich Wolfram, SPD * 1987–1998: Jochen Welt, SPD ;Hauptamtliche Bürgermeister * 1998–1999: Peter Borggraefe, SPD * 1999–2014: Wolfgang Pantförder, CDU * 2014–: Christoph Tesche, 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