Borken (; ) is a town and the capital of the district of the same name, in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

Borken is situated 10 km east of the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

border. Borken station is the northern terminus on the remaining section of the

Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck–Winterswijk railway The Winterswijk–Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck railway is a formerly continuous, 59 kilometre-long railway line, built by the former Dutch Westphalian Railway Company (''Niederländisch-Westfälische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft''), from Winterswijk in the ...

Neighbouring places

Raesfeld Raesfeld () is a municipality in the district of Borken in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 10 km south of Borken and 30 km east of the Dutch border. Raesfeld's landmark is the moated castle ...

* Heiden *

Südlohn Südlohn (, , in contrast to "Stadtlohn, North Lohn") is a municipality in the Borken (district), district of Borken in the northwestern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located right at the border with the Netherlands, approx. 10&nb ...

Rhede Rhede () is a municipality in the district of Borken in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern ...

Velen Velen () is a town in the district Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with about 12,000 citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English ...

Division of the town

Borken consists of 12 districts: The 10 largest groups of foreign residents by 31 December 2018:

History

The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 BU2823

The name comes from the German word "Burg" or "Burk" and gradually changed to "Burke", then "Burken" and finally to "Borken". Around the year 800 the village was being used by Charles The Great (

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

) as a stopover place on his travels. In 1226 City rights were granted by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Dietrich II of Isenberg-Limburg. Fortification of the city with walls and towers was first noted in 1391. In the last years of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

(1803–06) it was the capital of the short-lived principality of Salm. From 1810 to 1814 it was part of the French Empire. In 1815 Borken came under the jurisdiction of the Prussian

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...

. At the same time it became the seat of government for the newly formed district or county of Borken ( Kreis Borken). Between 1880 and 1905 the area experienced the building of railroad connections: (1880 Wanne-Borken-Winterswijk line, 1901 Empel- Bocholt-Borken and Borken-

Burgsteinfurt Steinfurt (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Steinfurt (district), district of Steinfurt. From –1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north-west of Münst ...

, 1905 Borken-

Coesfeld Coesfeld (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Koosfeld'') is the capital of the Coesfeld (district), district of Coesfeld in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. History Coesfeld received its city rights in 1197, but was first ...

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

). Near the end of World War II the historic center of the city was heavily destroyed. After the war, community rearrangements followed in 1969, including annexation of

Gemen Gemen was an immediate, sovereign lordship of the Holy Roman Empire, in the Lower Rhine region. Since Gemen had a vote in the Imperial Diet it was also an Imperial Estate. It was centered on Gemen, a small town and castle in the present municip ...

and other towns in the vicinity. Between 1975 and 1978 came the cleaning up and rebuilding of the southern part of the old city. There, buildings which had outlasted the destruction of the Second World War were finally demolished. In 2001 Borken celebrated its 775th anniversary.

Twin towns – sister cities

Borken is twinned with: *

Albertslund Albertslund is a Copenhagen suburb in Albertslund Municipality, Denmark. It is located west of central Copenhagen, with a population of around 30,000. Albertslund is a planned community or new town mainly built in the 1960s and 1970s. The sub ...

, Denmark *

Bolków Bolków () is a town in Jawor County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Bolków and part of the '' Neisse-Nysa-Nisa'' Euroregion. Overview The town lies at ...

, Poland *

Grabow Grabow () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The town lies southeast of Ludwigslust, the next city, and has the river Elde passing through its old town which is characterized by 16th century tim ...

, Germany *

Mölndal Mölndal () is the seat and administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality and a part of the Gothenburg urban area on the west coast of Sweden. About 40,000 of the municipality's 60,000 inhabitants live in Mölndal proper. Geography Mölndal is l ...

, Sweden *

Říčany Říčany (; ) is a town in Prague-East District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 17,000 inhabitants. According to the national Quality of Life Index, which has been comparing the standard of living in the citie ...

, Czech Republic *

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent, England, at the convergence of the The Swale, Swale and the Greater Thames Estuary, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay, Kent, Herne Bay. The town, formerly known as Whitstable-on-Se ...

, England, United Kingdom

Notable people

Born in Borken

* Marvin Grumann (born 1993), footballer * Cornelia "Coco" Maaßen (born 1999), handballer * Otto Leopold of Limburg Stirum (1684–1754), Lord of Gemen and Raesfeld, General of the Imperial Army * Jacques Palminger (born 1964), musician *

Jochen Schmidt Jochen Schmidt (born 9 November 1970 in East Berlin) is a German author and translator. Initially, Schmidt gained popularity in Germany with his story “Harnusch mäht als wär’s ein Tanz” (English "Harnusch mows the lawn as if it were a d ...

(1936–2010), journalist and dance critic * Ilse von Stach (1879–1941), writer

Connected with Borken

Marcus Ehning Marcus Ehning (born 19 April 1974 in Südlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German show jumping champion, Olympic champion from 2000. He is married to Nadia Ehning (née Zülow). He won the Longines Global Champions Tour of Vienna Grand Prix on Pl ...

(born 1974), jumping rider, lives in Borken-Weseke * Herbert Lütkebohmert (1948–1993), footballer, lived in Borken and is buried here *

Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...

(1896–1979), dancer and choreographer, died in Borken

Gallery

Borken, Propsteipfarre Sankt Remigius foto8 2012-03-28 16.05.jpg, Church of Saint Remigius in Borken Borken, der Kuhmturm DmA2 foto3 2015-04-20 16.51.jpg, Tower in Borken Borken, sculptuur op den Markt foto7 2016-07-20 14.55.jpg, Sculpture at the Markt in Borken Weseke, katholische Pfarrkirche Sankt Ludgerus DmA22 foto9 2016-07-09 11.32.jpg, Church of Saint Ludgerus in Weseke Weseke, die Bockwindmühle foto7 2016-07-19 11.45.jpg, Windmill in Weseke Gemen, die Johannes Kirche foto3 202-03-28 16.30.jpg, Johanneskirche Church in Gemen Burlo, Kloster Mariengarden DmA26 foto7 2015-04-20 17.45.jpg, Mariengarden Monastery in Burlo

References

External links

Official site

{{Authority control Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Borken (district) Members of the Hanseatic League