Viersen (; li, Veeëse) is the capital of the district of Viersen, 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.

Geography

Viersen is situated approximately 8 km north-west of

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...

, 15 km south-west of

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

and 20 km east of Venlo (

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Division of the town

The city of Viersen is made up of three (formerly independent) cities:

Süchteln Süchteln is a borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Viersen, a town which is the centre of the '' Kreis'' of Viersen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Süchteln was formerly an independent town; the Catholic parish church of St Clement is at its centre ...

Dülken Dülken is a town located in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany. It has a population of about 20,000. It is a borough of the municipality of Viersen. It received its town charter in 1364 thus being the oldest part of the municipality of Vi ...

and Viersen, which combined in 1970, and one former village, Boisheim, which combined with Viersen in 1968.

Politics

The current mayor of Viersen is Sabine Anemüller of the

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 For ...

(SPD) since 2015. 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, Christoph Hopp , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 11,438 , 40.5 , 11,572 , 49.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Sabine Anemüller , align=left,

, 10,965 , 38.8 , 11,955 , 50.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martina Maaßen , 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 ...

, 3,418 , 12.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Simon Männersdörfer , align=left, The Left , 1,098 , 3.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Frank a Campo , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 935 , 3.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Siegfried Martin , align=left, National Democratic Party , 404 , 1.4 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 28,258 ! 98.2 ! 23,527 ! 99.5 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 521 ! 1.8 ! 118 ! 0.5 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 28,779 ! 100.0 ! 23,645 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 63,176 ! 45.6 ! 63,169 ! 37.4 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Viersen
1st round

City council

The Viersen 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) , 11,806 , 41.9 , 1.9 , 22 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 6,669 , 23.7 , 2.3 , 13 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 5,491 , 19.5 , 7.9 , 11 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 1,417 , 5.0 , 0.5 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 1,343 , 4.8 , 0.1 , 3 , ±0 , - , 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. I ...

(AfD) , 1,142 , 4.1 , New , 2 , New , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI , 195 , 0.7 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, National Democratic Party (NPD) , 107 , 0.4 , 1.0 , 0 , 1 , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 28,170 ! 98.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 584 ! 2.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 28,754 ! 100.0 ! ! 54 ! 2 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 63,176 ! 45.5 ! 2.1 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Viersen

Economy

The company Mars Incorporated (chocolate bars) is situated in one of Viersen's industrial districts named Dülken-Mackenstein. (a big supermarkets chain in Germany) had his headquarter in Viersen, until it was closed in 2010. Viersen bismarckturm

Culture

Recurring events

* International Jazz Festival in Viersen's Festival Hall (Festhalle). ''September'' * The World Championships of Carom billiards take place in Viersen's Festival Hall (Festhalle). ''March'' * Big

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

Parades in all 3 city parts. The one in

is one of the biggest and most traditional Parades in

. ''February'' * The

Dülkener Schöppenmarkt The Dülkener Schöppenmarkt (i. e. „Shovel Fair“) in Dülken is one of the largest and oldest country-fairs or Krammärkte in Western Germany. Date, Place, numbers of visitors The ''Schöppenmarkt'' takes place on Ash Wednesday following carni ...

, a type of flea/junk market, which takes place on the day after the last

parade, is one of Germany's biggest. ''February'' * Big free flea market in Viersen's pedestrian zone, where only children are allowed to sell. Biggest market of this type in Germany. ''Summer'' * "Viersen blüht" (''Viersen is blooming'') is a voluntary initiative which places arrangements and sculptures of flowers all over the city's pedestrian zone. ''Summer'' * International Biker Meeting, organized by the local biker-club
MC Viersen 1980 e.V.
. ''2nd weekend each September'' *

Viersen Jazz Festival The Viersen Jazz Festival is a music festival held every autumn in Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was established in 1969 as ''1. Internationales Niederrheinisches Jazz Festival''. History After the first year it took almost 18 yea ...

. ''4th weekend each September'' * Big kite-flying-festival. ''Autumn'' Skulptur monument

Main sights

Viersen sculpture collection The Viersen Sculpture Collection belongs to the major sculpture parks in Germany and is located in the center of Viersen (North Rhine-Westphalia). History The Viersen Sculpture Collection was built up during the last 25 years by the donation o ...

Städtische Galerie im Park Viersen Städtische Galerie im Park Viersen is the municipal art gallery of Viersen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has a collection of graphic reproductions. The gallery is located in an old town house, surrounded by a park with huge old trees hou ...

Viersen Bismarck Tower The Bismarck Tower located in Viersen (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) was erected in honour of the chancellor Otto von Bismarck and has since become an icon of the city of Viersen. Geographical situation The Bismarck-Tower is situated in hilly ...

Festhalle Viersen The Festhalle Viersen (Festival Hall Viersen) is a performance space in Viersen, a town located in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. It is well known for its theater and concert programme and is also the annual venue of the UMB World Three-cushio ...

Transport

Viersen is connected to the region by a dense bus network and

Viersen station Viersen station is a station in the city of Viersen in the west of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. History The first Viersen station was opened on 5 October 1849 by the Aachen-Düsseldorf-Ruhrort Railway Company (german: Königliche ...

. The station is served by various local and regional rail lines.

Notable people

Gustav von Mevissen Gustav Mevissen, after 1884 known as Gustav von Mevissen, (20 May 1815 – 13 August 1899), was a German businessman and politician. Mevissen was born in Dülken, Rhine Province. He started by investing in textile industry and later in railway ...

(1815–1899), businessman and politician * Max Nonnenbruch (1857–1922), painter *

Illa Martin Illa Martin (born Sybilla Kesselburg; 25 February 1900 – 6 August 1988) was a German dendrologist, botanist, conservationist and dentist. Life Illa Martin was the daughter of a brewery owner in Viersen. She studied dentistry in Bonn, Würz ...

(1900–1988), dendrologist, botanist, conservationist and dentist *

Albert Vigoleis Thelen Albert Vigoleis Thelen (28 September 1903 in Süchteln, Lower Rhine region, Germany - 9 April 1989 in Dülken, Germany) was a German author and translator (from Portuguese). Life Thelen was the son of booksellers Louis Thelen and Johanna Scheifes. ...

(1903–1989), author and translator *

Hilde Bruch Hilde Bruch (March 11, 1904 December 15, 1984) was a German-born American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, known foremost for her work on eating disorders and obesity. Bruch emigrated to the United States in 1934. She worked and studied at v ...

(1904–1984), psychoanalyst * Erik Martin (1936–2017), writer, songwriter and composer of songs *

Helmut Reisen Helmut Reisen (born 20 July 1950 in Viersen, West Germany) has been Head of Research of the OECD Development Centre until 1 October 2012 when he established the Berlin-based consulting firm ShiftingWealth Consulting. He is also Professor of Econom ...

(born 1950), economist *

Holger Henke Holger W. Henke (born in Viersen (North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany) is a political scientist, educator, and between 2014-2017 served as vice-chancellor for academic affairs and provost (emeritus) at Wenzhou-Kean University (associate vice pre ...

(born 1960), political scientist *

Elmar Theveßen Elmar Theveßen (born 3 June 1967) is a German journalist and author. Life Born in Viersen, Theveßen studied history, political science and German studies at the University of Bonn. Foreign Policy and journalism he studied at American Univers ...

(born 1967), TV-journalist and author * Till Brönner (born 1971), musician, arranger and producer *

Mirja Boes Mirja Boes (born 13 September 1971 in Viersen), also known under her stage name Möhre (German for "carrot"), is a German comedian, actress, and singer. Boes produces comedic party music, and also has released tracks of spoken comedy. She has rele ...

(born 1971), comedian, actress and singer * Udo Voigt, politician * Roosevelt (born 1990) music producer and singer *

Tim Stützle Tim Stützle (surname alternately spelled Stuetzle; born 15 January 2002) is a German professional ice hockey centre for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Rated one of the top prospects available for the 2020 NHL Entry Dra ...

(born 2002), professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player

Twin towns – sister cities

Viersen is twinned with: * Calau, Germany *

Kaniv Kaniv ( uk, Канів, ) city located in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It hosts the administration of Kaniv urb ...

, Ukraine * Lambersart, France * Mittweida, Germany *

Pardesiya Pardesiya ( he, פַּרְדֵּסִיָּה) is a town in the Central District of Israel. Located on the Sharon plain, between Kfar Yona and the Lev HaSharon Regional Council, it was founded between 1937 and 1939. In it had a population of ; it ...

, Israel *

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, England, United Kingdom

References

External links

* * Kempen, Germany {{Authority control Viersen (district)