Velbert ( Low Rhenish: ''Vèlbed'') is a town in the district of

Mettmann Mettmann () is a town in the northern part of the Bergisches Land, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Mettmann, Germany's most densely populated rural district. The town lies east of Düsseldorf ...

, in the German state of

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 ...

. The town is renowned worldwide for the production of locks and fittings.

Geography

Velbert is located on the hills of 'Niederberg' (meaning ''Lower Mountain''), part of the Berg region, approx. 20 kilometres north-east of the capital of North Rhine Westphalia, Düsseldorf, and 12 kilometers north-west of Wuppertal on the south side of the Ruhr river. Velbert stands on the highest part of the Niederberg region and also in its centre. Its average elevation is around 230 metres above sea level; its highest point, at 303 metres, is the ''Hordt-Berg'', and its lowest, at around 70.6 metres, is in Nierenhof am Deilbach. The highest point in Velbert itself is 263 metres above sea level, at the corner of Friedrichstraße and Langenberger Straße.

Incorporation

As part of the reform of local government districts in North Rhine-Westphalia that came into effect on 1 January 1975, the formerly independent cities of Velbert, Neviges and Langenberg were merged to form the present city of Velbert.

History

Velbert was first mentioned in AD 875 as Feldbrahti and was ruled by the abbey at Werden.

Administration

Velbert is divided into three administrative areas, reflecting the three former cities: Velbert-Mitte (''Central Velbert''), Neviges and Langenberg. There are also numerous suburbs, including Tönisheide, Losenburg, Nordpark, Langenhorst, Birth, Röttgen and Hefel.

Politics

The current mayor of Velbert is Dirk Lukrafka 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, Dirk Lukrafka , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 12,730 , 40.9 , 12,352 , 50.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Esther Kanschat , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 6,686 , 21.5 , 12,132 , 49.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Rainer Hübinger , align=left, Social Democratic Party , 5,148 , 16.5 , - , , align=left, August-Friedrich Tonscheid , align=left, Velbert Differently , 1,915 , 6.2 , - , , align=left, Cem Demircan , align=left, Independent Velbert Citizens , 1,862 , 6.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Helmut Stiegelmeier , align=left, Pirate Party Germany , 1,262 , 4.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Birgit Onori , align=left, The Left , 1,009 , 3.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Marcel Stubbe , align=left, Independent , 521 , 1.7 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 31,133 ! 98.3 ! 24,484 ! 99.4 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 540 ! 1.7 ! 137 ! 0.6 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 31,673 ! 100.0 ! 24,621 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 65,876 ! 48.1 ! 65,837 ! 37.4 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Velbert
1st round

City council

The Velbert 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) , 9,471 , 30.4 , 4.2 , 21 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 6,543 , 21.0 , 10.2 , 15 , 8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD) , 5,435 , 17.4 , 9.7 , 12 , 5 , - , , align=left, Independent Velbert Citizens (UVB) , 2,343 , 7.5 , 2.2 , 5 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , 1,998 , 6.4 , New , 4 , New , - , , align=left, Velbert Differently (Anders) , 1,643 , 5.3 , 1.3 , 4 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 1,392 , 4.5 , 0.4 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 1,174 , 3.8 , 1.6 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) , 1,177 , 3.8 , 1.3 , 3 , 1 , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Independent , 18 , 0.1 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 31,194 ! 98.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 471 ! 1.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 31,665 ! 100.0 ! ! 70 ! 8 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 65,875 ! 48.1 ! 1.1 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Velbert

Coat of arms

The first coat of arms was created in 1882 and abolished in local government reform of 1975. It showed the lion of the Counts, later Dukes, of Berg (originally the symbol of Limburg) and keys referring to locksmithing, a traditional industry in Velbert. After 1975 a new coat of arms was created that included heraldic symbols for all three formerly independent towns. The key, referring to Velbert's main traditional industry, was retained with a simpler design. Langenberg is represented by an oak leaf, referring to the oak in the old arms of Langenberg. The chevrons in the bit of the key refer to the coat of arms of the lords of Hardenberg, from the coat of arms of Neviges.

Economics

The main traditional industry of Velbert is small scale manufacturing, mostly metal based, typical products include locks, hinges, small tools, hoseclamps. Most companies are small to medium scale and many evolved from backyard forges. There are also companies producing parts for the automotive industry, for example the suppliers of vehicle access systems Witte Automotive and Huf. As well as this Stein & Co Gmbh, the makers of Sebo vacuum cleaners, are based in the city.

Transportation

Velbert's S-Bahn service runs every 30 minutes line S9, from Recklinghausen / Haltern am See–-

Gladbeck Gladbeck () is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Gladbeck is quite a young town, first recognised 21 July 1919 when it was given town rights. The town established itself around five farming villages, Br ...

Bottrop Bottrop () is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail cent ...

– Essen- Nierenhof - Langenberg- Neviges - Rosenhügel- Wuppertal - Hagen, which is an attractive line to commuters. The old town of Velbert has no railway connection left. In 2011 most of the former railway line within the city was converted to a cyclepath. The former station buildings at Velbert-West and Velbert-Central are now restaurants, and the station at Velbert-Tönisheide is disused. All three were on the discontinued Niederberg Railway ( Wülfrath-Velbert- Heiligenhaus– Kettwig). The operational stations serving the city are Langenberg, Neviges, Nierenhof and Rosenhügel. Velbert also used to have a tram service, and was the meeting point of tramlines from Heidhausen, Neviges, Wülfrath and Hösel with Heiligenhaus. Nowadays a number of bus routes connect Velbert to the surrounding cities. The city belongs to the ''

Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (), abbreviated VRR, is a public transport association (Verkehrsverbund) in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It covers most of the Ruhr area, as well as neighbouring parts of the Lower Rhine region, includ ...

''.

Twin towns – sister cities

Velbert is twinned with: * Châtellerault, France (1965) *

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, the built-up ...

, England, United Kingdom (1966) *

Igoumenitsa Igoumenitsa ( el, Ηγουμενίτσα, ) is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia. Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, ...

, Greece (2012) * Podujeva, Kosovo (2019)

Friendly cities

Velbert also has friendly relations with: * Hacıbektaş, Turkey (2000) *

Morąg Morąg (; german: Mohrungen, ) is a town in northern Poland in Ostróda County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Gmina Morąg (commune). Geography The town is situated in the western uplands of the historic Prussia region. ...

, Poland (2016)

Sites of interest

Theatres

* The central theatre of the town is in Forum Niederberg.

Museums

The town's museum is also located in Forum Niederberg. It is the ''German museum for locks and metal fittings''. The museum exhibits a broad variety of keys and locks.

Buildings

* Maria, Königin des Friedens, or Nevigeser Wallfahrtsdom, also known as Mariendom, in Neviges which was designed by the famous architect Gottfried Böhm * Hardenberg Castle in Neviges * Historical town centres in Neviges and Langenberg * Event Church in Langenberg * Bürgerhaus (Citizen's house) in Langenberg * Transmission towers in Langenberg for MW, FM and TV (303.7 m and 170m high) * City hall incl. Thomas-Carré in Velbert-Mitte * The Art Nouveau church called Christuskirche (Christ Church) in Velbert-Mitte

Notable people

* Lüder Lüers (1926–2022), German horticultural architect, engaged in founding Kindernothilfe *

Alexander Mies Alexander Mies (born 25 June 1992) is a German racing driver currently competing in the TCR International Series, TCR Thailand Touring Car Championship and the VLN. Having previously competed in the BMW M235i Racing Cup Belgium and German Sla ...

(born 1992), German racing driver

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Mettmann (district)