Waltrop is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, 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 betwee ...

. It is situated on the

Datteln-Hamm Canal The Datteln-Hamm Canal (german: Datteln-Hamm-Kanal) is a canal in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It links the Dortmund-Ems Canal at Datteln to the city of Hamm. The canal is long and has two locks, at Hamm and Werries, with a to ...

, approximately 15 km east of

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indust ...

and 15 km north-west of

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

Division of the town

The town of Waltrop is surrounded by the ''Bauerschaften'' (rural boroughs) Lippe (Unterlippe/Oberlippe), Elmenhorst, Brockenscheidt, Leveringhausen, Oberwiese and Holthausen.

History

People already settled in this area about 2,000 years ago. The village developed around the parish church of St. Peter which was built in the 9th/10th century. It is known that in 1432 Waltrop was a part of the county Dortmund. After the Soest Feud, the archbishops of Cologne could intervene against the counts of Mark, so that Waltrop became a part of Vest Recklinghausen. The production of coal in the mine started in 1905. As a consequence, Waltrop grew larger and became an industrial town. The coal mine was closed down in 1974. In 1939, Waltrop got its municipal rights.

Governance

The town council of Waltrop consists of 36 seats, which are divided into 6 parliamentary groups since September 2020: * SPD, 13 seats * CDU, 12 seats * Greens, 5 seats *Waltroper Aufbruch (WA), 3 seats * FDP, 2 seats *

Die Linke The Left (german: Die Linke; stylised as and in its logo as ), commonly referred to as the Left Party (german: Die Linkspartei, links=no ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of th ...

, 1 seat Since 2020 Marcel Mittelbach (SPD) is

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Waltrop.

Notable places

Waltrop is home to a museum of old

ship lift A shiplift is a modern alternative for a slipway, a floating dry dock or a graving dry dock. A shiplift is used to dry dock and launch ships. It consists of a structural platform that is lifted and lowered exactly vertically, synchronously by ...

s, including the Henrichenburg boat lift and a historical coal mine.

Local industry

* Manufactum, upscale retailer for traditionally-made household goods *Langendorf, a tipping trailer manufacturer

Notable people

* Sylvia Dördelmann (born 1970), rower * Matthias Hues (born 1959), actor and martial artist *

Christoph Korte Christoph Korte (born 28 December 1965) is a German former rower and geochemist. He competed in the men's coxed four event at the 1988 Summer Olympics. At the World Cup in Tasmania, Australia in 1990, he won the championship in the class of me ...

(born 1965), rower * Michel Lewandowski (1914–1990), footballer *

Alexander Baumjohann Alexander Baumjohann (born 23 January 1987) is a German footballer most recently played for Sydney FC as an attacking midfielder. After developing as a star junior with Schalke 04, he moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach and enjoyed great success ...

(born 1987), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Waltrop is twinned with: * Herne Bay, England, United Kingdom (1976) *

Cesson-Sévigné Cesson-Sévigné () is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a suburb directly to the east of Rennes, bordered on its west side by the University of Rennes and the Technopole Atalante. It is prima ...

, France (1984) * San Miguelito, Nicaragua (1988) * Gardelegen, Germany (1990) * Görele, Turkey (2012)

References

External links

* Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Recklinghausen (district) {{Recklinghausen-geo-stub